The Angel Tandem: Frequenly Asked Questions (FAQ)

After 4,358km of cycling south down the eastern side of Aotearoa / NZ we decided it was time to compile a list of questions that we are frequently asked by the many people who we met during our ride south. We enjoy these diversions from pedalling and thought that it may be helpful to readers who have not have the opportunity to quiz us. So in no particular order here we go:

Does the RA have brakes: No. I understand that some tandems have hub brakes that can be operated by the stoker / Rear Admiral (RA). We don’t, and having a brake operated by a person on the rear is disaster in waiting, especially if the person on the back seat loses confidence in the Grunt on the Front (GOTF) on a downhill run. The unexpected application of brakes, at the wrong time, would result in a very unhappy ending. We have hand signals that the RA can relay to the GOTF. A slide of the hand down the back means “I want you to slow down” a slap of the hand on the back adds “NOW”. We use hand signals because the rush of wind in the ears / hearing aids on a downhill run makes verbal commands more challenging.

Can the RA steer: Similar answer to the previous question. Indepedent steering would be extremely dangerous. The RA simply follows the lead of the GOTF. If he leans left or right so to does the RA. If the RA starts taking a counter position this creates steering problems as can the RA shuffling around on the back seat unexpectedly. Again, if the RA wants some posterior relief she taps the GOTF twice on the back. He stops pedalling and braces for a little movement on the back.

Can the RA put her feet up: The front and rear pedals are rotated in sync as they are connected by a timing chain. So, she could put her feet up but they would need to be well clear of the rotating pedals and the resulting position may not be particularly comfortable. Easier just to go with flow but not add as much power if you are getting a little tired. Alternatively, you tell the GOTF to increase the power level.

Who is the boss? The overall boss is the Rear Admiral (RA), that is reflected in her job title. However, each position on the bike has clerly defined responsibilities both during a ride and when off the bike but touring. During the ride the GOTF is responsible for bike handling including bike placement in busier traffic, power management and unexpected rerouting and, bike maintenance between rides. The RA is responsible for navigation, videography, signalling our intended bike movements, supplying hydration & fuel to the riders, spotting approaching danger from behind (mostly big trucks), public relations (waving to passing motorists and others who toot, wave or yell out) and charity promotion both during and between rides. We share the social media updating and responses which can keep us busy between rides.Bob is mainly involved in PR. As a celebrity he just needs to be ready to look cool and important when he makes a public appearance. Despite his claim that he is the brains trust of the ride, he tends to hide away in his home on the handlebar bag and has increasingly taken to riding in his wet weather gear to stay dust and dirt free. After his bath in Twizel he has decided that he hates both water and dust.

You must have a good marriage? So far it has held out but we put that down to having our clearly defined roles, a plan for each day & week and because our respective positions on the bike don’t change with each ride. This reduces the scope for niggles to arise about how the other is managing the role. If one of us makes a mistake we tend to take responsibility for it and apologise. Mistakes usually involve issues around losing sync with our pedalling or the GOTF failing to spot and avoid an obstacle. The potential for stress arises when things go wrong, as they can do. Getting sick, awful weather conditions or other unforeseen events. We both have to be prepared to be a bit flexible when things do not go according to plan but that is no different to any adventure.

Do you take turns on the front? No. The reason we decided on a tandem is because Ruth is of smaller stature and found managing a full sized bike challenging even when they did not have the extra weight associated with an ebike. Apart from having no desire to be on the front, she is not tall enough to manage the front of the tandem.

Can you ride the bike without a person on the back? Yes you can. It can be tricky on gravel, especially without any luggage on the rack as there is not enough weight to gain traction on loose metal. But other than that, it is just a case of pushing a slightly heavier bike along without a second set of legs.

How far do you ride each day? Our average daily distance is 65km but the actual daily ride distances vary between 40 and 103km. The primary determining factor on the daily distances is accommodation options.

Battery range? How long is a piece of string? There are a lot of factors that impact on your battery range on any given day. The key drags on our range are: hills, weight we have on the bike, how much pedal assist we use, temperature (less range on a cold day) and do we have a head or tail wind. Riding on rolling country on sealed roads with all of our gear and with moderate winds and riding in eco mode we will get over 150+km. When everything is against us, i.e., very hilly, cold, strong head wind and gravel surfaces, we will struggle to get 100km. So a big variation and we have had a couple of instances of the latter ‘perfect storm’ where we have only just managed to get to our destination without running out of battery. Bosch have a very good range assistant but unfortunately a tandem is not included as on of the bike types. I have used the cargo bike setting as that allows me to increase the weight above that for a standard bike. I trade off 50% of the RAs weight which compensates for the additional 50% of the manual power that she adds. Seems to work but the limitation of the range assistant is that it assumes that you use a particular riding mode (eco, tour, etc) for the entire trip. In reality, we mix it up and our riding style tends to be mostly ‘eco’ but using ‘tour’ and even ‘sport’ occasionally when the conditions get tough, such as a particularly steep gradient.

Can you pedal the bike without using the motor? Yes you can and on those days where we know that our pedal assist range could well be exhausted, we will turn the motor off when it is not difficult to manually power the bike along. However, those days where you are testing your range limits also tend to be the ones where it is tough going to maually pedal the bike along.

Do you still have to pedal when you have a motor? Yes you do. The bike does not have a throttle so in order to move it you have to rotate the pedals. Riding in eco mode the motor provides between 45-50% of the power for the bike, we provide the rest.

Where do you stay? We stay in a mix of accommodation from camping through to camp cabins, airbnbs, motels, bed and breakfasts and hotels. It is a case of what is available in our intended destinations – sometimes we have little choise, hence the tent has been carried where camping is the only option. Fortunately that is not very often.

What about clothes? We keep them to a bare minimum. We each have a small packing cube that allows us to squeeze in a couple of sets of basic clothes. All up our cubes weigh in at around 2kg when full, plus we have the clothes we are wearing on the bike and our rain gear which is also readily available on each ride. If we do not wear an item regularly then it is not in the packing cube.

Do you ride in the rain? Unless it is of monsoon volumes and the roads are flooding, then yes. If there is a possibility of flooding we will stay put.

Do you make bookings? Because we need to charge the bike and in many location our options are very limited we book. We included a reserve / rest day in each week so that in the event of our plans being disrupted we only have to shuffle a few days around. So far this approach has worked. On our 4,000km plus on the journey so far we have had two instances where we needed to stay put for an extra day.

Do you have a plan – how long did that take? We had to plan out our route and then come up with daily destinations for the entire ride and then determine what the accommodation options were. Then we had to complete bookings. The process started a year ahead of our proposed departure date. Spreadsheets are really useful for this exercise while we use Komoot to plan out an overall route and then to break each ride down into a daily ride. We also use Komoot for our daily navigation and use the ‘collections’ function to group the rides into digestible weekly routes.

Do you have any support during your ride? Not with regard to the actual riding and carting of gear. We do all of that ourselves. The only support we use is ensuring that someone knows where we are and that we are ok. During our ride several contacts are able to follow our route on Komoot but as that only works where there is mobile reception we also use a satellite communicator called Zoleo which drops a breadcrumb on the map. We can also contact our ‘home base’ via text message using this, plus it is also a locator beacon for emergency services.

How long will it take? The ride will take around sixteen weeks. We started mid October 24 and will finish mid-March 25. We are current having a one month break (mid-Dec to Mid Jan) to recharge the batteries before resuming our journey north from Bluff back to Kerikeri.

Who are the Bald Angels? They focus on makinga difference to the lives of vulnerable children here in Te tai Tokerau / The Far North. You can read more about them here.

How old are you? To old! We are both 72.

Where are you from? We currently live in Kerikeri in The Far North. Having now ridden to Invercargill, we realise that it is a long way from most of the rest of Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Where are you riding to? We started in Kerikeri on 12 October 2024 and arrived in Invercargill on 16 December 2024. Our southbound route took us south following a more easterly route. On 22 January we will resume our journey from Bluff but this time heading north back to Kerikeri following a more westerly route. You can view our route on Komoot at this link.

Are you insane? Probably. However, the ride so far has been a revelation on our lack of knowledge about our own country and the people who live here. We have found that people are keen to engage with us particularly because we are doing something so different. Rather than racing through the countryside in a motor vehicle with the destination as the focus and the bits in between a blur, we find the ride each day is the immersion in our countryside and people and the destination more of a place to sleep and rest up. We love this part of the journey. The physical side can be challenging, especially for Ruth so the experiences, the feedback, the amazing encouragement that we receive from our followers and random contacts, along with the trickle of donations, are what really helps to motivate us each morning to don the riding gear and keep going. We never know what new experiences we are going to encounter.

Did you name the bike Moustache? No. That is actually the brand name. It is a french company. The bikes are available in NZ through selected dealers. If you want to find out if there is a dealer near you contact e-bike Studio in Queenstown.

Who is Bob? Bob stands for Bear on Bike and he is an Angel Bear from the Bald Angels. Bob was seconded to The Angel Tandem as a chaperone for the two septuagenarians riding the bike. He has taken on rather human like characteristics since joining the team and has developed a big personality (and a bit of a big head). He now writes his own ‘letters from the tandem’ which are his observations on how the team is really going. Bob is by far the most popular member of our team.