The Voice of Mom

With Father’s Day approaching, I have the perfect gift idea that will allow you to work on your relationship AND your health at the same time.

This picture shows you the very first time my husband and I ever rode a tandem together.  We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, to visit some old and dear friends of my husband and ride an infamously difficult 100k ride in unforgiving, beyond “hilly” terrain, much of which occured on cliffs alongside the ocean.

My husband, having ridden this ride before,  found friends that could loan us a tandem.  He knew the terrain was tough and he thought it would be much more enjoyable if we could stay together , not even considering that the 700 participants when he’d last ridden it had grown to 40,000.  Had we not been on the tandem, we would have lost each other in the first 10 miles.

We enjoyed the experience so much that the next month after that 2007 ride I was birthday-gifted with our very own tandem  and we have enjoyed it immensely ever since.

The tandem is a conversation piece with the most frequent comment from other couples being, “I could never do that with my partner– we’d be fighting the entire time.” We believe that to be a myth.

Here are the top 10 reasons we both highly recommend giving your baby-daddy an unforgettable Father’s Day gift– a bicycle built for two:

10.  Motivation.  You will both find the tandem enjoyable and schedule more rides for fitness, which will be physically and emotionally healthy for the both of you.

9.  Cooperation.  There is no other option.  And when you are cooperating on such a physical plane, it serves as an example of how much smoother the ride is if we cooperate more in all areas of our lives.

8. Commiseration.  You are both doing the same exact ride.  If one’s butt cheeks hurt, chances are your partner’s do as well.  Which leads to number 7 . . .

7. Conversation.  Tandem riding facilitates talking about many things, including the quality of your ride or how to negotiate the coming terrain — in your ride and in your life.

6. Transportation.  My husband insists that, especially for the men-folk, I report on the ease of transporting the tandem.  Much to our initial disbelief ,you do not need anything but a traditional bike rack.  It fits perfectly behind our minivan or station wagon.

5. Togetherness.  It is not uncommon for one partner to be a bit more fit or antsy than the other and this is a way to stay together on your ride without feeling the least bit of resentment.

4. Progress.  We find it fun to track our progress together — wow, our average speed went up 4 mph throughout the summer!

3. Bike clothes.  Weak reason, but if you enjoy matching — there can be some fun and games picking your shirts or getting silly for an organized ride.

2. Modeling.  It’s great for the kids to see mom and dad enjoying themselves while exercising.

1. And to repeat — Togetherness.  In our busy society, what couple gets enough of it?

Trust me, this can open a whole new door in your relationship as you so intimately share the riding experience.  Give it a spin.