Rebecca Jones Garcia and Paul Sanger

We're among that rare (or maybe not so rare) breed of tandem riders: a tandem team that is not a couple.

Our tandeming partnership started simply enough in the fall of 1998 with one simple goal: Seattle-to-Portland on a tandem. Paul, who had 6 STPs under his belt on a single, had long wanted to ride STP on a tandem and he found a willing (if not masochistic) training partner in Rebecca, who was adding cycling into the mix of her athletic pursuits. We mostly trained on our singles, but rented a used Cannondale tandem for about a dozen training rides and for the event itself. We were hooked on tandem cycling and set out to do the 1999 Trek Tri Island . . . and still loved tandem riding even after enduring a host of mechanical maladies on that ride (there's nothing quite like working your way through a bent "big" chain ring, a snapped chain, and a dragging disc brake to bond a team!)

We knew we wanted to continue riding a tandem, but renting the Cannondale was becoming impractical (and expensive!), so we started looking around for a bike to call our own and fell in love with the daVinci at Bike Expo 2000. With the blessing of Paul's wife, Lisa, the three of us became joint owners of our daVinci In2ition, which we picked up in the spring of 2000 in time to train for, and finish, STP 2000. We're still tickled by the funny looks we get when people see us cycling out of synch thanks to the daVinci's independent drivetrain, which lets the captain and stoker pedal and coast independently of each other.

Since then, we've ridden the tandem on countless rides in nearly every kind of weather. We completed a third STP on the tandem in 2001 and were all set to do the 2001 Courage Classic, but unfortunately (and understandably) the ride was cancelled due to the forest fires in the Leavenworth/Stevens Pass area last August. Undaunted, we're gearing up to tackle the 2002 Courage Classic on the tandem. This year's STP will see us on singles: Paul wants to do STP in one day on his single to celebrate his 10th consecutive STP, and Rebecca and her husband, Emilio, will take things a little easier on their singles by doing STP in two days.

We finished ride leader training in January 2002 (thanks Spencer!) and are looking forward to leading rides over on the west side of Puget Sound!

Rebecca and Emilio met in the weight room of the Kitsap YMCA and were married in February 2002. They live in Bremerton. Paul and Lisa, along with their children Eric and Megan, live in Port Orchard.

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