Three doubles

Two Sundays ago, we biked Mary's Loop, our usual tandem trail. After a great ride, we were driving out of the parking lot when we saw someone unloading a mountain bike tandem and getting ready to ride. It was the same model as ours, so we had to stop, compare notes, see what kind of front suspension they had, that kind of thing. They had even bought the bike from the same dealer we did. I think this brings the number of times we have randomly encountered another off-road tandem team out on the trail to a total of 3.

Bob and Karen were in Fruita for a week-long hiking and biking vacation, so we exchanged phone numbers and planned to get together for a ride. They had friends joining them later in the week, another couple who ride a mountain tandem, so on Saturday the six of us rode together at Mary's Loop. It was great fun to ride with other tandem teams. Bob and Karen showed us how to climb a couple of rock obstacles we'd never cleaned before. They also took a few photos of us riding, which is a rare treat for us:





The top picture is one of those 'not as bad as it looks' descents - it's steep, but the landing is smooth, and it's actually easier to ride down than walk down, especially on a tandem with the reduced chance of going over the handlebars.









That's one of the harder pieces of Horsethief Bench. We were hoping to get a picture of the tandem going over the big rock drop, but the timing is just a bit off, so we see the approach and the departure: one bike intact and two smiling riders.