For those of you who don’t know, let me introduce you to my friends Paul and Kathie. They have two daughters, Luci and Mara. Mara, the older daughter, lives with Cerebral Palsy. Mara has limited motor skills, and relies on a power wheelchair to get around; her bicycling experiences have been limited to riding in a trailer.
Hase, a German bicycle manufacturer, makes a tandem designed with a recumbent on the front and a “normal” bike on the back.
The first time I saw a Hase Pino tandem was several years ago, (maybe 5, I don’t really remember) but I do remember I was biking on the Cedar Lake Trail, right by Louisiana Ave. I met a couple by the stop sign, and two things went through my head. The first was, “Wow! That solves sweaty back syndrome!” (One ongoing tandem joke is many tandem Stokers/Co-pilots loose interest after a while, because all they have to look at is the Captain’s sweaty back). My second thought, and likely the more important one, “This was the perfect bike for Mara.” I mentioned the bike to Paul, it was old news to him, and he proceeded to tell me all about it… in great detail…
Fast Forward
Two things happened earlier this month:
First, Mara actually got to demo one of these fancy tandems for the first time. As you can see from the pictures, the day was a hit and got lots of smiles. The tandem has enough adjustments that both Paul and Kathie should be able to ride it with Mara.
Second, Paul has found a used Hase Pino tandem for sale-we just need to help make it happen.
My goal is to raise $3000 for the purchase of this tandem. $1700 gets us the used Hase Pino (a new one would be $5500). An additional $1300 will be needed to make necessary adaptations for Mara-pedals, a 5-point harness, etc.
My favorite part will be when Mara shouts “He’s not pedaling back there!” (It’s the old tandem joke, that the person in the back isn’t pedaling, usually it’s, “She’s not pedaling back there!”)
Thank you for your generosity.