The Tandem Club

2020 International Rally Preliminary Information
Details on booking the campsite and for the rally will follow later.

Details of the Easter and National 2020 Tandem Club Rallies will appear here shortly.

We are always looking for ways to raise awareness among potential new members who don't know there is a Tandem Club. 

 In the latest copy of the TCJ are 5 Club stickers in a white envelope.  Please put these on your tandem (on all your tandems if you have more than one).  People admiring your tandem out on the road are sure to spot them and ask about the Club. This is your chance to tell them about what we do and get them interested.

If you need more stickers please get in touch.

Thank you for helping to raise awareness of the Tandem Club amongst potential new members.

Peter Weeks Publicity Officer

We have been working on making the website more mobile phone friendly. Its not complete yet, but hopefully most pages should display better on these devices.

Len and Gill Hampson organised their first ride for the group in June which started and finished at the Lime Kiln Inn near Long Sutton.The route wound around the quiet lanes of South Somerset taking the group through beautiful countryside and pretty villages. There was a stop half way round at Hambridge village green where the riders were treated to homemade cake provided by the organisers. The riders then returned to the Lime Kiln Inn for Sunday lunch, drinks and general socializing.

When I first learned of the Dartmoor Way I decided it was a ride I'd like to complete. When I asked at our Christmas meal if anyone would like to join us, I was surprised and overwhelmed at the response.
After looking at the Sustrans route I soon realised that some alterations would be needed to make it Tandem friendly, after all we weren't going to be riding mountain bikes!
So, on the 18th May 10 Tandems and 3 solo bikes left Buckfastleigh station for the first stage of our 2 day ride, the weather was better than anticipated, so that was a bonus. After riding up through the Teign Valley we had a pleasant lunch at the Teign House Inn and then a further stop at Whiddon Down. After climbing up through the extremely picturesque villages at Skaigh and Belstone we joined the Granite way at Okehampton Station for the final leg to Lydford.
We all enjoyed an evening meal together at the Castle Inn where Karl and Lisa set us a quiz.
On Sunday we headed off to the west side of the moor and enjoyed fantastic views and bright sunshine. We had a longer than anticipated lunch stop at Clearbrook due to staffing problems. We then tackled the challenging climbs around the south side of the moor before we found ourselves back at Buckfastleigh. 
I'm pleased to report that we all made it back and I think we all felt a great sense of achievement, after riding over 90 miles with just over 8,500 feet of ascent.
Thanks for your help Karl and Lisa and thanks to all of you that joined us on the ride, it really wouldn't have been the same without you.
Andy and Anita.
 

Mark and Liz organised the October Ride where 8 tandems and 3 solos met at Escot Country House. Escot has very large grounds with a maze and a variety of captive animals -they include red squirrels, European otters, wolves and the Scottish wildcat- some are on a plan to be reintroduced to the wild.
Our route was fairly sparse on steep hills for Devon, passing the hamlets of Fairmile and Coombelake then past Kings School at Ottery St Mary. We then went to Tipton St John where we crossed the river Otter. Now on the east side, we went through the particularly pretty village of Harpford before crossing the main Exeter to Sidmouth road. The route then took us to Otterton Mill for a coffee stop. Beavers have been seen on the river Otter just upstream from this village in previous years but have been more elusive this summer. 
We then cycled on down to the sea at Budleigh Salterton where the sun came out for our photos .It is a great spot for swimming , but a bit cold these last few weeks and had we more time ,we might have visited the creamery at the town end of Budleigh beach ,with a huge range of ice creams. Our lunch booking at the “Lamb and Flag “in Ottery was, however more pressing.
We took a fairly similar route back up the Otter to the pub in the town. They did us proud with prompt service for our pre- booked meals. Ed, local to Ottery told us it’s a pub famous for serving Christmas dinner to people on their own, following a first dinner funded by a local lady. 
Back to Escot for the end of the ride -this one a 25 mile trip. The day started with fantastic sunshine and then was more mixed .For the first week of October, we were very lucky to have no significant rain and sunshine at the seaside at Budleigh.
Mark and Liz Nicholson
 

Clive and Emma organised the July ride for the Taunton Group. Eight tandems and three solos met at the Red Brick Building in Glastonbury to ride across the Somerset Levels.
We set off on the National Cycle Network lanes to Ashcott, Shapwick and Catcott before turning north at Cossington.
We stayed on the lanes passing the peat farms to East Huntspill and then onto a coffee and cake stop at Rich’s Cider Farm. The clouds had cleared and we were all able to enjoy the sunshine at the outside tables.
The return journey took us across the lanes towards Westhay Moor. We all declined the option to stop again at Sweets tearooms and continued through Godney and back to our start point for a lengthy lunch.