“So what do you think, are you up for a tandem bike ride?” my husband asks over the phone.
“Sure”, I say, “what time and who’s all going?”
“I’m not sure but he has four tandem bikes so my guess is that’s it’s a few couples” he replies.
And with that, my tandem bike adventure begins!
And it's more than a few couples...
It's 18 couples!
It turns out that my cousin has been part of a local tandem bike group that has grown over the last 15 years. It started out with a few couples and has grown into a bit of “a thing”. A few times a summer a group of tandem bike riders get together and bike all around town stopping at parks, bars, and restaurants along the way.
I thought tandem biking would be like this...
But it was more like this!
Which is why I had some takeaways from our biking adventure.
Lesson #1
Sometimes feeling scared and not in control can be okay.
Riding on a tandem bike with my husband felt like a never ending trust fall. It took quite a while for me to relax and just roll with it (pun intended) because he was in the front seat. I had to let go of seeing what was up ahead and learn how to react to his movements and peddling. When he started or stopped peddling, so did I… whether I wanted to or not. It felt scary to not be in control!
Letting go of control is like improv– you need to work with and add to your partner’s contributions. You know, “Yes, and” the situation. Which is a bit like having a conversation with someone. You need to work with them and add to the topic being discussed. And being able to read facial expressions and body language cues is a tremendous help in being successful with any type of interaction.
Lesson #2
It's important to see new things and be reminded of the beauty of difference.
I’ve lived in my small city of 67,000 my entire life and yet there were stops along the way of places I’d never been to before. I was truly amazed. Like the park with the circle of stones near the college campus that appears to be set up as a makeshift classroom.
And there were many people in our group and at our various stops that I hadn’t met before, all with very diverse viewpoints on everything from life to politics. Living at home with my family during covid insulated me from the diversity of thoughts that seemed to occur more often in my life before the lockdown.
The tandem bike ride experience was a great reminder to me that “We’re all crazy different” (one of my grandpa’s favorite sayings).
I take this quote to mean that everyone has their own quirks so you better know how to relate, connect and communicate with all kinds! This, of course, requires a solid foundation in body language and people skills, along with a dash of finesse.
Lesson #3
A tandem bike group is an attention grabber.
People really notice a group of 36 middle-aged people on tandem bikes so be prepared for lots of staring and honking.
What do these lessons mean for you? Well, I'd suggest that you...
Get out there and try something new and use your people skills in the process!
Your co-pilot, (who may or may not have had a sore butt the day after her tandem bike ride),
P.S.
What new and fun activities have you tried lately?
Let me know! I’m always up for trying new things and would love a little inspiration!