After eighteen days on “Shank’s Mare,” we are once again flying down the road on “Path,” our recumbent tandem bicycle.

Here is a brief recap. We were in Lake Havasu City and headed for the grocery store with the cargo trailer in tow. I let the front end of the tandem drop off the curb into the crosswalk. I had the brake fairly tight and had one foot on the sidewalk. The left chain-stay on the front suspension broke right at the brake boss. To get back we loaded the tire and the front end of the bicycle in the cargo trailer and walked it home.

I stripped the old parts; the dropouts, the suspension shock, the brake bosses and the pivot assemblies off of the old suspension and proceeded to build a new stronger version. I carefully painted it three coats of green paint and gave it an extra day to dry. I was so proud of my new stronger version until I assembled it on the bicycle. I suddenly remembered why the old version was asymmetrical and had no brace on the right side. The chain needed to go right through where the new stronger braces were placed.

I carefully charted out where the chain needed to be, and with saws and files I removed a section of one brace and removed the other brace entirely. I had to strengthen the one brace with a section of flat iron and braze everything back into place.

This morning I put it all back together and we rode around the campground loop twice just to see if things are workable. Hooray! Everything is working in perfect harmony. I wasn’t so confident as to paint the piece before assembly, so now I must take it back apart and repaint it.

It doesn’t look like rain for the next few days, so perhaps we will ride the shiny metal version for a few days to celebrate the event.

We have just finished up a week with friends at the Escapee, Chapter 32 Rally at Pass Mountain Regional Park in Apache Junction, Arizona. We hiked many of the park trails including one hike of over nine miles. Now we have moved across the valley to White Tanks Mountain Regional Park just to the west of Surprise, Arizona. The reoccurring rain this winter has created a lush green desert all around us. The Saguaros are fat with water, the Ocotillo cacti are leafing out and the desert plants are starting to bloom.