The bike in question was one that Mr Bite and I hired a few weekends ago. Mr B has long wanted to try a tandem, and for Christmas I gave him a voucher to hire one. I hold the view that cycling is better with scones, so the voucher also incorporated afternoon tea at the Peninsula Tea Gardens of Tranby House.
I'd be curious to hear from anyone else who has experienced tandem cycling. It sounds obvious, but it is quite different to regular cycling. The bike hire owner warned us that we might be a bit wobbly to start with, and that was certainly true of me. In fact, I may have been a bit wobbly for most of the ride.
I was better on the back of the bike than the front. The back person can't steer or brake, and you need to judge when to start and stop pedaling in accordance with the front person's actions. You also have to trust that the front person isn't going to ride you off the path, because it's hard to get full perspective when looking over someone's shoulder.
I found it easier to trust Mr Bite's driving that to be in charge of it myself. Some of this was due to the position of the front bike seat and handlebars. I don't ride a racer, and the position of a high bike seat with low handlebars challenges my poor coordination. The tandem was an excellent bike - many gears, effective brakes - but it was set up for people who ride racer-style. Mr Bite is in that category, so at least one of us was comfortable steering!
My coordination difficulties aside, it was a fun ride. We both agreed we would ride a tandem again. By the end, we were also better at it, which suggests that with practice one would improve (as with most things). One of the main perks for us was the ability to hold a conversation without trying to look over your shoulder, or having to ride side-by-side with the associated risk of colliding with oncoming pedestrians or cyclists. Two sets of legs also helps to reduce the effort level, and we noticed that we were hardly tired at the end of our excursion.
Not being tired didn't stop us from refuelling with scones half way through the outing. We hired the bike by Perth's city foreshore, and from there, there are riverside bike paths extending in a well connected network (I have touched on them previously when describing one of our non-tandem bike rides). Tranby House is located in Maylands, roughly 8km north of the city centre and conveniently situated off a bike path. Built in 1839, Tranby is the earliest remaining residence in Perth and it was one of the first farms to be established when Perth was settled.
Adjoining the historical house are the Peninsula Tea Gardens. They have a beautiful setting overlooking the river, and have become a popular spot for high tea. If you don't want a three-tiered stack of sandwiches, scones and cakes, you can also order individual items, which is what we did.
The 'Riverside Cream Tea' comes with two scones and one tea, and the staff were happy to accommodate our request for different scone varieties. I chose blueberry, while Mr Bite had a plain scone and also ordered a Coke.
The scones were light and fluffy and simultaneously dense and crumbly, which is how I think scones should be. They weren't vegan (fancy afternoon tea mid-way through a tandem bike ride with my husband is, I'm happy to say, an occasion when I'll accept vegetarian over vegan), but otherwise were just right.
We were also impressed with the blend of relatively casual seating - you could arrive in cycling gear and it didn't matter - and elegant decorations and food presentation. Mr Bite's Coke in a parfait glass sums it up well!
I'm not sure when we'll next get on a tandem, but when it happens, I rather hope it's accompanied by scenic views and a berry scone.
We hired our tandem bike from About Bike Hire, which is located at Point Fraser Reserve, East Perth, Western Australia. Their website is http://aboutbikehire.com.au/ and their phone number is (08) 9221 2665.
The Peninsula Tea Gardens and Tranby House are located on Johnson Road in Maylands, Western Australia. Their website is http://www.peninsulateagardens.com/ and their phone number is (08) 9272 8894.
Tell me - have you ridden a tandem? Are you good at balancing them?!
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| A rest spot |
I found it easier to trust Mr Bite's driving that to be in charge of it myself. Some of this was due to the position of the front bike seat and handlebars. I don't ride a racer, and the position of a high bike seat with low handlebars challenges my poor coordination. The tandem was an excellent bike - many gears, effective brakes - but it was set up for people who ride racer-style. Mr Bite is in that category, so at least one of us was comfortable steering!
My coordination difficulties aside, it was a fun ride. We both agreed we would ride a tandem again. By the end, we were also better at it, which suggests that with practice one would improve (as with most things). One of the main perks for us was the ability to hold a conversation without trying to look over your shoulder, or having to ride side-by-side with the associated risk of colliding with oncoming pedestrians or cyclists. Two sets of legs also helps to reduce the effort level, and we noticed that we were hardly tired at the end of our excursion.
Not being tired didn't stop us from refuelling with scones half way through the outing. We hired the bike by Perth's city foreshore, and from there, there are riverside bike paths extending in a well connected network (I have touched on them previously when describing one of our non-tandem bike rides). Tranby House is located in Maylands, roughly 8km north of the city centre and conveniently situated off a bike path. Built in 1839, Tranby is the earliest remaining residence in Perth and it was one of the first farms to be established when Perth was settled.
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| Tranby House |
Adjoining the historical house are the Peninsula Tea Gardens. They have a beautiful setting overlooking the river, and have become a popular spot for high tea. If you don't want a three-tiered stack of sandwiches, scones and cakes, you can also order individual items, which is what we did.
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| Peninsula Tea Gardens (in the distance) |
The 'Riverside Cream Tea' comes with two scones and one tea, and the staff were happy to accommodate our request for different scone varieties. I chose blueberry, while Mr Bite had a plain scone and also ordered a Coke.
 |
| Riverside cream tea |
The scones were light and fluffy and simultaneously dense and crumbly, which is how I think scones should be. They weren't vegan (fancy afternoon tea mid-way through a tandem bike ride with my husband is, I'm happy to say, an occasion when I'll accept vegetarian over vegan), but otherwise were just right.
We were also impressed with the blend of relatively casual seating - you could arrive in cycling gear and it didn't matter - and elegant decorations and food presentation. Mr Bite's Coke in a parfait glass sums it up well!
I'm not sure when we'll next get on a tandem, but when it happens, I rather hope it's accompanied by scenic views and a berry scone.
We hired our tandem bike from About Bike Hire, which is located at Point Fraser Reserve, East Perth, Western Australia. Their website is http://aboutbikehire.com.au/ and their phone number is (08) 9221 2665.
The Peninsula Tea Gardens and Tranby House are located on Johnson Road in Maylands, Western Australia. Their website is http://www.peninsulateagardens.com/ and their phone number is (08) 9272 8894.
Tell me - have you ridden a tandem? Are you good at balancing them?!
What fun. I've never tried a tandem bike ride. The best I could muster is sitting on the back of John's motorcycle. I know it's awful to admit but I can sleep on the back of a bike unless we're going around a big curve. :)
ReplyDeleteI think that's impressive, not awful! I am quite certain I couldn't :)
DeleteLooks like you guys enjoyed a nice day together! We tried tandem cycling in Korea. It was my brother and I so it wasn't very romantic by any means haha. We just kept yelling at each other and eventually fell down pretty badly. I absolutely love the tea gardens. Those scones do sound perfect!
ReplyDeleteOh, I can only imagine the challenges of tandem cycling with a sibling!! I am sure it would have ended with shouting in my family too :P You needed some scones to break up your ride!
DeleteThe only time I have tried to ride a tandem was years ago in Canberra. I was 16yo and was there with a group of other children from around Australia who were finalists in an essay competition. The guy I failed miserably to ride a tandem with is now an obstetrician. It was so bad that we swapped the tandem for two single bikes. In my defence, I was wearing a pencil skirt - no-one told me we'd be riding bikes around Lake Burley Griffin! Glad you and Mr Bite had fun.
ReplyDeleteA pencil skirt sounds like an almost insurmountable challenge for cycling! I guess it's luck that obstetrics doesn't require much balance ;)
Deletehow funny I've mentioned to by hubby to hire a tandem with me but obviously he's too cool for that! LOL...have heard hit and miss reviews about tranby house, though it looks beautiful, we always drive past in our boat.
ReplyDeleteI'd heard hit and miss reviews too in truth - I was put off going there for my pre-wedding high tea a few years ago because the food descriptions weren't particularly great! I hoped they would be able to manage scones at least and our experience was very positive, although obviously I can't speak to the other food.
DeleteThanks for stopping by - it's always nice to hear from a fellow Perthite :)
Looks like fun Kari. I was always think they look tricky to balance and not sure my coordination skills are up there enough...and they ALWAYS remind me of the Goodies.
ReplyDeleteIf I can manage it (I fear my coordination skills are in the lowest 10% of the population), I am sure you can! Although...perhaps we should never try a tandem together.
Deletethat looks like wobbly fun indeed - I would love to ride a tandem - seems there are so many fancy bikes for parents and kids these days that it is surprising we don't have a resurgence of tendem riding (though I don't know how sylvia would go on a tandem - probably a bit young but I suspect more of a rider than her dad) - like brydie tandems make me think of the goodies and I think they did their fair share of wobbliness. The scones mid ride sound like just the thing for the tandem ride
ReplyDeleteThanks Johanna! I wonder if children would find it easier because they have fewer years of solo cycling experience? Apparently people who can't ride regular bikes are great on the back of tandems because they don't have to unlearn their usual cycling actions. The difference in size might be tricky for a child though!
DeleteInteresting because I have heard similar about riding on the back of a motorcycle - those who don't have a clue do it best :-)
DeleteThen there is hope for me to one day go on a motorcycle ;)
DeleteI am so happy you talked about the tandem bike. I was so curious about it. One of my friends does tandem biking with people who are blind, so they can bike, too. He has even done long rides (100 km+) with them. How cool is that?
ReplyDeleteThat's fantastic! We were actually thinking on our ride how great tandems would be for people who were blind - you'd get the experience of movement and fresh air in a way that wouldn't otherwise be possible. Good on your friend :)
Deletenice posting...nice share....,,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.akuiso.com/fitness-tips-for-a-killer-body/