TANDEM Diversity
And speaking of excellent tandeming in our area, we are blessed to have nearby the Centennial Trail, a rails to trails that runs for 30 gorgeous miles between Nakashima Barn near Arlington, all the way south to Snohomish. We've taken advantage of the 60 mile round trip ride a couple of times.
And I don't want to fail to mention that, just across the border in British Columbia, the tandeming is almost as good as here in NW Washington. Here we are testing out the Boundary Bay Dike Trail. We can access this from our home. It's just a short 20 mile tandem ride from our house, across the border, to Mud Bay Park where this 12.5 mile trail begins.
Sunset on the Volga River in Russia.
2016 - The Tandem Year In Review
For us personally the year was bittersweet; we both lost parents this year. Chris' mom passed away in January and Mark's dad in April. Both had lived full, long, and happy lives, but nonetheless we still feel their absence profoundly.
For Tandem Diversity it was a very good year. We helped 7 couples begin their tandem journey together, 6 of them on tandems purchased from our shop. We sold our used quad. And we took 2 single bike orders that will be delivered in 2017. On top of all that we had a good retail year in tandem accessories. And we helped to staff the Co-Motion booth at the Seattle Bike Expo; that's on our agenda for 2017 again.
As always, though, it was the tandeming and travel that made our year most fulfilling for us. Here are a few photos that look back on our year.
In 2017 be sure to let us know what we can do to help you begin or continue your tandem journey. Just drop an email to mark@tandemdiversity.com.
Thanks and now enjoy a brief photo tour of our year (not necessarily in chronological order):
The scenery is stunning, traffic is light, our B&B lodging is elegant, and dining selections are many and excellent.
Happy stoker!
Here we are (on the left) with 2 other tandem couples on the Chuckanut Classic in Whatcom County. We also rode the Tour de Whatcom earlier in the year. Our area has excellent tandem riding. If you come to the Pacific Northwest, let us show you some great tandeming. Remember we rent tandems too!
And there are good eats along the trail. Here we are about to dig in at the Junkyard Grill in Arlington, near the end of our 60 miles.
And a happy group!
Our San Juan tours are small, intimate tours, limited to 2 or 3 couples, all inclusive, and personal. Contact us to find out more about this once in a lifetime tandem experience.
Trail's end is in Tsawassen, where you can board a BC ferry for the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island near Victoria, or Nanaimo, further up Vancouver Island.
Here's our wonderful group at the rainy start in Cornwall, and........
And while we're on the subject of the San Juan Islands, I'll mention that a small group of 3 tandem couples made a weekend of the Tour de Lopez, staying at our favorite inn on the island for a couple of nights. There were good rides, lots of people, and once again excellent dining. Great fun! Let's do it again!
Believe it or not, one of the major travel highlights of our year was a non-bike trip. Yes, you read that correctly! We joined Overseas Adventure Travel for a tour of the Baltics, beginning in Vilnius, Lithuania and ending in St. Petersburg Russia. This photo is of the old town in Vilnius. In St. Petersburg we boarded the MS Volga Dream for a cruise to Moscow, followed by several days touring there. Yes, we survived a month without our tandem! It was a truly wonderful experience.
Orcas Island is now an integral part of our all B&B tandem itinerary in the islands.
It was raining at the start in Penzance, but mostly the weather was good for our 17 days of riding and one rest day.
But without a doubt, the best tandem experience of the year was the month we spent in the UK. First we visited London and filming sites from Downton Abbey (we're big fans), and then we were off to Penzance to ride from Lands End to John o' Groats. Over 1000 miles through the English, Welch, and Scottish countryside. Superb!
And still on the subject of eye popping tandem rides close to us, the ride up Barlow Pass is becoming a regular annual event for us. This 38 mile round trip climbs gently up to the summit of the pass in Snohomish County, on a road that has almost no cars because the surface turns to gravel at the top. We have a quick picnic snack at the summit and then coast the gentle 19 miles back down. Scenery is incomparable.
At the sunny finish in Scotland. We loved these folks, all of them! Some will remain dear friends for life, we think.
And we finished off the year riding the Lynden lighted Christmas parade on a rainy and bone chillingly cold night. But we enjoyed it and were treated to warm drinks and dinner at friends, with many from our local cycling group. A great way to send the old year off.
So, you can see it was mostly a good year for us. We hope it was for you as well. We wish you a healthy and happy 2017 with many safe and fun tandem miles and, as always, please let us know how we can help in beginning or continuing your tandem journey.
Riding along Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island.
We added Orcas Island to our itinerary for our signature San Juan Islands Tour. This is a spectacular island for tandeming, especially the ride up (and down) Mt. Constitution.