rbent Forum - Print Page

rbent Forum
https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl
General Category >> Ride Reports >> The blind leading the blind
https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1179177383

Message started by aikigreg on May 14^th, 2007, 4:16pm

Title: The blind leading the blind
Post by aikigreg on May 14^th, 2007, 4:16pm

Last weekend I was in Austin tuning up for the Dillo ride this past Saturday, and met a BUNCH of ACC members. Rode with the president and treasurer, and a ride committee member. The latter, Ron Burzee, invited me to come and ride tandem with him - he has 5 different tandems one of which is a rans screamer he loves to ride but no one offers to pilot it for him very much. Ron is blind, so he depends on a tandem for every ride he does.

Don't feel to sorry for him though - he's a MACHINE. He went to the world championships in paralympic racing, and I think he won the tandem division time trials before.

So yesterday I volunteered to ride 20 miles with him to try out the tandem, in spite of having exhausted myself the day before on the 105 mile dillo ride. We ended up doing 40 effortless miles. We met the Austin Cycling Club for their Sunday ride and took off. Took a while for me to get used to the screamer and to act as pilot, but once we were in sync it was a strange feeling. It was like riding a v-rex with a heavy back wheel. HEAVY.

Once we got going though we kept a great clip and always kept having to reign ourselves in so that we wouldn't outpace the others - since we didn't know the route. We attacked up all hills and were always the first to crest. The screamer is a GREAT bike. Heavy at around 55-60 pounds, but we were easily able to keep up and then some. Also has a suspension front fork which made railroad tracks seem like nothing.

And Ron is a beast. It's like strapping a v-6 to the back of your bent. We had nothing but steep ups and downs the last 10 miles, and we never had to drop out of the middle ring. I woulda been sweating a couple of them on the P-38!

One of the most unique rides of my bent career so far, and one of the most pleasurable. Thank god I don't have the room, or I'd be looking to pick up a screamer!

Title: Re: The blind leading the blind
Post by Bud_Bent on May 14^th, 2007, 4:48pm

When we tandem shopped, we looked at the Screamer. Most are lighter in weight than the one you rode, but they don't have suspension. A lot of bent riders think they are the best tandem bent around, but they are very pricey, and we just could not find a deal on one so, not wanting to bankrupt the budget without even knowing if we would like tandem riding, we settled for the EZ Tandem.

Title: Re: The blind leading the blind
Post by Richard on May 15^th, 2007, 8:50am

Blind leading the blind, leading all the rest!

Title: Re: The blind leading the blind
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on May 15^th, 2007, 10:53am

I hope Terrie and I will eventually get one of those to do tandem rides on... Sounds like you had a great time down there, Greg!

PB

Title: Re: The blind leading the blind
Post by aikigreg on May 15^th, 2007, 11:39am

Richard wrote:

Blind leading the blind, leading all the rest!

Wasn't because of me, I assure you. My arse was tired! Ron however, would power up the hill singing his lungs out. He and Ira, his usual captain, are some of the nicest guys I've ever met.