On March 5, 2008, Talmadge took delivery of his new purple Santana Team Niobium tandem road bike. As we stood in the parking lot at Santana Tandem, we all wondered whether Talmadge would be capable of riding this bike. A few months before, Dan Christensen, our friend and past triathlon guide for Talmadge, had gone to work for Santana. Dan was motivated to get this bike built for Talmadge with as little modification as possible. Dan said, “Talmadge is not suicidal. If you tell him to hold onto the handlebars or he will hit the pavement, he will hold onto the handlebars!” Before Dan went to work for Santana, we had discussed many seating modification options—none of which were “normal” for a road bike.

On that day, Amber Ortega, Talmadge’s support person, and I stood on both sides of Talmadge. We helped him lift one leg over the bar and straddle the bike. We slid his feet into the bike shoes which were clipped onto the pedals, and hoisted his butt on the skinny road seat. Dan was in position to ride and began pedaling. Talmadge did, indeed, hold onto the handlebars as Dan had predicted. On his face, there was a look of fear, but in his eyes, there was a look of pride.

Talmadge’s learning curve on this bike has been short. Since Dan offered to ride twice each week, Talmadge has had the opportunity for significant riding time that he ordinarily would not have had. At first, not being used to the road seat, he would stand up. Once—only once—he was riding on top of the back wheel (and ripped his nice fleece leggings). A few times he would clip out of his pedals and find himself straddling the bar, which was not comfortable either! Now he mounts by steadying himself on the handlebars and lifts his own leg over the bar. We put his foot in one shoe, and he stands up to seat himself.

From riding a tandem recumbent with a cushy seat, a seatbelt, and no handlebars to riding this road bike has been an amazing journey. Thank you, Challenged Athletes Foundation for awarding grant money for this bike, and thank you, Dan and Santana for believing that Talmadge could ride a road tandem.