We purchased a Tandem Traveler "Q" in the spring of 2011. We chose the "Q" to replace our 25-year-old traditional tandem for its versatility as a convertible tandem/single bike as well as for transportability, which proved a good choice.

We trained for a supported September fall color tour of Upper Michigan, but had to cancel at the last minute, finding ourselves instead in southern Florida in early November for a more challenging and much longer self-contained tour, and with an aggressive group in which we were the only tandem team as well as in the top quarter of the age range.

After 150 miles of fast-paced riding on winding and bumpy bike paths and busy rough roads with minimal shoulders and through seemingly endless road construction in 80-degree weather, both machine and riders had had enough.

We were near heat exhaustion, and the tandem and its trailer were much abused by taking too many uneven curbs and tree-rooted trails at speed and suffering three flats from construction debris and thorns.

Unwilling to face the very real prospect of breakdown or illness on the long bridges and desert islands ahead, we rented a car, retrieved our vehicle from the start-end point, then packed the bike and rejoined our tour group as a much-welcomed support vehicle.

However, later in the tour, I wanted to ride one of the longer segments, to fulfill my annual one-day "birthday ride" goal: 68 miles this year. Someone had to drive the car, so I assembled the "Q" in single-bike mode and rode the 76-mile stage, into the wind, with ease (sans trailer, of course).

Without the option of converting, our tour would have been over and the goal unmet. The "Q" performed exactly as we had envisioned, providing the speed and agility of a single when it wasn't convenient or possible for both of us to ride.

Back home in the cool Pacific Northwest, we are looking forward to next season's rides on the "Q" through the foothills and forests -- at our own pace and schedule.