our tandem bicycle

Howdy!.....My husband Greg and i are cyclists….we have owned and ridden a tandem bicycle for 15 years….we’ve done the whole west coast from Vancouver Island to San Diego in 2010….we’ve done a few Ride the Rockies (a weeks long bike ride in the state of Colorado over several mountain passes/small towns totaling about 500 miles)....a 3 month trip thru Portugal in 2018 (½ of it on the tandem)....several multi day rides/bike camping and many…..what we call maintenance loops in our little valley (1-2 hours).....we have family in Denver and whenever we go we bring the tandem so we can get a ride in on the trail system there…..we LOVE to bicycle everywhere...its a passion of ours...which brings me to yesterday….(we have some awesome mountain passes here in our county that don’t open up to traffic til after Memorial Day) soooo we decided to take advantage of this and climb Independence Pass (with NO CARS!) (this would be the 3rd time we’ve summited this pass) on our tandem bike. WHOOHOO!!.....The drive from Salida to Twin Lakes (a tiny town on beautiful Twin Lakes with a parking area) is about 45 minutes, parking there then getting on the tandem for a good warm up before major climbing!.....it took us 3 hours to get to the summit of Independence Pass which includes mostly climbing thru beautiful pine trees & ponds, a creek running thru then several switchbacks til you’re at the top!...You have to get into a rhythm when you’re climbing like that….a breathing rhythm….trying to relax your upper body as much as possible...peddling thru with your feet...using your Ankles, Calves, Thighs and Buttocks to take most of the brunt...where all the power comes from…(i leave my knees out of it cause they’re sensitive to it all, ha!)....i use the acronym ACTB...A Cat Ties Balloons...is what i call it...imagining the cat letting all the balloons go….AHHH!!!...feeling as light as i can….playing little games with oneself to get you to the top….it can definitely be a mind over matter thing….you think about quitting and then you see the corner and just think about getting….there…to the top…...the TOP is AMAZING…we made it!!.....you take the picture, eat some nuts then head back down cause the top is cold!! You’re on the top of a mountain pass in Colorado..(Independence pass is 12,095 feet)...the clouds roll in...the sun tries to peek thru...but its time….put on your extra layers/ wind breaker/ dog ears or hood…..then start the descent….on a tandem, even tho you’re two...you become one….the front guy (Greg in this instance) is of course the pilot, the master of our fate...the downhill on a tandem is wicked fast….you have to TRUST the pilot, lean into the turns but not too much, go with the flow of it all...you can not be afraid of speed….this is where the tandem rules…..(always want to have the beefiest tires and great disc brakes)....there are two people on this rig afterall…..(we call our rig “the Caddy”).....took us 45 minutes to descend back to our start….Twin Lakes...it took all we had in us to make the trip….yeah...we felt sore but elated and glad we did it...heres to adventure!.....tandem bikes & mountain passes...terri