One sunny day at Venice beach I suggested that riding bikes might be fun. Michael my cousin said that it sounded like a good idea. We decided that riding a tandem bike might be fun so we paid the man and we were on our way. At first we were wobbly but soon enough we began to even out and we were headed into what seemed like ‘smooth sailing’.

Little did we know, we would be regretting that bike ride for years to come.

The bike trail was relatively smooth so we were doing pretty well at first, until the first turn came. When Michael leaned to one side attempting to turn the bike the entire thing flipped over. That fall was not only painful but also extremely embarrassing. In addition, I was mad because Michael’s lanky legs protected him from falling but I collapsed, bike and all. The sting of my cuts, the heat of the sun and the uncomfortable bike seat made the bike ride even less enjoyable. After that fall we tried as hard as we could to avoid further embarrassment.

That didn’t work out too well.
For hours we trudged along while we were passed by each one of our family members, even my dad who had two babies on a cart hooked onto the back of his bike.
Riding this bike was like running to a destination you knew you would never reach. As we progressed slowly but surely each one of our family members rode far out of sight. Before we knew it we had all been separated. This misfortune had just added to a full day of disasters. As we stayed and waited, we could imagine the others progressing further and further wondering where we were. Also, since the bike was so large people kept asking us to move; the problem with that was that the bike was so hard to maneuver all we could do was apologize, we were going even more slowly than before. Even though the thought of catching up with the rest of our family was a shot in the dark, we decided to go on anyway.

Our idea for fun had quickly turned into a fierce battle. Back and forth we quarreled until the people around us couldn’t even bear to listen.
“Turn left, no! No! No!” I yelled at Michael

“I am!” He yelled back.

The bike was so hard to ride. If we didn’t peddle in complete unison the bike would stop and fall down. I f only one person was peddling they would have to peddle twice as hard. Also one of the seats was tilted so at least one of us always felt like we were falling. But worst of all, Michael had to be in the front so that he could steer; the problem with that is that Michael is 6’11’’ and I’m only 5’7’’. The whole day while Michael was able to enjoy a scenic bike path, I stared at my cousins back.

Eventually after the sun had set every one managed to meet up again. We returned our bikes, paid the man forty extra dollars for being late and went back home.

As you can imagine Michael and I learned a valuable lesson that day.





NEVER RIDE A TANDEM BIKE!