Doug Burton
Zen MBB Master
I live the life of Riley, because all the new Cruzbikes come through my garage for final fettling and development (helping develop the Quest's fitting into the Samsonite F'Lite case, for example.
It's great, but that's not the gift I'm talking about.
I've been wanting my son to ride with me for many years now, but I couldn't get him interested. I bought a $3300 Vision tandem for he and I to ride on charity rides, but that happened one time, and really didn't work out. I bought him a Quetzal semi-recumbent, which he rode, but not far and not often.
Next weekend, my wife and I are riding the Tour de Cure in Hampton, Va. On the way home from dinner, my wife asked Tom if he wanted to ride with us. He said "yes."
Okay, great. What have I got he can ride 30 miles? The Quetzal weighs a million pounds (it's made of Uranium) and I couldn't ride it 30 miles if you made me. "What about the Quest?" my wife asked. Great again, we should have been practicing this week when we were off for spring break. Besides, I had built him a Tiara conversion 3 years gao, and he wasn't ever confident enough to ride it. I was very disappointed. But I know better than to push stuff. What I wanted was for he and I to have the great riding relationship my daughter and I had for several years before she left for college.
So, with much trepidation and fear of being again disappointed, I fitted the Q451 to him this evening as twilight was coming on. It fit him quite well, seat height perfect, TFT not completely to the short end. "Okay, so far so good."
So we started with the "coast around the cul de sac with your feet down" deal. 35 minutes later, he was riding nearly as well as me, and we set off on a neighborhood ride that turned into a 5-miler. Uphill, downhill, through the grass at the school park, over ruts, down the narrow curvy sidewalk connecting us to the next neighborhood, uphill starts from zero, gliding turns.
He's a pro in an hour and a half.
Thanks very much, John. You've given me something I've been trying to get for a long time, and had just about given up on.
I don't think I can convey what it really means to me to have this guy as a riding buddy.
It's great, but that's not the gift I'm talking about.
I've been wanting my son to ride with me for many years now, but I couldn't get him interested. I bought a $3300 Vision tandem for he and I to ride on charity rides, but that happened one time, and really didn't work out. I bought him a Quetzal semi-recumbent, which he rode, but not far and not often.
Next weekend, my wife and I are riding the Tour de Cure in Hampton, Va. On the way home from dinner, my wife asked Tom if he wanted to ride with us. He said "yes."
Okay, great. What have I got he can ride 30 miles? The Quetzal weighs a million pounds (it's made of Uranium) and I couldn't ride it 30 miles if you made me. "What about the Quest?" my wife asked. Great again, we should have been practicing this week when we were off for spring break. Besides, I had built him a Tiara conversion 3 years gao, and he wasn't ever confident enough to ride it. I was very disappointed. But I know better than to push stuff. What I wanted was for he and I to have the great riding relationship my daughter and I had for several years before she left for college.
So, with much trepidation and fear of being again disappointed, I fitted the Q451 to him this evening as twilight was coming on. It fit him quite well, seat height perfect, TFT not completely to the short end. "Okay, so far so good."
So we started with the "coast around the cul de sac with your feet down" deal. 35 minutes later, he was riding nearly as well as me, and we set off on a neighborhood ride that turned into a 5-miler. Uphill, downhill, through the grass at the school park, over ruts, down the narrow curvy sidewalk connecting us to the next neighborhood, uphill starts from zero, gliding turns.
He's a pro in an hour and a half.
Thanks very much, John. You've given me something I've been trying to get for a long time, and had just about given up on.
I don't think I can convey what it really means to me to have this guy as a riding buddy.