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Hi, I'm Felicity Johnston; I'm a tandem cyclist. I'm Stephanie Morton, and I'm Felicity's
pilot on the tandem.
So basically Felicity's vision-impaired so we are on one big bike; uhm...
I'm the pilot at the front so
I compare it to being a pilot for a fighter jet. Uhm, we're on this small track,
we've got a big machine; we've gotta wizz it around the corners;
We've gotta have that synchronicity of working together, and uhm... very high speeds as well, so
it's good fun. We basically we're both the engine. We both have uhm, we both have pedals that
we have to
and cranks that are connected. Uhm, Steph has probably the harder job because she
needs to steer as well; but all I need to concentrate on is
making sure that I mirror exactly what Steph is doing and that synchronicity's
really, really important. So when Steph leans to the left for example I need to
lean to the left with her. It's a bit like if you've ridden on a motorbike for example and
you've been a pillion, you need to make sure that you're leaning with that person; and sometimes it
can be a wild ride especially in particular if we're sprinting against another
tandem; it's a bit like uhm, being on a bucking bronco because we'll be zigging and zagging up
and down the track and I just need to have that inherit trust to make sure
that I, I hold onto those bars really tight and just mirror whatever Steph's doing.
And that's the whole point of tandem; you're just working as one pair.
You know once you get it right you can just, you feel it perfectly around the track;
you just fly through the corners and you hammer down the straights and you know when you're
getting it right.
I think, uhm...
our preparation has been excellent. We, we often train, uhm... on the bike as well
as off the bike together. Uhm...So we're not always on the tandem together; we're
often on 'ergo' or do fixed bike training.
We also receive a lot of support from SASI in strength and conditioning; even down to a sports
psychologist, so our
preparation's been fantastic and we couldn't have asked for you know
anything better as a team.