Iron Horse with Jeanette and Gary

Iron Horse with Jeanette and Gary
Our 1st Co-Motion Speedster Tandem. This tandem was bent down the middle during a crash with a delivery truck, June 2008. We replaced with the same model tandem but changed the color to pewter grey. Our Italian jerseys were cut off our bodies at the hospital. We need to go to Italy to get new ones???

Who are we???

There are many who thought that the Deters Tandem Team started with the purchase of our first tandem bicycle in 2003, that is a good assumption but if one looks at the legendary WALL in our family room you will find the correct answer.

It all started in 1972 when two people fell in love. Jeanette and I have tried to make it as a team supporting each other in all our endeavors. Heading a family of 6 children, their spouses and 10 grandchildren in addition to schooling, work, church and other activities has not been an easy task. But together we have brought different skills and traits into the marriage that have complemented each other, working for the same goals as a team. It has not been as easy as it may sound but it has certainly been rewarding.

We both have a love for cycling and in 2003 found that by combining our efforts as a team we were stronger than being individual cyclists (we have found this principle to be true in so many areas of our lives together). It is not uncommon for us to be riding on level ground and to find that we are going well over 20 mph. As most tandem cyclists will tell you, they still go slow up the hills. Gravity pulls down heavy with two riders but we are even tackling that as a team usually working out together.

In 2006, we participated in the Seattle-to-Portland (STP) ride which consists of mainly flat terrain of 206 miles. The ride pulls in almost 10,000 riders from all over the country. About 80% of the participants do the ride in 2 days, but Jeanette and I with the other 20% completed the ride in 1 long day. Often during the day we found themselves at the front of a paceline pulling more fit half-bike (single) cyclists behind us.

You will notice in the picture of the tandem bike, that on the frame cross-bars, just in front of each saddle, are couplers. This allows the bike frame to come apart into 3 separate pieces so that the entire bike will fit with frame, wheels, saddles, etc into 2 standard size suitcases. THIS BIKE WAS BUILT FOR TRAVEL, but up until now the bike is feeling underutilized. It has so far traveled the roads of Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado and Texas. It longs to ride the pavement of other states, even try some foreign soil AND NOW IT WILL!!

NEW ZEALAND here we come. From 12/26/2009 through 1/10/2010, Jeanette and I will take our iron (Cro-Moly steel) horse to ride the roads on the south island of New Zealand! Follow us as we record our adventure in words and pictures. Hopefully each night we will be able to add to this blog some of our thoughts (only the good ones) and pictures from the day. As you can read from the itinerary of the trip, we will cycle for 9 days and cover 590 miles with several rest days. We will have some demanding rides with an average of 65 miles/day. This does not bother us until we look at the 2nd week where we have 3 straight days of demanding riding of 46, 92 and 88 miles. This has us somewhat concerned.

Our complete itinerary for the trip is listed at the bottom of the blog.

Sunday, January 3, 2010


Sunday 1/3/2010
Today went different from what we had planned. We woke up to rain and heavy overcast skies. Our Milford Sound trip was cancelled which we and 5 other couples had reservations for. In fact all outdoor activities like gliding, bungy jumping, jet boats, and hang gliding was all cancelled due to the weather. We had looked up the address of the church and so we now jumped on the bus to see if we could find the address. Fortunately it was on the bus line and we were able to find it with little problem. The Queenstown Branch meets in a small building which is a funeral home during the week. They have secured another building which is being refurbished and will soon serve as their meeting house. They have few members and at today's meeting there was only 25 people of whom 10 where visitors, 8 from the states and 2 from Singapore (they were Americans also). It was fast and testimony meeting, the spirit was great and it was wonderful to be there with them. One Maori family travels almost 1 1/2 hours each Sunday to attend the branch. The Branch Presidency are wonderful people and appreciated having us there.


We came back to Queenstown on the bus and enjoyed the afternoon walking through all the shops. Presence of Christmas is still seen in the stores and we took a picture of this display showing Santa's sheep-deers.

The skies cleared up and this location is beautiful. This lakes water color is very turqouise next to shore and a deeper blue as you get out deeper. The pictures do not do it justice.

We had a gentleman take this picture for us and were surprised to see that we were included in it. He seemed to be pointing the camera off in the distance. We are having a great time together.

We came back to the hotel and took a much deserved nap. Our legs are still tired but not being on the bike for the day will hopefully heal the bottom somewhat.

Congratulations to Caleb with his first tooth and thanks to Kiley losing hers lol. The vest Jeanette wears was provided by the bike tour company to make us more visable and not get hit by a motor vehicle, so far it is working. The roads are narrow with about 18 inches maximum of shoulder. Cars are driving past us at highway speeds (80 - 100 kmph / 48 -60 mph). The roads are two lane and drivers will usually go around us if there is no oncoming traffic, but closer to cities, with more traffic, we have had some close experiences. We just close our eyes when they get too close (humor).

Posted by DetersTandem at 12:35 AM
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5 comments:

Bickmores said...

It looks like you guys had a nice relaxing day, I'm sure it was well deserved. We are heading back to Utah today, and back to school tomorrow, it should be a good semester but we are both a little nervous about the class load.
Continue working hard and enjoying the beautiful scenary (wish we could be there, maybe without the bike riding...) Love you guys!

Andrea and Brandon

January 3, 2010 at 11:09 AM
Melinda Macdonald said...

Well as you well know it is no surprise things do not always work out the way you think. But It sounds like you made it a great day. It was a wonderful day here we are teaching twenty one 9,10 & 11 year old's this year. Today was on heavenly father's plan. We played jeopardy which included scripture chase and a rousing final jeopardy. It was a fun time for all. Then watching football this afternoon. FYI you are not missing much Denver is letting Kansas City play with them which is crazy since they are so bad. The kids are ready for school tomorrow with the exception of Jessica who did it soggy toast today and two more pancakes. Still not solid food but we are getting better. Hope you booties are well rested for the next couple of days. Good luck tomorrow, and the kids thought the pictures of the rabbits were crazy. LOL. Love you guys be safe and dad, "KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL,EYES ON THE ROAD". That advise was given to me many moons ago by a wise man.

January 3, 2010 at 4:01 PM
Anonymous said...

What a great day it appears to have been, turned out a little wet, but once the clouds cleared you took some beautiful pictures. Very cool to be able to visit a branch.
The kids got to see your pictures today and asked if it was before the accident, I told them you were there now and they couldn't believe it. What memories they have, but it is trully impressive the recovery that the 2 of you have had. What a journey! They say they love you and hope you have a lot more down hills and tail winds. The especially loved the statue and mimic :-)
Hope your bums got some good rest today! My two bums head back to school tomorrow :-) and are not ready they would prefer the lounging and sleeping in or playing all day at Stough.
We love you guys and love the updates. Big hugs and kisses from the Carsons in SC.
love
Angela

January 3, 2010 at 5:29 PM
Deters said...

You guys look great. Glad to hear you turned a dreary morning into a wonderful and relaxing day. Sounds like you were very deserving of it. Cant wait to see all the pictures taken when you return. Also hope your bums got the rest they needed. Cant even imagine how mine would feel riding 46 to 67 miles a day for 5 straight days. Looks like distances are only going to get longer this coming week. I know you'll do great though. Was trying to figure out who the kiwi was standing next to mom at the lake, but realized it was dad.(the hat threw me off)Love you guys and looking forward to all your posts coming up this week.
Love,
Michael, Stefanie, and Caleb!!!!!!!!

January 3, 2010 at 9:17 PM
Deters said...

We are glad that you were able to get some rest today. Hopefully as you venture out your seats will feel a little better. That is very cool that you found a branch to attend church, what an experience. The sheep that you have in the picture look very similar to what Hanni has. And that is an awesome picture with you guys and the mountains in the background. What a beautiful country! Love you guys. Keep working towards that goal.

January 3, 2010 at 9:21 PM

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Where is New Zealand???

Where is New Zealand???

New Zealand - South Island

New Zealand - South Island

Tour Itinerary

(see detail maps below)

Day 0. Saturday 26th December 2009
Depart Denver - cross international date-line losing a day

Day 1. Monday 28th December 2009
Arrive Christchurch for transfer to your accommodation in Geraldine (180 km/ 114miles).

Day 2. Tuesday 29th December 2009
Geraldine to Tekapo (90km/ 55miles)
A demanding days cycling with two climbs of 300-400m[1000-1300ft] over the day and an altitude gain of 600m[2000ft] over the day.

Day 3. Wednesday 30th December 2009
Tekapo- Mount Cook (100km/ 61miles)
A steady days cycling with several short climbs over the day, but no significant gain in altitude.

Day 4. Thursday 31st December 2009
Mount Cook to Omarama [90km/ 55miles].
A reasonably gentle day’s cycle, heading along the canals and glacier fed Southern Lakes of the McKenzie Basin. Your route takes you over several smaller hills of 100-200m over the day, but it’s an overall gradual descent to you destination of Omarama.

Day 5. Friday 1st January 2010
Omarama to Cromwell (110km/ 67miles).
A demanding days cycling that starts with a gradual climb and then steep climb, as you head tover the Lindis Pass [990m/3250ft]. From Lindis Pass it’s a sharp descent and then a flat ride to the Cluden Hill before your final 200m/650ft climb prior to Tarras. From Tarras a flat ride to Cromwell.

Day 6. Saturday 2nd January 2010
Cromwell to Queenstown (75km/46miles).
Today’s cycle is a steady 75km to Queenstown, with a number of hill climbs of 50-100m over the day and an altitude gain of 100m between Cromwell & Queenstown. This route is very scenic as you cycle alongside the through spectacular Kawarau River and the historic goldmining town of Arrowtown; in addition there are a number of suggested stops along the way, including wineries, jet boating and bungy jumping.

Day 7. Sunday 3rd January 2010
Rest Day Queenstown
10 am church at Queenstown Branch - 1076 Frankton Road

Day 8. Monday 4th January 2010
Queenstown to Wanaka (75km/46miles).
A relatively short distance, but a demanding day’s cycling that starts with an increasingly steep climb as you head over the crown range [1080m/3600ft]. From the crown range it’s a long descent and then a flat ride to Wanaka.

Day 9. Tuesday 5th January 2010
Wanaka to Haast (150km/ 92miles).
A demanding days cycling that starts with a fairly gentle series of flat road and smaller climbs before a steep climb over the demanding Haast Pass. Once over the Haast Pass it’s a great descent [with one small further climb] before a flat ride to Haast township.

Day 10. Wednesday 6th January 2010
Haast to Franz Josef (145km/ 88miles)
A demanding days cycling in terms of distance and difficulty with a number of sharp climbs including a steep ascent on your way to Franz Josef Glacier township.

Day 11. Thursday 7th January 2010
Rest Day Franz Josef

Day 12. Friday 8th January 2010
Franz Josef to Hokitka (130km/ 80miles)
A longish day in terms of distance, which starts with an undulating ride along the coast that doesn’t involve any significant climbs, before a flat ride to finish.

Day 13. Saturday 9th January 2010
Hokitika to Christchurch (140km/ 86miles)
Shuttle

Day 14. Sunday 10th January 2010
Complete Tour/ Depart Christchurch return to Denver. Leave at noon and get home before 3 pm because of gaining a day crossing international date-line.