John Tolhurst's gift to me

[Doug Burton]

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.

 

[Mark B]

That's just way cool! The smiles speak for themselves!

Mark

 

[Peder Torgersen]

"He's a pro in an hour and a half."



Most young people learn faster than some of us that have finished school many years ago.

I hope you have many nice rides together.

Peder

 

[oldrotator]

Congratulations Doug,

Tom certainly picked up on that bike faster than I did last week , but then there is that slight age difference :shock:

Even though that short test ride had me wondering what on earth I was getting into, I bit the bullet today and ordered a Quest 559. Wish me luck!

Len

 

[defjack]

That's Really neet Doug. I have almost 500 miles on my Quest 451 its a great bike for everyone. Jack

 

[Doug Burton]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for all the nice comments. We went out on a short one tonight (confirming the "sleep on it and your brain will sort it all out overnight" theory). Tom made one start-out bobble, said "okay, I have to relearn a bit," and then took off again like he'd been riding for years. He absolutely waxed my tail coming up the hill for home. There was no catching him.

Len, It was great to talk to you the other night, glad you liked the bike. Obviously, if you have questions, just let me know. Based on how quickly you were progressing, you'll be riding great in no time. These young folks, I'll tell ya...

Mark, I've missed riding with the kid since my daughter left for school. I'm proud of mine like you (she's a biotech major and has already cloned a gene and is working as a research assistant - I'm saving for her PhD... ) So now I got a new riding buddy. Good stuff. He came up and asked me to go riding tonight... This is mighty cool!

I'm really liking the Quest. It fits me perfectly, there's no wasted motion or metal, and it's wonderfully efficient with the road wheels and 1 inch tires. And it can play sprinter or Sherpa, just by installing or removing the rear rack.

Ride well, folks...

Doug

 

[Mark B]

Riding with your kid is good stuff. My oldest (son) and I rode many thousands of miles together. We cycled in Mexico, did many centuries and a multi state self supported tour, all before his 12th birthday. If not for those thousands of miles, we would have had a tough go in the rebellious teenage years. My little Cruzer runs hot and cold with riding. It's always enjoyable when she goes.

Mark