-^-for posterity-^-

when you have two people riding on one bicycle you have too much weight on the back tire. if you turn too quickly it will slide out from underneath you. when you pedal through rough terrain you will feel all of the bumps.

today we got a special seat put on our bicycles. we already had a small, flat rack behind the seat the driver sits on but today we swapped our metal grates for black padding. now someone can ride behind us in style and comfort.

i went to play football with a professor in the art department. he is an amiable fellow and has flowing hair with some grey streaks. he hopped on the back of my bicycle and we were off.

it’s difficult to start off with two people. first you stagger back and forth while you build up speed to achieve balance. this takes a bit and the person on the back leads off with both legs spread out like training wheels. the next stage is building enough speed to feel comfortable. this takes quite a bit of leg power and the person behind you in unbearably close to you. they have to hold on to your stomach or hips for security. the last stage requires that you maneuver through traffic. the weight on the back of the bike makes everything feel lethargic. when you turn you always over-lean. when you stop, you never give yourself enough room. it’s as if you’ve gained a few hundred pounds since the last time you cycled.

when i was a child growing up in my secure, suburban enclave, i never though that two people could ride on one bicycle. everyone needed their own bicycle to navigate the state-build cycle trails that looped around our house. you needed your own bike because you wanted to be the master of your own fate. if you wanted to jump a curb or ride over some mound of dirt, so be it. now i see that bicycles are built for two even if they don’t have two sets of pedals. bicycles are a cheap, relatively safe alternative to our put-put combustion lives.