route

What I learnt from a tandem ride with my son

Andrew Ross

Andrew Ross

— 4 min read
Man and Boy standing in front of Portland Bill lighthouse. The lighthouse’s white with a red strip around the middle. The sun is shining
Portland Bill

Yesterday my son and I completed a 24 mile ride around Portland, visiting Portland Bill, Chisel Beach and Weymouth. It was a lovely, if very windy, ride mostly along cycle paths from Weymouth to Portland and then roads (with a few tracks through in for good fun) to Portland Bill. What was different about today’s ride was that it was on a tandem.

We hired the tandem from Jack at the very helpful Weymouth Bike Hire. For £28 we had access to a tandem for the full day which is great value. The price included two helmets, a bike lock and a phone holder so that we could use my phone for directions. I downloaded the Bike Map app to use for directions as there are a number of routes directly from Weymouth Bike Hire on the Bike Map app.

Here’s my top 10 take-aways from todays route:

  1. Tandems are heavy! Certainly the one that we were using felt more than double the weight of my bike! Not so bad when you’re heading downhill but when you’re going up you can feel it!
  2. I assumed, wrongly, that Portland would be reasonably flat - nope - it’s got a big hill in the middle of it which, when you take point 1 into account, is a real challenge! Heading South is a lot steeper than the return journey.
  3. Always check the roads before you leave - there’s a big one-way stretch in Chiswell which I hadn’t clocked. If you’re following the gpx route below don’t worry I’ve corrected it.
  4. Chilsel Beach and Portland are windy! We had a headwind heading across from Weymouth all the way to Portland Bill. Don’t worry, it’ll be a tailwind on the way back! Nope! The wind changed direction and it was a headwind on the way back as well!
  5. There appears to be a wonderful cycle-network of paths around Weymouth. We left the hire shop and had cycled all the way into Portland (8miles) without leaving a cycle-path. One of these was the Rodwell trail: “… a fully surfaced 2 mile (3.4km) linear route suitable for walkers, scooters, bicycles and mobility scooters. This route is signposted. It takes you past old station platforms and Sandsfoot Castle, with lovely views out across Portland Harbour towards Portland.” (Rodwell Trail)
  6. Cycling in perfect sync with someone on a tandem is tiring and difficult. Both Charlie and I have different cadences - Charlie likes to push out and stay in the big gears for the whole ride, I like to vary gears and try keep my cadence fairly even regardless of the gradient. On a tandem we had to find a middle ground - not always easy!
  7. It’s far too easy for the person at the back of the tandem to just rotate their feet and not actually ‘cycle’. Not that I’m accusing my son of that! There were a few points however when he did ask me, “Can you tell I’m not cycling”.
  8. Steering a tandem is a bit like steering a long vehicle. Squeezing through some gates straight into a 90º turn is a challenge. The first time I nearly amputated my son’s leg on a gate!
  9. Going off-road on a tandem is much harder than it looks - the route back down to Chisel Beach took us along some rutted and stoney tracks. Despite having front suspension and nice big knobbly tyres keeping your and my sons balance in check was hard work. Is was a relief when we hit a flat track again. We only ‘touched down’ once with our feet when my front wheel got caught in a rut.
  10. Despite all the challenges riding a tandem is great for some Dad and Son time. Being a 16 year old I don’t get to see much of my son - he’s normally in his bedroom on the computer or out with friends. On a tandem we were stuck together. No matter how much he wanted to get away he couldn’t - I asked questions and he had to answer them! We had a conversation!
Heading back towards Weymouth
Heading back towards Weymouth

There is a restaurant / cafe at Portland Bill for a mid-way feed. Be aware that the seagulls are very ‘confident’ here though and will swoop down and remove your burger (and bun!) if you are not watching it carefully. Not that I’m speaking from experience!

Sometimes it’s all too tiring!
Sometimes it’s all too tiring!

Stats

  • Total Distance: 24miles
  • Gravel Rating: 1 - mostly roads / cycle paths with occasional gravel
  • Weather Rating: 1 - Some exposed areas - be prepared
  • Refreshments: 5 - mixture of shops / pubs / cafes / coffee shops around the route
  • Child Friendly: 3 - suitable for confident riders only. Includes some busier roads.
  • Escape Routes: 4 - can be picked up at most points on the route if needed. Multiple public transport links.
  • Personal highlights on route: Rodwell Way, Portland Bill, Weymouth
  • GPX: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3147823?units=miles

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