SFLers Share Tandem Adventures

Editor's Note: Portions of this article were written by each of the folks in the byline above. The name of the writer of each portion appears at the beginning of their section.

Amy White: Here's a story about my tandem adventures this year:

At the past two Ski for Light silent auctions, I've entered myself as an auction item to serve as a tandem captain for a ride chosen by the winning bidder. In 2021, Laura Oftedahl was the lucky recipient and she decided to cash in on her prize this year. Filled with excitement, Laura, Pacer, Laura's guide dog, our trusty tandem bike, and I piled into a rented pickup truck in Chicago and hit the road bound for Fort Wayne, Ind.

Our destination was the 2023 Midwest Tandem Rally, nestled amidst peaceful landscapes of corn and soybean fields. Taking place over Labor Day weekend, this event brought together an impressive gathering of 250 tandems and 500 participants, transforming the heartland into a vibrant tandem cycling haven.

During the rally, participants had the opportunity to explore routes that ranged from 25 to 70 miles per day, catering to cyclists of all skill levels. The local tandem chapter and extended community extended their warm hospitality, offering valuable SAG support, well-marked routes, and delightful communal lunches that made our journey comfortable and enjoyable.

As we pedaled through the scenic routes, the camaraderie among fellow tandem cyclists was heartwarming, with shared smiles and stories along the way. The culmination of our adventure took us along the city trail system to Riverside Park on the final day, where we treated ourselves to sweet donuts, savoring the simple joys of our shared experience.

In 2022, Bob Hartt and Bonnie O'Day acquired my auction item for their adventure. Along with another captain, Mark Mulligan, we tackled a portion of the picturesque Great Allegheny Passage rail-trail, spanning from Pittsburgh, Penn, to Cumberland, MD. Our journey featured a steady uphill ride on a crushed gravel path along a scenic river for 75 miles on the first day.

Thank goodness Bonnie is such a strong cyclist—I couldn't have made it without her as the stoker! The second day promised a rewarding downhill stretch after passing through a tunnel at the highest point. However, unexpected rain altered our plans, and we had to cut our ride short, missing out on much of the swift downhill descent. We did get to partake in Moose Tracks ice cream though—one of my favorites!

Laura Oftedahl: Bicycling With the CATS, COWS, PIGS and HOOTS - Cycling on a tandem has been a passion of mine for many years. So when Amy White offered as an auction item to "captain" a tandem with a blind person, I jumped at the chance to bid on and won the opportunity. Since I moved back to Illinois four years ago, I've wanted to attend the Midwest Tandem Rally held over Labor Day Weekend. I attended many Eastern Tandem Rallies when I lived on the East Coast; there are annual tandem rallies in the South, and West Coast as well.

We were all set to go in 2022 until I injured my left knee. So, this year we made it to the event in Fort Wayne, Ind. The location rotates each year between Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. That's where the animals come in. The groups that coordinate the rally in their state, and have rides throughout bicycling season, have names. There are the CATS, Chicago Area Tandem Society; HOOTS, Hoosiers Out On Tandems; COWS, Couples On Wheels (Wisconsin), and PIGS, Partnered Iowans Going Someplace.

The first thing, though, was that Amy had to fly from South Carolina to Chicago. She got a rental pick-up truck and drove to my house 30 miles from O'Hare Airport. We loaded one of my tandems, a Co- Motion Periscope, in the truck, and away we went with my guide dog, Pacer, in the back seat.

It was around five hours to Fort Wayne, where we joined more than 250 tandem teams from many states for a fun weekend. The terrain was fairly flat. A good thing because I didn't get many hours in the saddle this past summer. Each day, there were three ride options of varying distances, all convening in one lunch spot.

Bob Hartt and Bonnie O'Day: What Do TNT, Crabs and Dogs have To Do with SFL and Our Tandem Adventure?

We were very excited when Amy offered a weekend ride at the SFL auction. As avid tandem cyclists, we immediately thought about the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail through the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, and we placed our bid.

After we won the bid and confirmed the ride date with Amy, we scheduled a test ride when Amy was in our area for a work meeting prior to our ride to make sure our tandem would be a good fit for Amy. We knew we had discovered a true expert with the SFL spirit for adventure when Amy departed her flight at Reagan National Airport, took the subway from there to Alexandria, unfolded her Brompton travel bike and pumped her way up two miles of hill to reach our house.

There was one problem though, there are two of us who need captains to ride and Amy is only one captain. So this is where dynamite enters the picture. Bonnie and I coordinate a tandem cycling group for cyclists with visual impairments from our home. We blast off with our sighted captain and stoker friends every Tuesday after work, so our bike jerseys say TNT, which stands for Tuesday Night Tandems. We quickly recruited an additional captain, Mark Mulligan, from our TNT group, picked a convenient weekend, and took off with Amy and Mark. As Amy described our trip at the beginning of this article, it was a really fun experience, and we hope we can outbid our ski buddies to raise funds for SFL and have another chance to do this in the future.

So what do crabs and dogs have to do with our SFL adventure? Well, just like SFL has its own acronyms with tongue in cheek double meanings, such as VIPs, MIPs and GIPs (Guide Impaired Participants), and similar to Laura's story above about bicycling With the CATS, COWS, PIGS and HOOTS, the tandem riders on the East Coast shall not be outdone, and we have the Maryland CRABS (Couples Riding A Bike Simultaneously) and the New Jersey DOGS (Doubles Of the Garden State)!

When we first joined Ski for Light and caught the SFL bug (another double meaning), we asked our VIP friends how they kept in shape in off-season so we could return in better shape for next year. The answer was tandem cycling, and we have never looked back. Regardless of what may inspire you, the diverse family and spirit of adventure at SFL beckons us back every year, and we look forward to new acquaintances and reuniting with our SFL friends in Rhinelander.

Amy White: As I look ahead to the next SFL event in January, I'm excited to offer the same auction item once more. It's been a joy for me to explore different places through these tandem adventures, places I might never have visited on my own. So, start thinking about your dream ride for next year, and let's create unforgettable memories together.