# Tandem Ride Report: Grinding the Flume...



## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

This weekend past was our first vacation with the Tandem. We had a crack photographer along with his nice equipment (not that you could take a bad picture this weekend - no offense, David). Anyway, here's the report.

I offer no excuses for the poor planning on my part. Beer was not involved in my decision to pick the grind up Tunnel Road to get to the Flume. It simply looked convenient on the map. After all, what's the big deal in climbing 1500' over three miles?

*Meticulous, last minute route planning.*









We drove to the south edge of Incline Village with the Cannondale tandem and the RIP9 on the roof, and parked where all the other Subarus with bike racks were parked. Was I a little worried when the exceptionally fit couple parked in front off us described the route as "difficult" and "a b*tch"? Nawww.....

Did I take into consideration we were starting at 6100' and climbing to 7700' and had only arrived in town (from sea level) a day prior? Nawww.....

All of the Subarus were apparently parked at a shuttle stop. This may be why there were a group of riders collecting at the base of the trailhead, and many more riding down, but very few climbing.

*David secretly wishing he were RIP'in down the hill.*









The approximately 3 miles to the Flume were marked off in 10ths of a mile, unfortunately, punctuated by rest breaks. Sometimes the breaks were dictated by lost traction in deep "decomposed granite" (OK, fine, sand, _whatever_), and other times by breathlessness. Oh, and we stopped to pet hikers' dogs, too, but they were only convenient excuses.

*Up, up and more up. Minus the O2.*









The total ascent actually didn't look that bad. According to my altimeter, we averaged a perfectly reasonable 7% grade on the climb up, which is very similar to our regular climbs at home. The elevation, however, was a killer. And we managed to find a 27% grade towards the end of the route. Yeah, we walked that.

*Me with Anne, chillin'.*









The climb was sprinkled with shuttlers righteously bombing the trail. Sure, most rode it like they owned it, and who can blame them after paying for the ride up? A couple of a-holes wanted to make a point of passing too close, one wanted to enforce a "stay to the right" rule, and another poor guys spooked when he saw us and locked up into a tail skid, missing side-swiping us by less than a foot. Anne consistently worked the dork-bell, especially on the blind corners. We maintained our grind and trucked through, knowing it'd be our turn to bomb the trail on the return to the car.

*Great views started almost immediately. Who needs the top?*









Tandem starts were becoming routine for us, what with all the stops. In fact, only one section was steep and deep enough to send us looking for more solid footing. The rest of the time, we were pushing off almost as though we were on our solo bikes. Lazy me still hasn't installed the steering damper on the bike, but once I do, I suspect slow push-offs on ascending terrain will become even smoother.

We decided to pause for a "half lunch" on the way up. We could see the 8600' Herlan Peak looming ahead for most of the climb, and it was exasperating that we weren't making much visible progress towards it. But turning around and looking back at the lake, it was clear we were gaining significant elevation from where we began.

*Looking down on jet skiers from our mid-way lunch perch.*









It's worth noting that as slow as we were, we were passed by only five other climbers. Not to suggest that we were moving at an acceptable pace, but rather, almost everybody was (wisely) headed down, not up. One exceptionally fit older fellow, with an old-style styrofoam helmet and a rigid steel frame right out of 1988, showed good form while maniacally screaming at the descending riders to "Slow Down!" I was impressed with his calves: muscles defined like contours on a topo map on legs otherwise resembling toothpicks. This guy was clearly a regular to this trail.

*Still not at the top, but the views keep getting better.*









We fell into a rhythm on the tandem: Control our breathing. Idle up the hill until the trail called for more. Crank hard for deep sand OR steep ascents. Dismount for deep sand AND steep ascents. If Anne slowed down, I slowed down. If she slowed down more, we stopped for a break. Invariably, the first couple miles, each stop came .1 to .2 miles after the previous stop. It was frustrating, but we were slowing counting up to the top. It was reassuring that, if need be, we could ride until exhaustion and then point the bikes down the hill, and coast to a finish.

*Our route. *
https://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/nv/-incline-village/987320630









Thankfully, after one last steep pitch, the final half mile to the Flume trail head was gradual.

*We made it!*









*David riding the Flume.*









I'd like to say that we had a wonderful out-and-back on the Flume, but we didn't. We had a wonderful couple of miles. Although we were in high spirits and up for more, we were down to our last quart of water between us, and had timed out on the clock (family obligations and such). We picked a nice vantage point to finish off our lunch, and take in the scenery.

*Lunch under granite.*









*Gorgeous.*









The downhill was a blast! Although Anne & I are new to this tandem stuff, we've worked out a lot of the communication, and managed to take the downhill with a good amount of speed. The BB7s combined with the 220mm rotors I've showed off in some other posts, combined with a rear HS33 that Anne controls, really give me all the confidence I need to put the bike exactly where I want it. Anne's got her response to my "bump-bump-bump" down solid (still the occasional "wheewwwww!!!") and hairpin turns are a work in progress, especially in deep sand. If we're screaming along at mach 2 and the bike suddenly feels draggy, I know the "veto lever" behind my left butt cheek is being squeezed.

David, following behind on the very capable RIP9, said he had trouble matching our pace, but not for lack of trying. He had difficulty negotiating the deep, sandy sections where we basically "plowed through."

The bottom of the descent came too quickly. Especially considering the effort that went in to the climb.

The good news is that any climb we try back home, down low in the oxygen rich bay smog, is bound to be easier than what we rode this weekend. We've got a new point of reference to judge all other tandem rides we embark on. And despite the climb, Anne had a great time, which was probably the most important outcome of this whole adventure.

Should I mention that I dumped the bike (and Anne on her ass) while circling on the asphalt at the bottom of the trail? Oops!

*Riding out.*









Net for the day was a paltry 1500' and only around 9 miles of riding. But the ear-to-ear grins were proof of a fun ride.

To finish off our long weekend, on Tuesday, I threw on the slick tires. We had a fun, fast morning ride along the Truckee river to Alpine Meadows. A relaxing, easy-going change of pace from Saturday's grind, ding-a-linging at rafters and exploring Tahoe City.

I wish we hadn't waited so long to do this.

*Yeah... we're diggin this bike. *


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

Very cool ride report.

Somehow I didn't realize you had the Courtney bike.

PK


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## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

PMK said:


> Somehow I didn't realize you had the Courtney bike.


Ah! But somehow, you did! 

(And thanks - I wouldn't have posted the ride report if I didn't have the pics.)


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## Znugg (Feb 16, 2008)

Those are awesome pictures. We did the same trail a couple of years ago. We had so much fun, we rode it again the following day. We then rode the Kingsbury-Spooner trail to the bench the day after. We broke our chain on that ride.The elevation and the climb nearly killed us on that trail.


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## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

Znugg said:


> Those are awesome pictures. We did the same trail a couple of years ago. We had so much fun, we rode it again the following day. We then rode the Kingsbury-Spooner trail to the bench the day after. We broke our chain on that ride.The elevation and the climb nearly killed us on that trail.


Oof! On a tandem? Yeoza.

Last fall, I made the mistake of taking my wife on the bench ride on the solo bikes, based on a blind bike shop recommendation. No doubt, it was a beautiful ride, but my wife had to dismount every 50 feet due to all the ledges. She finally turned back; I rode out a bit further, but had a Superman-style OTB experience on the way back (no extra charges incurred). I'd live to ride it again on my own, but I'll be checking YouTube for your video on how to negotiate it on a tandem!


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## YuriB (Jan 12, 2004)

Nice post and pics. So you control the rear disc and the SO controls the HS33 on the rear?


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## Speedub.Nate (Dec 31, 2003)

YuriB said:


> Nice post and pics. So you control the rear disc and the SO controls the HS33 on the rear?


I agree with you on the pics. David slung the DSLR and a couple of lenses over his shoulder, and carried it all on his back the entire ride. It didn't look comfy, but he didn't complain. He took a ton of shots that day and over the course of the weekend, and they came out great.

Yeah, I've got the discs, and Anne's got control of the rear Magura. It's been working out pretty well, and is a good gauge of how much she's trusting me. Mainly she'll squeeze it to indicate we're going too fast, and twice she's put the kabash on sections of trail she doesn't want to tackle -- a small drop in one case and a tight squeeze in another. That's cool... she objects to much more, and I'm usually able to talk her into trying it. Most times we hit something objectionable and she'll say, "that wasn't so bad."

The rear brakes are surprisingly effective compared to a solo bike. I haven't been in a position to play with the HS33, but from what I experience sitting up front, it feels slightly underpowered, yet unassisted Anne's able to nearly stop us on a steep downhill. On longer downhills we've been alternating braking duties to give the rotors a chance to cool. Teamwork, brother, teamwork!


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

Speedub.Nate said:


> That's cool... she objects to much more, and I'm usually able to talk her into trying it. Most times we hit something objectionable and she'll say, "that wasn't so bad."
> 
> Teamwork, brother, teamwork!


Boy does this echo our rides.

PK


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