Shane Hudson moved to Cochrane during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.

After moving to Cochrane, Hudson wanted to meet some new people, so being an avid mountain biker he joined Bike Cochrane and became a volunteer leading group rides.

Not owning a road bike handcuffed Hudson's ability to get out riding as much as he'd like.

Ross Watson, a longtime Cochrane resident, was looking for a new tandem biking partner coming out of the pandemic. Being visually impaired Watson was unable to ride by himself.

Watson also joined Bike Cochrane and asked around to see if anyone was interested in riding with him.

With both of them looking to ride, the two got connected through Bike Cochrane, and began to meet up with a few others for group rides in and around Cochrane.

Hudson says that he wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to ride with Ross if it wasn't for Bike Cochrane.

"Without bike Cochrane and Ross, I wouldn't matter, right. It's pretty much that simple because Ross wouldn't know that I exist, and I wouldn't know that he existed, right. So, having opportunities to connect through a larger group even though the larger group realistically won't, ever get together, you know having them connect in lots of different ways and advocating cycling right here. I think it's healing the community from COVID."

Riding tandem, however, isn't just as "simple as getting up and putting your clothes on" says Hudson.

There's a lot of teamwork involved in riding tandem says Watson.

"Each area on the bike has a particular responsibility. Obviously, the captain (front position) has the brakes, the gear shifting, and the steering. What the stoker (rear position) needs to do is basically keep balance on the bike, so you're obviously a little bit more of a position to add power to the pedals because you're very fixed in the back as opposed to, you know, having the steering, but the other thing is I need to keep feeling the bike I have to move exactly with the captain, the captain's making the turns the captain is controlling the bike, and he can control it better. If I completely mirror his balance."

This need to be synchronized means communication is key between tandem partners says Hudson.

"When I'm going to stand, or when I'm going to stop pedaling because the pedals are interlinked, right. So, if I suddenly stop pedaling or he wants to stop pedaling, we have to communicate that so that we don't just hurt each other right, because I could stand and suddenly the bike becomes a lot twitchier because now you're swaying. Or I could stop pedaling and then that could potentially hurt a thigh or hamstrings." 

Once the tandem gets uncomfortable they become one says Hudson.

"After a while, you anticipate when the shift is going to be made. Stuff like that there are procedures to start and stop because you're clipped in, so you both have to clip in and out at the same time and whatnot, but you get to the point where each person on the bike knows what the other person is doing."

The next integral part of a good tandem ride is the group around you says Hudson.

"It also helps to be riding with a group, to have somebody flag for you, go ahead and you know to see if you can cut a corner instead of stopping or be behind you and tell you when there are cars coming so there's just more communication, but that in my mind is a good thing because, you know, cycling can be a really good social event."

Hudson says that he enjoys being able to get out and ride as part of a community, including more people in cycling, and improving cycling conditions in and around Cochrane.

"My volunteering is, I'm leading a group ride, which means I'm not really volunteering, I'm riding a bike, I'm doing something that I would be doing anyway. I'm just including more people in doing it and outside of volunteering there is just variety so people can join Bike Cochrane and just ride."

If you are interested in joining Bike Cochrane you can become a member online, find them out in the community, or find them on social media.