Evil Colorado Tandems of Doom

[[email protected]]

Won't someone think of the children?

Carl Fogel

***

" . . . a little more than one month after the Colorado State Patrol
nixed a proposed cap on the number of cyclists who could participate
in such rides. The cap, which was to be 2,500 riders, would have ended
the Elephant Rock ride in its current form, which on Sunday drew 6,703
cyclists, about as many as in the past three years. Three other events
also could have been affected."

"The State Patrol argued that the large rides had become too
dangerous, with cars and cyclists competing for space on the roads"

" . . . The five members of the Lawrence family from Colorado Springs
opted to do the 32-mile road course ... on the same bike. It's called
a quint bike - like a tandem, but times 2.5. On Sunday it held dad
Jim, mom Rebecca and daughters Victoria, Katherine and Stephanie, ages
9, 6 and 3, respectively, and on one downhill Sunday, the whole crew
hit close to 50 mph."

"Going uphill, they went considerably slower."

"'It's all about power-to- weight ratio, and right now we have a lot
of weight but not a lot of power yet,'" Jim said.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3899806

"It's a bicycle built for five for the Lawrence family of Colorado
Springs. Nearing the finish line at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
after their 32-mile Elephant Rock ride Sunday are, from the front, dad
Jim; Victoria, 9; Stephanie, 3; mom Rebecca; and Katherine, 6."

Picture:
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0605/20060605_121437_CD05_elephant2.jpg


Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9

Some bikes safer
Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5 news story.

It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride
and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family on their
five-passenger bike.

Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.

Doug Henninger, Denver

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3915405

 

[Werehatrack]

On Fri, 09 Jun 2006 23:20:31 -0600, [email protected] wrote:

>Won't someone think of the children?
>
>Carl Fogel
>
>***
>
>http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3899806
>
>"It's a bicycle built for five for the Lawrence family of Colorado
>Springs. Nearing the finish line at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
>after their 32-mile Elephant Rock ride Sunday are, from the front, dad
>Jim; Victoria, 9; Stephanie, 3; mom Rebecca; and Katherine, 6."
>
>Picture:
>http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0605/20060605_121437_CD05_elephant2.jpg
>
>
>Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
>
>Some bikes safer
>Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5 news story.
>
>It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride
>and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family on their
>five-passenger bike.
>
>Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
>hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
>downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
>freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
>five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
>screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>
>Doug Henninger, Denver
>
>http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3915405

If it had been stated that Mom was pregnant again, I would have been
reminded of the incident which caused Groucho Marx to lose his TV
series back in the late '50s or early '60s. Although I can recall
having seen the incident when it was broadcast live, it was not until
many years later that I came to understand why, on that fateful day,
the local channel never finished broadcasting the program.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 10 Jun 2006 07:05:24 GMT, Werehatrack
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Fri, 09 Jun 2006 23:20:31 -0600, [email protected] wrote:
>
>>Won't someone think of the children?
>>
>>Carl Fogel
>>
>>***
>>
>>http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3899806
>>
>>"It's a bicycle built for five for the Lawrence family of Colorado
>>Springs. Nearing the finish line at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
>>after their 32-mile Elephant Rock ride Sunday are, from the front, dad
>>Jim; Victoria, 9; Stephanie, 3; mom Rebecca; and Katherine, 6."
>>
>>Picture:
>>http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0605/20060605_121437_CD05_elephant2.jpg
>>
>>
>>Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
>>
>>Some bikes safer
>>Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5 news story.
>>
>>It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride
>>and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family on their
>>five-passenger bike.
>>
>>Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
>>hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
>>downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
>>freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
>>five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
>>screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>>
>>Doug Henninger, Denver
>>
>>http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3915405
>
>If it had been stated that Mom was pregnant again, I would have been
>reminded of the incident which caused Groucho Marx to lose his TV
>series back in the late '50s or early '60s. Although I can recall
>having seen the incident when it was broadcast live, it was not until
>many years later that I came to understand why, on that fateful day,
>the local channel never finished broadcasting the program.

Dear Werehatrack,

http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/groucho.htm

How times have changed. A family with three children is now considered
as large as one with anywhere from ten to thirty.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[Sorni]

Werehatrack wrote:

> If it had been stated that Mom was pregnant again, I would have been
> reminded of the incident which caused Groucho Marx to lose his TV
> series back in the late '50s or early '60s. Although I can recall
> having seen the incident when it was broadcast live, it was not until
> many years later that I came to understand why, on that fateful day,
> the local channel never finished broadcasting the program.

Did they ever air (re-air???) http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/newlywed.htm
?

 

[[email protected]]

[email protected] wrote:

> "The State Patrol argued that the large rides had become too
> dangerous, with cars and cyclists competing for space on the roads"

The mentality of "competing for space", isn't this a wonderful argument
for the Three Foot Law? (noting the inevitable outcome of MV/bicycle
"competition")

> Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
> hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
> downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
> freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
> five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
> screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>
> Doug Henninger, Denver

Three children, screaming? Earplugs for all! --D-y

 

[Earl Bollinger]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Won't someone think of the children?
>
> Carl Fogel
>
> ***
>
> " . . . a little more than one month after the Colorado State Patrol
> nixed a proposed cap on the number of cyclists who could participate
> in such rides. The cap, which was to be 2,500 riders, would have ended
> the Elephant Rock ride in its current form, which on Sunday drew 6,703
> cyclists, about as many as in the past three years. Three other events
> also could have been affected."
>
> "The State Patrol argued that the large rides had become too
> dangerous, with cars and cyclists competing for space on the roads"
>
> " . . . The five members of the Lawrence family from Colorado Springs
> opted to do the 32-mile road course ... on the same bike. It's called
> a quint bike - like a tandem, but times 2.5. On Sunday it held dad
> Jim, mom Rebecca and daughters Victoria, Katherine and Stephanie, ages
> 9, 6 and 3, respectively, and on one downhill Sunday, the whole crew
> hit close to 50 mph."
>
> "Going uphill, they went considerably slower."
>
> "'It's all about power-to- weight ratio, and right now we have a lot
> of weight but not a lot of power yet,'" Jim said.
>
> http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3899806
>
> "It's a bicycle built for five for the Lawrence family of Colorado
> Springs. Nearing the finish line at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
> after their 32-mile Elephant Rock ride Sunday are, from the front, dad
> Jim; Victoria, 9; Stephanie, 3; mom Rebecca; and Katherine, 6."
>
> Picture:
> http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0605/20060605_121437_CD05_elephant2.jpg
>
>
> Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
>
> Some bikes safer
> Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5 news story.
>
> It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride
> and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family on their
> five-passenger bike.
>
> Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
> hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
> downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
> freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
> five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
> screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>
> Doug Henninger, Denver
>
> http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3915405


Well I am very impressed. A quint with 700c wheels, and it can go 50mph
without any high speed wobbles too.
I wonder who made that bike, my hats off to them.

 

[[email protected]]

On Sat, 10 Jun 2006 07:10:27 -0500, "Earl Bollinger"
<[email protected]> wrote:

><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Won't someone think of the children?
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>>
>> ***
>>
>> " . . . a little more than one month after the Colorado State Patrol
>> nixed a proposed cap on the number of cyclists who could participate
>> in such rides. The cap, which was to be 2,500 riders, would have ended
>> the Elephant Rock ride in its current form, which on Sunday drew 6,703
>> cyclists, about as many as in the past three years. Three other events
>> also could have been affected."
>>
>> "The State Patrol argued that the large rides had become too
>> dangerous, with cars and cyclists competing for space on the roads"
>>
>> " . . . The five members of the Lawrence family from Colorado Springs
>> opted to do the 32-mile road course ... on the same bike. It's called
>> a quint bike - like a tandem, but times 2.5. On Sunday it held dad
>> Jim, mom Rebecca and daughters Victoria, Katherine and Stephanie, ages
>> 9, 6 and 3, respectively, and on one downhill Sunday, the whole crew
>> hit close to 50 mph."
>>
>> "Going uphill, they went considerably slower."
>>
>> "'It's all about power-to- weight ratio, and right now we have a lot
>> of weight but not a lot of power yet,'" Jim said.
>>
>> http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3899806
>>
>> "It's a bicycle built for five for the Lawrence family of Colorado
>> Springs. Nearing the finish line at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
>> after their 32-mile Elephant Rock ride Sunday are, from the front, dad
>> Jim; Victoria, 9; Stephanie, 3; mom Rebecca; and Katherine, 6."
>>
>> Picture:
>> http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0605/20060605_121437_CD05_elephant2.jpg
>>
>>
>> Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
>>
>> Some bikes safer
>> Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5 news story.
>>
>> It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride
>> and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family on their
>> five-passenger bike.
>>
>> Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
>> hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
>> downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
>> freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
>> five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
>> screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>>
>> Doug Henninger, Denver
>>
>> http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3915405
>
>
>Well I am very impressed. A quint with 700c wheels, and it can go 50mph
>without any high speed wobbles too.
>I wonder who made that bike, my hats off to them.

Dear Ed,

As I understand it, tandems are less likely to have high speed wobbles
and shimmy:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-47099.html

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[G.T.]

Werehatrack wrote:
> On Fri, 09 Jun 2006 23:20:31 -0600, [email protected] wrote:
>
>
>>Won't someone think of the children?
>>
>>Carl Fogel
>>
>>***
>>
>>http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3899806
>>
>>"It's a bicycle built for five for the Lawrence family of Colorado
>>Springs. Nearing the finish line at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
>>after their 32-mile Elephant Rock ride Sunday are, from the front, dad
>>Jim; Victoria, 9; Stephanie, 3; mom Rebecca; and Katherine, 6."
>>
>>Picture:
>>http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0605/20060605_121437_CD05_elephant2.jpg
>>
>>
>>Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
>>
>>Some bikes safer
>>Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5 news story.
>>
>>It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride
>>and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family on their
>>five-passenger bike.
>>
>>Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
>>hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
>>downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
>>freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
>>five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
>>screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>>
>>Doug Henninger, Denver
>>
>>http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3915405
>
>
> If it had been stated that Mom was pregnant again, I would have been
> reminded of the incident which caused Groucho Marx to lose his TV
> series back in the late '50s or early '60s. Although I can recall
> having seen the incident when it was broadcast live,

Were you at Woodstock, too? It was never broadcast live.

Greg
--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

 

[Mark]

> > Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
> > hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
> > downhill grade.

Sheesh, what a tool.


> I wonder who made that bike, my hats off to them.

Looks like a Mercian but the decal isn't clear in the newspaper photo.
CoMotion builds some pretty cool >2 place tandems.

http://www.co-motion.com/triquad+.html

Mark

 

[Mark Janeba]

Mark wrote:

>>>Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
>>>hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
>>>downhill grade.
>
>
> Sheesh, what a tool.
>
>
>
>>I wonder who made that bike, my hats off to them.
>
>
> Looks like a Mercian but the decal isn't clear in the newspaper photo.
> CoMotion builds some pretty cool >2 place tandems.

It's a Meridian; if you look closely, it's quite clear in the photo.

Meridian is/was a tandem builder run by ex-Santana employees. It's hard
to tell if they still exist or not; there was a rumor that they're
defunct, but their web page is still up and running:
http://www.meridianbike.com/
....and email doesn't seem to bounce...

Mark

 

[Mark]

Mark Janeba wrote:
>
> It's a Meridian; if you look closely, it's quite clear in the photo.

Yep - thanks for the fix.

Mark

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

[email protected] wrote:
> Won't someone think of the children?
>
> Carl Fogel
>
> ***
>
> " . . . a little more than one month after the Colorado State Patrol
> nixed a proposed cap on the number of cyclists who could participate
> in such rides. The cap, which was to be 2,500 riders, would have ended
> the Elephant Rock ride in its current form, which on Sunday drew 6,703
> cyclists, about as many as in the past three years. Three other events
> also could have been affected."
>
> "The State Patrol argued that the large rides had become too
> dangerous, with cars and cyclists competing for space on the roads"
>
> " . . . The five members of the Lawrence family from Colorado Springs
> opted to do the 32-mile road course ... on the same bike. It's called
> a quint bike - like a tandem, but times 2.5. On Sunday it held dad
> Jim, mom Rebecca and daughters Victoria, Katherine and Stephanie, ages
> 9, 6 and 3, respectively, and on one downhill Sunday, the whole crew
> hit close to 50 mph."
>
> "Going uphill, they went considerably slower."
>
> "'It's all about power-to- weight ratio, and right now we have a lot
> of weight but not a lot of power yet,'" Jim said.
>
> http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3899806
>
> "It's a bicycle built for five for the Lawrence family of Colorado
> Springs. Nearing the finish line at the Douglas County Fairgrounds
> after their 32-mile Elephant Rock ride Sunday are, from the front, dad
> Jim; Victoria, 9; Stephanie, 3; mom Rebecca; and Katherine, 6."
>
> Picture:
> http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0605/20060605_121437_CD05_elephant2.jpg
>
>
> Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
>
> Some bikes safer
> Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5 news story.
>
> It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride
> and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family on their
> five-passenger bike.
>
> Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
> hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
> downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a runaway
> freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid. A
> five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under aboard
> screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>

Not surprised. Most in Denver would like to see the Elephant Rock
'ride' be a ride in Chevy tahoes, Ford Excursions and Caddy Escalades...

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote:

> [email protected] wrote:
> > Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
> >
> > Some bikes safer Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5
> > news story.
> >
> > It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock
> > Ride and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family
> > on their five-passenger bike.
> >
> > Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
> > hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on
> > a downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a
> > runaway freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid.
> > A five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under
> > aboard screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>
> Not surprised. Most in Denver would like to see the Elephant Rock
> 'ride' be a ride in Chevy tahoes, Ford Excursions and Caddy
> Escalades...

The irony, of course, being that the real oversized hazards *are* the
Tahoes, Excursions and Escalades careening at high speeds downhill,
usually barely in control as the drivers talk on their cell phones, sip
lattes, play with the iPod, and turn around form the driver's seat to
talk to their spoiled, unruly children.

 

[[email protected]]

On Sun, 11 Jun 2006 09:59:08 -0500, Tim McNamara
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> [email protected] wrote:
>> > Letters to the Editor, Denver Post June 9
>> >
>> > Some bikes safer Re: "Cyclists embrace rules of the road," June 5
>> > news story.
>> >
>> > It is ironic that the Post article about Sunday's Elephant Rock
>> > Ride and its emphasis on safety also featured a photo of a family
>> > on their five-passenger bike.
>> >
>> > Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
>> > hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on
>> > a downhill grade. Their weight and bulk create the momentum of a
>> > runaway freight train, which the rest of the riders have to avoid.
>> > A five-passenger behemoth with three children ages 10 and under
>> > aboard screaming at 50 mph presents an extreme danger.
>>
>> Not surprised. Most in Denver would like to see the Elephant Rock
>> 'ride' be a ride in Chevy tahoes, Ford Excursions and Caddy
>> Escalades...
>
>The irony, of course, being that the real oversized hazards *are* the
>Tahoes, Excursions and Escalades careening at high speeds downhill,
>usually barely in control as the drivers talk on their cell phones, sip
>lattes, play with the iPod, and turn around form the driver's seat to
>talk to their spoiled, unruly children.

Dear Peter & Tim,

The Tahoes, Excusions, and Escalades would all get along, but someone
would write a letter to the editor about how dangerous this car is to
everyone else on the downhills:

http://www.a1limobus.com/stretchlimos_image002.jpg

Cheers,

Caaaaaaaaarl Fogel

 

[Robert]

Mark wrote:
>>>Any cyclist who has shared the road with tandem bicycles knows the
>>>hazard presented by over-sized machines careening at high speeds on a
>>>downhill grade.
>
>
> Sheesh, what a tool.
>
>
>
>>I wonder who made that bike, my hats off to them.
>
>
> Looks like a Mercian but the decal isn't clear in the newspaper photo.
> CoMotion builds some pretty cool >2 place tandems.
>

.... and look at the extra chainset for the middle rider. This is great ;-)

/Robert