Feedback from Borrowers: pre 2014

For details of more recent Borrowers, click here.

Henry from Shillingford

Henry and his Mum, Helen, from Oxfordshire collected the Gloucestershire based Thorn Kiddyback in mid December 2013. Due to bad weather they have not ridden it much, however Helen wrote a few months afterwards, "Thank you so much for the loan of the tandem. It is wonderful for Henry to experience the sensation and fun of riding a bike. He really loves the tandem and thinks it is really fantastic. With the change in the weather we are hoping to use the bike daily." They returned it in May 2014.

Jake from Caldy

Jake and his family collected the Wirral based Bully Prowler from Brian in the middle of December 2013.

Tom from Edinburgh

Tom and his family picked up one of the Scotland based Viking Valhalla tandems at the very end of November 2013. Steven, our Helper, wrote, "Tom had a go on the tandem with Bob, after an initial hesitation from Tom where he got off the bike before Bob could get going. He then got back on quite happily and off they went, after a couple of short rides round the car park, starting and stopping with no problems. Tom was delighted and I am confident he will cycle well with Bob and his mum Lisa." They returned it in May 2014 and Steve wrote on our Facebook site, "Tom has enjoyed the experience so much he is off to buy his own tandem ... brilliant outcome, this is what it's all about."

Iona from Ealing

Iona's husband, Stephen, collected at the end of November 2013 one of the Dawes Galaxy tandems based with Colin in Surrey. Here she is after a ride in late March 2014.

Connor from Carmarthenshire

Connor and his Foster parents collected the Bath based Thorn Kiddyback tandem from Martin in the second half of November 2013. They wrote soon after, "I just wanted to let you know that we cycled three miles with Connor yesterday and he loved it. We are so thrilled, thank you so much for the loan of this bike. We really weren’t sure whether it would work so investing in one, it would have been a big gamble, having the loan of this bike for a few months is brill- thank you again so much,". They returned it after a few months and swapped it for the Bath based Adams large tag-along. Unfortunatley that work out so well for them.

Carrie from Cam

Carrie and her friend Ewan have borrowed a Dursley based Viking Salerno tandem again. They have had it this time from the second half of November 2013 to mid-February 2014 and enjoyed at least one ride along the canal at Slimbridge. A photo of her and Ewan can be found later on this page.

Charlie from Eastbourne

Zoe borrowed one of our backrests so that she can use it for her son, Charlie, on their tag-along bike. Unfortunately he and the backrest were too heavy for their tag-along so she returned it.

Thomas from Derby

Thomas and his family collected the Leicester based red Orbita tandem in
mid-November 2013 from Peter. Peter wrote, "They had a quick practice and ride before heading home with it and seemed to get used to riding a tandem very quickly." Agela reported in mid-December that they have riden at Carsington Water.

Mabli from Dolgellau

Mabli and her family collected the Chester based U+1 tandem in mid-November 2013. They wrote in November, "Here is a photo of our daughter Mabli on the tandem. We had a fantastic time today, she rode ten miles and thoroughly enjoyed every second. We are definitely going to buy our own this spring. Thank you for the opportunity to try one out, it means so much as we will now be able to cycle anywhere as a family!!!!

Chandni from West London

Chandni's friend collected the Harpenden based Dawes Kickback from Ceri in mid-November 2013. She didn't ride it as much as she had hoped. becasue she had a lack of stokers. Here is Chandni returning the tandem to Ceri in late April 2014.

Georgia from Doncaster

Georgia and her family collected the Gargrave based KHS tandem in
early November 2013. Mum Claire wrote in mid December, "Unfortunately Georgia has had to spend some time in hospital, but she's now back to her normal self and fully enjoying the tandem!!! We have been out on it most weekends, she knows how to keep her mum fit!!! Luckily the weather has remained really mild!! The tandem is a great way of giving Georgia some normality, feeling proud of herself, and actually going out together as a family!! Thank you" They returned it in 2014.

Jamie from Shrewsbury

Partially sighted Jamie and his friend, Carl, collected the Cheshire based Dawes Super Galaxy in early November 2013. They borrowed it again in 2014 from new Helper, Ray, who is in Shropshire.

Lauren from Gloucester

Lauren and her Dad are the third borrowers of the Dursley based Claud Butler Majestic tandem. She is Registered Blind and was looking forward to riding it with her University friends. They collected it at the end of October 2013. In April 2014 she reported that she'd just received her own Dawes tandem for her 21st Birthday and returned the Claud Butler to us..

Bronwyn from the Highlands

Bronwyn and her family were the third borrowers of Freya, the Highland tandem.
They had from the middle of October 2013 to 2014. Peta, Bronwyn's Mum, wrote a week after receiving the tandem that they "have had lots of rides. Bronwyn's confidence on the road is so good now that she knows someone else is "being her eyes". Thanks so much everyone."

Alex from Fetcham

Alex and his family collected one of the Surrey based Viking tandems from Colin in October 2013. More details and a photo are to follow.

Emily from Surbiton

Emily and her family collected one of the Surrey based Viking tandems from Colin in October 2013. Her Mum, Shelley, reported in March 2013, "Thanks, we have really enjoyed using the tandem a lot, Emily in particular, so much so that Emily has insisted that we ride it to school and back every day. We have also managed lots of rides to local parks and into Surbiton and Kingston".

Aiden from Wimbledon

Aiden and his family have borrowed a tandem for the second time. This time it is one of the Surrey based Dawes Galaxies. They collected it in October 2013. In mid December his Mum April updated with us that they hadn't yet been out on it yet, due to house building works. Unfortunately they didn't ride it as they said that the tandem was too big for them.

Janette from Bebington

Janette was born with one hand, is a Grandmother of ten and had not riden a bike before she collecteded the Burley Samba from Brian in mid-October 2013. Brian says, "Today was one of those days that makes it all worthwhile for me as a Helper for Charlotte's Tandems. She was given a lift to my house to collect the tandem, sent her friend away saying, "I'm going to ride this home" It's 9 miles away. Here she is, riding off into the sunset." They returned it at the end of January 2014.

Claire from Burbage

Marie has borrowed the Blue Orbita tandem so that she can take her mother, Claire, who is blind, for rides. It is Peter in Leicester's first hire, so thanks to him. They say that they have had a wobbly start but are really enjoying riding it, as Claire hasn't been on a bike for 20 years.

Isobel from Old Sodbury

Isobel and her Dad, Andrew, collected the Dursley based Orbit Gemini in the middle of October 2013. Andrew wrote on our Facebook site, "It has taken two months but finally Isobel wanted to go the bike. Spent all day telling everyone at school she would. Then kept screaming, 'I did it Daddy, I did it Sophie...Mummy...Nanny'." They returned it in 2014.

Rory from Gerards Cross

Rory and his Mum Laura collected one of the Herpenden tandems from Ceri.
Unfortunately Rory hasn't wanted to ride it, as Laura expains, ".... my husband and older son Callum have been riding it to try to show Rory, but we have all tried to balance Rory and encourage him but he will not ride it. He has loved riding 3 wheelers in the past and I do not want to force him because if he has a bad experience with anything he never forgets and we are getting to the stage when even talking about going out to try again is causing great anxiety.
We are so sorry not to have been successful and think you provide a wonderful service to allow people to try the bikes and hope you are not too disappointed with us.. "
No, we are not dissapointed and it seems like they have had a good go, haven't they?

Owen from Widnes

Owen's family collected one of the Cheshire based tag-alongs from Andy in the middle of October 2013. Owen is very excited and was really looking forward to ride it.

Toby from Sale

Toby and his Dad, Ian, were the first borrowers of the brand new Cheshire based Viking Saratoga tandem. They collected it from Brian in the middle of October 2013. It was bought using part of the grant from the Nationwide Staff Union. Toby said that the tandem is "Epic".

David from Reading

David is the second borrower of the Southampton based "Howe" Tandem Trike. He has had it since the middle of October 2013. He and his brother are used to riding a two wheeled tandem but wanted to try a tandem trike. They have found trike very difficult to ride because the frame flexes. They will soldier on and see if they get used to it. See a video of them in action here.

Henry from Cirencester

Henry's Dad, Robin, collected the Dursley based Viking Saratoga in mid October 2013. He wrote the day after, "It has been widely admired by the family and Henry ‘loves it’. After getting some extra air in the tyres and a quick circuit of the cul-de-sac on my own, the school run this morning was interesting, as we got used to the pedals – but the real bonus is that it feels so much more stable than the tag along, and it is swift!." They returned it in March 2014.

Adie from Cambridge

Adie and his Mum, Michelle, are the first borrowers of the Harpenden based Ammaco Tag-along. They have had it since the start of October 2013. It was bought with part of a grant from the Nationwide Staff Union. Michelle says on our Facebook site, "Had a very wobbly ride on Sunday. Good practice!"

Callum from Milton Keynes

Callum and his Mum, Teresa, collected the Harpenden based Viking Valhalla at the start of October 2013. Unfortunately, no photo was supplied.

Euros from Wrexham

Euros and his parents collected the Dursley based Bob Jackson tandem trike at the start of October 2013. They planned to ride along the canals near them. They returned it in 2014 to our new Shropshire Helper, Ray, but did not let Alex know how they got on with it.

Jan from the Isle of Wight

Jan and his parents collected the south coast based Globetrotter tandem in late September 2014. They have loved riding it.

Ethan from Lostock

Here are Ethan and his Mum, Anita, on the Cheshire based Viking Valhalla. They collected it at the end of September 2013 after seeing us advertised at an Information Day. Thanks to Brian for arranging it and to Andy and Clare for advertising us. They returned it in 2014.

Kieran from Sudbury

Kieran and his Dad, Terry, borrowed of the North Essex based Motobecane tandem. They collected it in mid September 2013 and returned it in 2014. Terry says on our Facebook group, "We picked up the tandem Sunday afternoon (thanks to Richard or his help and advice) and after a slightly wobbly start we were *zooming* round a nearby field. Kieran laughing the whole time."
Click here for a video of Kieran's first ever bike ride.
They have since bought their own tandem.

Menna from Macclesfield

Menna and her parents, Mair and David, borrowed the Mercian tandem. Mair collected it from Dursley in mid September 2013, so that they could ride Coast to Coast two days later. Menna is in the British Disabled Ski Team and is Visually Impaired.
Here they are at the end of their ride, Menna's Mum, Mair wrote, "The Coast to Coast went really . Well, Menna and Dave came home shattered... The tandem was amazing, and they had a great time cycling on it... Thank you so much again for letting us use it . Menna is going to send a card to you to be passed on to the lovely lady who donated the bike". They returned it to Brian in Cheshire it at the end of January 2014.

Oscar from Bath

Oscar and Fergus collected the Bath based Claud Butler tandem from Martin in mid-September 2013. Unfortunatley they didn't enjoy riding it.

Florence from Stroud

Florence and her Dad, Andrew, borrowed the Dursley based Richmond tandem from
the middle of September to the middle of November 2013. Andrew said that "... she did well riding it but looked a bit concerned riding it." They had previously borrowed a tandem trike and later borrowed another tandem, see above.

Olliver from Ellesmere Port

Oliver and his Dad, Tim, collected one of the Cheshire based tag-alongs in the middle of September 2013. In the middle of October Tim wrote, "Oliver is progressing with his confidence, but he still isn't 100% happy, but we are not defeated and will keep on doing 'practising rides' :-D". They returned it in December 2013.

Alice from Berkshire

Alice and her Mum, Bernie, borrowed of one of the Gloucestershie based Viking Salerno tandems. They picked it up in mid-September 2013, but unfortunately due to Bernie being ill and the wet weather, they didn't ride it much. They returned it to Colin in Surrey in April 2014.

Ewan from Brighton

Ewan and his family borrowed the SE based Wakefield tandem. Thanks to Jim for arranging it. They collected it in September 2013 and returned it in 2014.

Wayne from the East Midlands

Wayne is very tall and blind. He and his friend Chris borrowed our huge
Cannondale road bike to take part in a Land's End to Twickenham ride. More details can be found on our Facebook, in the Rugby Paper and in the Wooden Spoon. He writes, "Having use of the bike allowed me to take part in an event that I would never have been able to do as a solo rider as it would simply have been too dangerous. People thought that taking a tandem over the hills that we did would have been too big a task, but we did it. It was exceptionally hard, both physically and mentally demanding, but I guess it shows what can be possible if you put your mind to it. I hope that other people in a similar position to me might be tempted to give something like this a try."

Kaitlin from Coventry

Kaitlin and her Mum, Natalie, borrowed the Midlands based Sierra Schwinn from early September 2013 to mid-May 2014 from Nigel. Despite many requests, they did did supply us with a photo or details on how they got on with it.

Jamie from Thornbury

Jamie and his friends at Charlotte's new school are able to go cycling on a tandem. Here he is with Francis. The tandem is the Pashley Prestige that was donated to us in August 2013.

Hilary from Chippenham

Hilary and Andre are the current borrowers of the Bath based Sun tandem. They collected it from Martin in early September 2013. Hilary has ME so the tandem allows them to have long bike rides, even when she is tired. More details can be found on our Facebook site.

Joe from Gloucester

Joe and his Dad, Jeremy, borrowered of one of the Dursley based Viking Salerno tandems. They collected it at the start of September 2013. Joe looked as though he is going to really enjoy it. They returned it at the end of January 2014.

David from Scholar Green, Cheshire

Here are David and his Mum, Claire, on the Cheshire based Bully Prowler tandem, which they collected at the end of August 2013. Claire writes, "Thank you for the loan. We are enjoying it so much!". Thanks to Brian for arranging it.

Vicki from Inverness

Vicki and her husband, Michael, were the second borrowers of "Freya" the Highland based Viking Valhalla. They collected it from Tedi in mid August 2013 and it was Tedi's first hire, so thanks to her. Vicki said when she had it, "Hi, thanks again for the loan of the tandem, we love it. We are definately going to save our pennies and buy one".
They returned it in mid October and they did buy their own tandem, a replica of Freya.

Charlie from Cheltenham

Charlie and his parents are the current borrowers of one of the Gloucestershire based Viking Salerno tandems. They collected it in mid August and returned it in mid November 2013. Mum, Caroline, wrote, "Charlie has loved it and the balance problems that we had worried about haven’t been a problem at all!" "We love the tandem and have been on loads of rides together as a family. We have done almost a daily early evening ride locally and then we have been on two longer rides along bike paths." "It has enabled us to do something which we have never been able to enjoy as a family before. Charlie has really enjoyed it and having just come back from holiday in Spain, he says ola to all other cyclists we pass! Charlie loves being outside, but our travel limits have always been limited by how far he could tolerate to walk or scooter, so this has meant we can go so much further without worrying about how we get back if he changes his mind! He is very comfortable on the tandem and turns around to check where the rest of us are, or takes a hand off the handlebars to wave at people."

Matthew from Paris

Ted borrowed one of our Surrey based Dawes Galaxy tandems on behalf of his son Matthew.
Matthew has Retinitis Pigmentasa and is registered blind. As part of a fundraising event they took part in a 350+ mile tandem cycle challenge around several northern towns and cities, starting and finishing in Coventry. Matthew lives in Paris so they had little time to practice together. Their event started in early Sept 2013 and lasted for one week.
Ted writes more on our Facebook site about the trip and about meeting Lady Godiva.

Sue from Barnet

Sue and her friend Paul were the first borrowers of the Hertfordshire based Globetrotter tandem after it was done up. Unfortunately no photo was received.

Andrew from Bristol

Andy and his friend Daniel from Bristol borrowed the Dursley based Mercian during August 2013. They took it with friends on a cycling holiday in France.
Daniel wrote, "We had a great time - clocked up 170 miles in three days, which wasn't bad considering we were fully loaded and went into the very hilly National Park area, south of Morlaix."

Florence from Stroud

Florence and her family are the first borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Bob Jackson tandem tricycle. They collected it in early August 2013. Dad, Andrew wrote, "I must say that I found the tandem very difficult to ride. Flori was great and actually after a couple of times really got the hang of things and started peddling..... it was great having it to see if Flori would get on with it, so it more than served its purpose which is the main thing. It also isn't hard to carry someone on the back which is a good thing to find out. Many thanks for helping us with it". They swapped it for the two wheeled road based Richmond tandem in mid September 2013.

Ze Soek from Kingston, London

Ze Soek and his dad, Se Jo Oh, are the current borrowers of one of the London based Dawes Galaxy tandems. They collected it at the start of August 2013 from Colin. They had fun on it over the summer.

Suzie from Reading

Suzie and her Mum, Elizabeth, had our Surrey based Viking Saratoga tandem from Colin from early August to October 2013. The day after returning the tandem she had enough confidence to ride her own bike.

Joseph from York

Joseph and his Dad, Andrew, collected the Gargrave based Unicorn tandem at the start of August 2013. Unfortunatley due to Andrew's hip injury, Joseph hasn't riden it as much as they wanted.

Georgia from Steyning

Georgia and her Mum, Suzanne, collected one of our Surrey based tandems from Colin at the start of August 2013.
Suzanne wrote, "We cannot thank you enough for the loan of it. We had a fantastic time exploring the cycle routes surrounding our village and into the South Downs.
Georgia loved it and got told quite often to stop pedalling so fast. It was wonderful that we could enjoy cycling again as a family. It was also quite a talking point with other cyclists.
Thanks again, hope to be able to borrow one again from you in the near future."

Adam from Stroud

Adam and his parents collected the Dursley based Dawes Discovery tandem in early August 2013. It is the third tandem that they have borrowed from us. He rides it to the Allsorts Youth Group each week.

Max from Germany

Max and his dad Detlev from Germany holidayed in Scotland in August 2013. They borrowed a KHS tandem, which is being loaned from Morag in Dunbar. They really enjoyed their holiday and have a tandem in Germany, if anyone would like like to borrow it if you are over there. Do you think that they could carry anymore stuff on the tandem?

Ioan from Bath

Ioan and his family have borrowed a tandem for the second time. This time it is the Bath based red Thorn Kiddyback. See our Facebook sites for a couple of videos of him in action.

Olivia from Henley

The south coast based Viking Timberwolf was collected by Olivia and her Mum, Caroline, from Henley in July 2013. Caroline wrote in June 2014, "We were unsure if Olivia would get on to a tandem as she refused to get on a tag along for many years which is why we were so keen to “try it” before investing in one. For the first time since child seats on the back of bikes we have been able to take Olivia cycling with her siblings. Our favourite trip has been to cycle along the river to Henley playground and back, stopping for an ice cream on the way!!"

Gwen from Macclesfield

Gwen, an MS Sufferer, is the current borrower of the Cheshire based Columbia tandem. She collected it at the end of July 2013. Here she is with her husband David on the Columbia tandem on the Middlewood Way traversing the viaduct in
Bollington, Cheshire

Gemma from Chester

Gemma, an amputee, is the current borrower of the Cheshire based Raleigh U+1, Charlotte's original tandem. She collected it at the end of July 2013.

Teddy from Preston

Here are Teddy and his Mum, Sarah, on the Gargrave based KHS tandem. They collected it at the end of July 2013. Sarah said that Teddy "smiled all the way home" and that "he chuckled riding all the way round the park this afternoon. Thanks so much for making this possible".

Dick from Bromley

Here are Dick and friends with our London based Konnekt2 tandem. He borrowed the London based Wakefield tandem in July 2013 and later swapped it back for the Konnekt2.

Jack from the South East

Jack and his partner have borrowed the Thorn from Jim. Jack writes, "It's a great bike and once your used to the foot clips it is great!" and also that they ".. use the tandem to cycle in Richmond Park and we also go down the canal on it!" Bobbie "..is a great rider and very good at
communicating while on the tandem."

Brian from Devon

Brian and his wife collected the Southampton based "Howe" tandem tricycle from Richard at the end of July 2013. Unfortunately they got a puncture on their first ride. They handed it onto the next borrower in October 2013. Unfortunately no photo was received.

Jacob from Birmingham

Jacob and his family are the second borrowers of the West Midlands based Canyon trailer bike. They collected it in mid July 2013. Here is Jacob finally plucking up courage to ride it at the end of May 2014.

Alexandra from Sunderland

Alexandra and her family are the second borrowers of the North-East based Viking TimberTrail tandem. They collected it from Mike in mid July 2013. Her Mum, Nicky, writes, "Alexandra is loving it- far, far more than we had anticipated. It was lovely to all go out as a family, something we have never done on bikes before. Alexandra has just asked can we go out again today - so I think it was a big hit!"

Ellie from Nailsworth

Ellie and her parents are the current borrowers of the Dursley based Globetrotter. They borrowed it in mid July until mid November 2013. Ellie had developed knee problems and her Physio' suggested tandem riding. During the summer she cycled on it from London to Paris. She is now walking a lot better and in less pain.

Bradley from Witney

Bradley and his parents are the first borrowers of the Dursley based Viking Salerno which was bought secondhand with the grant from Rolls Royce, Filton. They collected it in mid July 2013. Unfortunately he didn't want to ride it, so it was passed onto the next borrower.

Eleanor from Middlewich

Eleanor and her family have borrowed a tandem for the second time from us. This time it is the Burley Samba and they collected it from Brian in mid July 2013. Mum, Sarah, wrote on our Facebook site in the middle of October, "On the tandem Eleanor has been able to experience the speed she can only dream about on her trike. I don't apologise for repeating myself....the tandem has made a huge difference to family bike rides. We can cover more ground and cycle paths are more easily accessible."

Jasper from New Cross

Jasper and his Mum, Mary, are the first borrowers of the brand new London based Viking Saratoga tandems. They collected it at the end of June 2013. Mary writes on our Facebook site, "Hi all, here's a pic of Jasper and Danny setting out on the tandem. Took Jasper a while to get the hang of the bike but now very keen to get on...... And v.importantly, to get out!"

Ben from Edinburgh

Ben and his Mum and Dad, Ruth and Maurice, borrowed of one of the Edinburgh based Viking Valhalla tandems. They collected it at the end of June and returned it at the end of summer 2013. Here are Ben and Maurice having fun.

Paul from London

Paul is an above knee amputee. He collected one of the London based Dawes Super Galaxies in June 2013. It is one of Colin's first handovers, so thanks to him. Paul says that he has riden it around Richmond Park and that the tandem is "such a great resource (thanks so much) & will get some riding." A photo is to follow.

Berend from Muir of Ord

Berend and his Mum, Tedi, were the first Borrowers of the Highland based Viking Saratoga. They had it from the end of June to mid August 2013. They have nicknamed it Freya (since it is a Viking). Tedi has also volunteered to be our Helper for the Highlands.
She has written lots on her local Facebook site.

Samantha from Margherafelt

Samantha and her Dad are the current borrowers of the Northern Ireland based Viking Valhalla. We bought the tandem using a grant from the Nationwide and hence it is apt that her Dad is wearing that T-shirt. They have had it since the end of June 2013.

Alfie from Hertfordshire

Alfie and his Mum, Nicola, were the first borrowers of the brand new Hertfordshire based Viking Valhalla tandem, that was bought using the grant from Cooke Components. They collected it in June 2013. Nicola wrote on our Facebook site, "Thank you, Charlotte's Tandems x We had lots of fun x"

Aiden from Wimbledon

Aiden and his Dad, Graham, are the current borrowers of the London based Viking Valhalla tandem and collected it in mid-June 2013.
His Mum, April, writes, "The traffic really slows down and stops to watch as we cycle along the narrow stretch to Aidan's school and they all love it at his school. When I stop to talk, Aidan tells me to hurry up as he wants to cycle'.
It is amazing how well he is pedalling compared to his trike tagalong where we have to keep urging him to pedal. We are delighted with the flexibility it offers for family cycling together. It is one of the rare activities we can enjoy as a family - and one of the few activities Aidan can join in with us."

Val from Sutton

Val and her husband, John, are the current borrowers of one of our London based Viking Saratogas. They collected it in mid-June 2013.
Val writes, "We're certainly enjoying the experience. Thank you so much for making it possible for the likes of me who has Parkinson's to enjoy that which I may never had the opportunity to try out."

Beth from Canberra, Australia

Beth and John borrowed a Dawes Galaxy tandem from Colin in London, for their holiday in the UK in June and July 2013, but then didn't actually use it.

Aaron from Wotton under Edge

Aaron and his Dad, Gav, borrowed of the Dursley based Dawes Discovery tandem. They had it from mid June 2013 for a month or so. Here they are on their maiden voyage.

Theo from Oxford

Theo from Oxford is ready to roll in his pyjamas on the Dursley based Viking Saratoga that they collected in mid-June 2013. Dad, Dan, is 6'7" hence the extra long seat post (and it was still a bit low). They returned it at the start of October 2013.

Tyrone from South Gloucestershire

Tyrone and his fellow residents at his Care Home are the second borrowers of the Dursley based Richmond tandem. They collected it in mid June and returned it in mid September 2013. Chrissie, one of the Carers reported that "We are enjoying the tandem ... We are hoping more of the people we support at the home will join in the fun soon."

Emma from Bracknell

Emma and her Dad, Leon, were the second borrowers of the Southampton based Viking Timberwolf. Thanks to Richard for arranging it. They had it from June & July 2013.

Alison from Watford

Alison and her friend Michelle were the first borrowers of the Hertfordshire based Dawes Kickback. They collected it in early June and returned it in mid September 2013. It was Ceri's first hire, so thanks to him.
Michelle wrote in early August, "Alison and I enjoyed a lovely ride this evening, including a quick pub stop! Alison is registered blind and hasn't done any sport since losing her sight 8 yrs ago. We have entered Tri Together as a challenge. Thank you for the loan of the tandem."

Charlie from Wolverhampton

Charlie and her Dad borrowed of the Midlands based Schwinn Sierra tandem and had from early June to September 2013. They took part in an organised ride, as Charlie explains.
"There were over 500 entrants and more than half of them were crazy enough to do the 60 mile course. We entered for the smallest course, which was a tiny 30 mile (haha), however our aim was to do 10 miles. In the end, I'm not entirely sure how but we managed to do the whole 30 mile and we even got a medal at the end! I'm still getting over the fact we did that. The tandem was great and we managed to raise £100 on the day, by the bike riders donating money. I will be going on the tandem everyday- unless it's raining!"

Harry from Bristol

Harry and his Dad, Warwick, are the current borrowers of the Dursley based Orbit Gemini tandem. They picked it up in early June and returned it in mid October 2013. Harry has been bought his own tandem, a Dawes Discovery, for his birthday.

Helen from Bradford

Helen and her friend, Angela, collected the Yorkshire based Dawes Discovery
tandem from Ruth in late May 2013. Ruth said that Helen was "...was really
pleased: even gave me a hug." Her she is with her running partner, Andrew.

Harry from Bath

Harry and his parents collected the Sun tandem from Martin on Bath in late May 2013. Martin said, "We had a fun time, especially Harry".
Harry's Dad, Mike, said, "Had a couple of great rides this weekend in great weather. Good to see the bike living up to its name!"

Ollie from Lancashire

Ollie and his Mum, Nicola, are the current borrowers of the Yorkshire based trailer bike. They had it from the end of May to the summer holidays in 2013. Nicola wrote in July, "Ollie has enjoyed the few times he has been out on it" and that "I will get a picture of him next time we put him on it". Unfortunately after this he didn't want to ride it and a photo wasn't taken.

Kaine from Oswestry

Kaine and his Carer, Dave, are the current borrowers of the Cheshire based Dawes Galaxy tandem. They picked it up from Brian in mid-May and returned it in mid-September 2013. Dave says," Thanks very much for this opportunity.....we had our first outing last week and all things considered, it went pretty well" and that "..whilst the sun didn't shine for us, the scenery around Lake Vynwyr is always worth seeing!" More photos of them in action can be found on our Facebook site.

Joanna from Pontyclun

Joanna and her dad, Bob, were the second borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Claud Butler tandem. They picked it up in May and returned it in October 2013.

Grace from Bath

Grace and her dad, Rich, borrowed the Bath based Kiddyback tandem. They picked it up from Martin in mid-May and returned it at the end of July 2013. Here she is with Rich and her Teacher.

Jamie from Northwich

Jamie and his Dad, Tony, are borrowing a tandem for the second time. This time it is the Cheshire based Viking Valhalla tandem. They picked it up from Brian in mid-May 2013. Mum, Jo, said, "They are both really enjoying the tandem except Dad when Jamie gives up peddling uphill!"

Michael from Edinburgh

Michael and his Mum and Dad, Maureen and Andrew, were the third borrowers of one of the Edinburgh based Viking tandems. They picked it up in mid-May 2013. Maureen wrote soon after, "Michael is thrilled with it. It has cheered him up no end, he's had a rotten time lately. It was nice to see him smile when he saw the tandem!"

Jake from Widnes

Jake and his parents, Russ and Stella, are the current borrowers of the Cheshire U+1 tandem. They picked it up from Andy in mid May 2013. They plan to go on holiday with it. Stella wrote soon after, "Never seen him smile as much". Stella has posted lots more photos on our Facebook site.

Joel from Oxford

If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will see Joel and his wife Zoe when they borrowed the U+1 from us when we first started. Joel and a friend have now just picked up the Southampton based Globetrotter tandem. Thanks to Richard for arranging it. Joel wrote the same day in mid May 2013, "Hi, it is great. We have already done a 22 mile ride today."

Josh from Haddington

Josh and his Dad, Ken, were the third borrowers of one of our Edinburgh based Viking Valhalla tandems. They picked it up in early May and returned it in mid June 2013. Ken, says, "We are really enjoying getting out together and are enjoying the country around these parts."

Chris from Chiswick

Chris and his friend are the current borrowers of the SE based Thorn Discovery tandem. Thanks to Jim for arranging it. Chris is Registered Blind. He said soon after borrowing it in early May 2013 that the "..First outing yesterday was with a very seasoned cyclist and we just had a practice around my neighbourhood but certainly attracted the attention of my neighbours – several offering to go out with me over the coming weeks."

Del from Abergele

Del and John were the first borrowers of the Cheshire based Bully Prowler and picked it up on May Bank Holiday and returned it at the end of July 2013. Thanks to Brian for arranging it. Unfortunately they didn't ride it much.

Sarah from Cheltenham

Sarah and her Dad, Geoff, collected one of the Gloucestershire based Viking Salerno tandems on May Bank Holiday and passed it on in mid August 2013. Geoff reported that they were going to fit a cup to the stoker's handlebars for Sarah to put her arm in. She looks very happy. Kat and Geoff, wrote, "Thank you very much for the loan of the Tandem, Sarah made great use of it and thoroughly enjoyed riding it".

Pearl from Kensington

Pearl and her family borrowered the London based Viking Valhalla tandem in May and June 2013. When Pearl went to collect her tandem she found that the previous borrower was one of Pearl's Teachers, Sarah. Small world, hey?
Here she is with her Dad, Antony. See them in action in a video here. Looks like Dad doesn't have to pedal much.

Tina from Harlow

Tina was the first borrower of the Hertfordshire based Globetrotter. One of her acquatances started restoring it for her but unfortunately the tandem was apparently too big for her.

Gabriel from Beccles

Gabriel and his Mum, Georgina, are the first borrowers of the Norfolk based
Ammaco tandem. It is John's first hire so thanks to him for arranging it. They
have had it since May 2013. Georgina wrote on our Facebook site, "...first spin
round the park-looking good- though Gabe has very quickly cottoned on to lifting
his feet off the pedals and getting a free ride! Will be lovely to ride bikes
together again." Watch their video on Facebook.

Ollie from Fairford

Ollie was one of our very first borrowers. You'll also find him if you scroll right down to the bottom of this page. He and his carer, Juliane, were the second borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Dawes Discovery. They had it from early May to mid June 2013. Here they are with Juliane's daughters. They then borrowed one of the Gloucestershire based Viking Salernos for the first half of August 2013.

Bill from Dronfield

Very tall stoker Bill and his friend Gary are the borrowed of the huge Cannondale tandem from the end of April to the end of August 2013. After fixing various mechanical problems that developed with the tandem, they enjoyed riding it, as can be seen in the photo.

William from Telford

William and his parents collected the Midlands based Barracuda California tandem at the end of April 2013. It was our Helper Nigel's first handover. His Mum, Shashana, wrote on our Facebook site, "William is loving loaning one of Charlotte's Tandems. Thank you so much. Ready for another afternoon ride with his big brother Jack (Mum and Dad running alongside!)

Daniel from Skipton

Daniel and his parents are the current borrowers of the Yorkshire based Orbit Unicorn. They have had it since mid-April 2013. Thanks to Ruth for arranging it. She says, "The plan was to ride home on the towpath, but Daniel (who is autistic) refused because he doesn’t like dogs. So instead they had to do a road ride which was about 5 times longer!"

Lewis from Dewsbury

Lewis and his parents were the first borrowers of the Yorkshire based KHS tandem. Thanks to Ruth for arranging it. They had it from mid-April to the end of June 2013. He loved riding it, even inside his house, see our Facebook site for another picture. They now have bought their own tandem.

X from Y

X and her Mum are the first borrowers of the Ammanco Two-some tandem based in Southampton. Thanks to Tim for arranging it. They have had it since mid-April 2013. They write, "Great news our daughter has been out on the
tandem with her Daddy and she loves it. It has given her the confidence that the “wobbly” feeling, that she has hated for the past 6 years of trying to ride a bike or scooter, is alright. So much so that that she has mastered riding her own bicycle over the last two weeks. The tandem means that we will be able to ride on roads as a family which is great. Our daughter now enjoys the feeling of speed and it brings a massive smile to her face freewheeling down hills with Daddy on the tandem and he says she is now starting to gain leg strength enough to help him cycle back up the hills too. Success all round! Thank you so much."

Ben from Brightwell, Oxon

Ben and his Mum, Andrea, are the third borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Black Thorn Kiddyback. They have had it since mid-April 2013. Andrea writes, "Have attached a photo of me and Ben in the park after school. All the other children think Ben is really lucky and cool so it's a real hit. He's not seen as special or incapable. Ben loves it: no fear at all, so hopefully the transition to his own bike will be smooth."

Aron from High Peak

Aron and her Mum, Teresa, are the second borrowers of one of the Canyon Tag-along Bikes based in Cheshire. They had it from mid-April 2013. Unfortunately he didn't enjoy riding it so it was returned.

Carrie from Cam, Glos

Carrie and her friends Ewan and Teresa are the current borrowers of one of the Gloucestershire based Viking Salerno tandems. She has it from mid-April 2013. I'm sure she won't mind me saying that she is a very slow walker but very powerful on a tandem.
She reported, "We have been cycling since September and really enjoy going out into the countryside for some fresh air and exercise. We often cycle round Cam, Cambridge and along the canal tow path to Slimbridge, but we have also been over the hills to Nibley and Stinchcombe (although the engine on the tandem failed and we had to push up some of the hills!). Going out on the tandem is so exhilerating, the smells, sounds and sensation of the wind is a fantastic feeling. Without Charlotte's Tandems we would not be able to experience this”.

Ryan from Marlow

Ryan and his Carer, Lynne, were the first borrowers of the Southampton based Viking Timberwolf tandem. They collected it in mid-April 2013. Thanks to Tim for arranging it. See a video of their first ride on Facebook.

Matthew from Gloucester

Matthew and his Carers borrowered the Gloucestershire based Globetrotter tandem. They had it from mid April to the end of June 2013. Unfortunately he didn't want to ride it much.

Ellis from Stockton on Tees

Ellis and his family were the first borrowers of the brand new Viking Timber Trail tandem that we bought with the rest of the Foster Wheeler grant. Thanks to Mike for arranging the handover. They had the tandem from early April to July 2013 and his Mum, Jackie, wrote on our Facebook group, "Ellis is loving it! Riding around our local park as if he's been doing it for years. Thanks so much. X".
The picture shows him about to take his Cycling Proficiency test.
See him in action on a forest trail in a fantastic video on Facebook.

Ged from Hartlepool

Ged is the first borrower of the North East based Dawes tandem that was bought using part of the grant from Foster Wheeler. Here is the tandem with Ged's Dad, Kevin, when he picked it up at the end of March 2013. A photo of Ged with the tandem will follow.

Matthew from Frodsham

Matthew and his family are the fourth borrowers of one of the Cheshire based Canyon tag-along bikes. They collected it from Andy in late March 2013 and returned it in September 2013. Unfortunately no photo or photos were supplied of how they got on with it, excepet that they apparently now have a tandem.

Adam from Stroud

Adam was one of our very first borrowers. He and his family later borrowed the Gloucestershire based Viking Saratoga tandem. They borrowed it at the end of March 2013 in time for their Easter holiday away and returned it in mid June 2013. Check out their video on our Facebook page.

Jake from Hexham

Jake and his Mum, Rachel, are the first borrowers of the North-East based Claud Butler tandem. They picked it up in mid March 2013. Rachel wrote in July, "It was Jake’s first outing on the tandem. Very interesting for both of us as we had to learn to communicate and trust each other in quite a new way. It was challenging but fun. Thank you for giving us the opporunity to do this."

Lewis from Edinburgh

Lewis and his Mum, Audrey, were the second borrowers of one of the Scottish based Viking Valhalla tandems. Unfortunately they didn't ride it much and handed it back in mid May 2013.

Roisin from Tiverton

Roisin is the first borrower to ride the Plymouth based Viking Valhalla tandem. Thanks to Brett for arranging it. Her Mum, Charm, wrote the day after collecting it in March 2013, that they "..had a trial run on Plymouth Hoe- Fantastic!! Roisin loved it and I know we will have great fun over the next few weeks". At the end of April she wrote, "Roisin loves it and as a result we are thinking of buying one ourselves. ... Many thanks to you all for a fantastic concept". See a video of them in action on Facebook.

Adi from London

Adi and his friend, Mark, were the second borrowers of the London based "Wakefield" tandem. Thanks to Jim for arranging it. They collected it in early March 2013 and have now returned. Unfortunately they sent no details of how they got on or a photo.

Mathew from Hexham

Mathew and his Mum, Julie, are the second borrowers of the North-East based Reflex tag-along and have had it since April 2013. They are loving using it and plan to buy their own at the end of their hire.

Garry from King's Lynn

Garry is the current borrower of the Essex based Motobecane tandem. He has had it since mid March 2013. Thanks to our Essex Helper, Richard, for arranging it. Here is is with his friend, Solly. He has learnt now to keep his feet on the pedals.

Dylan from King's Lynn

Dylan is the current borrower of the Essex based Chris Kurton tandem, which he is sharing with Lewis below. He has had it since mid March 2013. Thanks to our Essex Helper, Richard, for arranging it. Here is is with his friend, Solly. Dylan is still a bit unsure about riding the tandem. Hopefully things will change soon.

Lewis from King's Lynn

Lewis is the current borrower of the Essex based Chris Kurton tandem, which he
is sharing with Dylan above. He has had it since mid March 2013. Thanks to
our Essex Helper, Richard, for arranging it. Here is is with his friend, Richard.

Rory from Belfast

Rory and his parents, were the second borrowers of our Northern Ireland based Viking Valhalla tandem. They picked it up in early March and handed it on at the end of June 2013.
His Mum, Maureen, wrote in early April, "Today we got out to our local park and planned to let Rory and have a go around the carpark. However, it didn't take him long to get his confidence up and soon he and his dad were cycling round the whole park. We had been warned that starting and stopping were the hardest parts of tandem riding but to be honest Rory and his dad seem to have got it sussed already. As we had hoped, Rory took to the tandem straight away and didn't want to stop! It has been about 3 years since he was on wheels (when he outgrew his like big trike) and I think he just loves the feelings of freedom and motion."

Izzi from Dursley

Izzi and her Mum, Gemma, have borrowed one of the Gloucestershire based Canyon tag-alongs and a Lady's bike from us. They have it from the start of March 2013. Gemma has written on our Facebook site, "Our first trip out on Saturday was a bit wobbly but we got there in the end and I hope by a few more "very short" trips we will be seen riding into town. Thank you again for making Izzi's weekend".

Callum from Stonehouse, Glos

Callum and his parents borrowed of one of the Gloucestershire based Viking Saratoga tandems. They had it from the very end of February to early May
2013 and rode it in a Sponsored Half Marathon in aid of Cancer Research. Here he is with his Dad, Paul, at the finish in King's Stanley. He was in the same class as Charlotte.

Megan from Blackpool

Megan and her family borrowed the Yorkshire based Dawes Discovery Tandem. They collected it from our Helper Ruth's shop, J.D. Tandems. They had it from mid February to mid May 2013. Here she is with her Dad, Mick, going for a Rollercoaster ride on the Blackpool Prom.

Selin from Tottenham

Selin and his Helper, Jeff, had the London based Viking Saratoga tandem from February to June 2013. Jeff writes, "Thanks so much for lending our school a tandem for Selin, who has been blind from birth and had never ridden before. He has taken to riding very quickly and loves our regular rides in the playground and out to a local park. His enthusiasm for riding and his laughter are contagious and all the children and adults who have been out riding with him have loved the experience. Some children and adults who are learning to ride have also enjoyed a confidence-boosting ride on the back of the tandem. Thanks again, Charlotte's Tandems!"

Sameer from London

Sameer borrowed the London based Viking Valhalla tandem. He rode it with his friend Nadia and they picked it up in early February 2013, using the hydraulic tandem roof carrier, that they have also borrowed from us. Unfortunately he found it too unstable and handed it on in mid April.

Adam from Oxfordshire

Adam and his family borrowered the Sun tandem that is now based in Bath with Martin B. His dad, Neil, picked it up in early February 2013. Here they are on their first ride. They enjoyed riding it so much that they then bought their own tandem and returned the Sun tandem in May 2013.

Bill from London

Bill borrowed the London based Dawes Galaxy. He used it to give
exercise to people with Parkinson's and had the tandem from early February to June 2013. Watch a video of the tandem in action in his shed, here.

Chloe from Gloucester

Chloe and her family were the fourth borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Orbit Gemini tandem. She was very excited to have it initially. They collected it at the start of February 2013 but she refused to ride it, so they returned it at the end of May 2013.

Marika from Hereford

Marika and her friend Arthur were the first borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Richmond tandem. They collected it at the start of February 2013 and returned it in mid June 20133. Unfortunately Arthur was not confident riding it, so Marika didn't ride it with him.

Eleanor from Middlewich

Eleanor and her parents borrowered of the Cheshire based Viking Valhalla tandem. Thanks to Brian for arranging it.
Sarah, Eleanor's Mum wrote in January 2013, "Having picked up the tandem in November we had a couple of short rides "around the block". The weather and Christmas then put a hold on things for a while. These pictures are our first venture out with the tandem, here we are cycling along Whitegate Way. I'm unsure of the distance covered but we managed an hour cycling, not bad for the first outing. Eleanor loves it! Roger (dad) says Eleanor is doing a great job as stoker. Hopefully there'll be plenty more before we need to return the tandem." They returned it in May 2013.

Lesley from Cardiff

Lesley has developed a Visual Impairment and is now unable to ride on her own, so has now borrowed a tandem of us so that she can ride with her husband. They were the first borrowers of one of our Gloucestershire based Claud Butler Majestic 2 tandems. They had the tandem from December 2012 to May 2013

Sam from Oxfordshire

Sam and his parents were the first borrowers of one of our Claud Butler tandems. They collected it in the later half of November 2012.
Sam's Mum, Becky, wrote in January 2013, "Many of our quieter roads have been under water until now. This was the start of a 10 mile ride yesterday, which they both enjoyed a lot, and we have now collected a pool of pilots who are all keen to go out with Sam so all we need now is some good weather.

Tessa from Milton Keynes

Single leg Amputee, Tessa and her husband are keen tandem riders. They have a road tandem of their own but borrowed the Orbit Unicorn from Ruth in Gargrave, so that they can go on rougher ground. She has reported about their trip on our Facebook page.
She said in late February 2013, "We have been on the bike a couple of times recently but it's hard persuading people to (a) take their gloves off and (b) hang around in freezing conditions." The photo ".. is from our Boxing Day jaunt and has us both looking a little strained as we'd had a technical and were trying to get our daughter to take a straight and level photo with no camera shake!" and "Still enjoying the bike which has been great for giving us a good workout when we are on the shorter (25-30 mile) club rides. We'd get too cold on our normal tandem." They had it until the Spring.

Owen from Gloucester

Owen was the second borrower of the Gloucestershire based Canyon tag-along. He had it from mid November 2012 to early February 2013. Unfortunately he didn't like riding it.

Charlie from Middlesborough

Charlie was the first borrower of the brand new North-East based Viking Valhalla tandem. She had it from mid November 2012 to the summer of 2013 and apparently it has helped enormously with Mother and Daughter bonding. Thanks to Mike for arranging it.

Ollie from Bristol

Ollie and his parents borrowed of the Gloucestershire based red Thorn Kiddyback. They had it from mid November 2012 to mid May 2013. Here he is with his Dad, Rob, on the Bristol to Bath Old Railway Cycle Track. They then swapped it for the Bath based large Adams Trailer Bike, as Rob thought that Ollie wouldn't get as tired on that.

Rosie from Plymouth

Rosie was the first borrower of our brand new Viking Valhalla tandem, based in Plymouth. She had it for a month from the later half of October 2012. Unfortunately she didn't ride it.

Brodie from Mitcham

Brodie's Mum, Donna, picked up the tandem from Martin in mid October 2012 and then wrote "Hi. I picked him up from school today as a surprise! He loved it. He lost his footing a few times so I think I will put on the toe clips that you gave me. He can't wait to ride it again in the morning."
Recently she wrote, "Brodie has Hypermobility Syndrome, balance/ co-odination difficulties, low muscle tone lower body and is on the
Autistic spectrum. Having the use of this tandem has made him more confident to use a bike and help develop his social skills. He was so happy to show it off to his friends each time I picked him up from school. We hope to be able to use it again with better weather." They returned the tandem in early February 2013.

Jen from the Bebington on the Wirral

Jen and her husband, Col, borrowered the Cheshire based Columbia tandem. Thanks to Brian for arranging it. They had it for a month from mid October 2012. Brian wrote to say that they "cycled nine miles home, no problem & no aches or pains. They have been out three times in the last four days. Is that a record? She's truly an inspiration to those with Cerebral Palsy, is intending riding the Annual Liverpool to Chester Charity Cycle & is probably fitter than most of us."
Here they are during a 23 mile ride. They wrote, "We went down the Wirral Way from Willaston to West Kirby and back. Brilliant day!"
They have now got their own tandem.

Sarah from Richmond

Sarah is the first borrower of our Surrey based Viking Valhalla and had it from mid October 2012 to mid February 2013. Martin has swapped the tyres to a slicker type and put some mudguards on. Sarah and her friend arrived by train, had a test ride and then rode the 12 miles home.
Sarah wrote in a message to Martin, "Thanks so much for everything this morning and please pass on a huge thanks to Alex for such an amazing charity. We had a fantastic cycle back along the river. I loved being back on a bike, it's been years! I can't wait for our next ride".
As you might guess from the text on her leggings, she is a Paralympian. She took part in a Duathlon on the tandem and she and her pilot came 2nd and 3rd over the line. She has now bought her own, faster tandem.

Tony from Carrickfergus

Tony and his wife, Em, were the first borrowers of our brand new Northern Ireland based Viking Valhalla tandem. He wrote soon after getting it, in mid October 2012, "Had our first ride out today, took advantage of the weather! Sure we must have turned heads! Over an hour out, Em enjoyed it too, she does cycle but this was new for her too. Went much better than we expected, Em makes a good captain, we are getting used to setting off/ stopping in unison. There is a Christmas fair in a local village 5 miles away on 24th November, we have set ourselves a target to be able to cycle to it. Small beginnings!
Huge thanks, after 18 years not cycling preceded by 20 of distance cycling, I never thought I would cycle again. Loved our ride today, we are both looking forward to more." They handed the tandem on in early March 2013.

Sarah from Nantwich

Sarah and her Mum, Julie, borrowed of Charlotte's original tandem, the Cheshire based Raleigh U+1, and had it from early October 2012 to April 2013. Julie wrote in April, "a massive 'thank you' from Sarah and myself for giving us the opportunity to use one of your tandems . We had great fun though sadly the awful weather over the winter prevented us from using it as much as we would have liked to."
"Charlotte's Tandems is a wonderful organisation enabling youngsters to experience something that otherwise would be both costly and difficult to arrange."

Rachel from Newbury

Here are Rachel and her Dad from Newbury. They were the first borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Dawes Discovery tandem and have had it from early October 2012 to May 2013. Her Mum writes, "We love the tandem!! Thank you for letting us borrow it. We've mostly used it for cycling into town for shopping trips (much more exciting to do errands on a tandem!) but we've also been out for lunch using it. We first thought of a tandem when we hired one in Holland when we had a week there in August. Rachel was far too big for a tag-along and really frustrated that she couldn't ride her own bike. While we were there, we saw lots of other tandems and unusual (to us!) bicycle configurations. However, we have noticed that when cycling in Berkshire we have been attracting admiring glances! I am sure it is because the tandem is still quite unusual here, rather than the speed of the riders (although I have to report that Rachel and her Dad are very fast on the tandem - I am lagging behind on my single-seater bicycle!)! ". They have since bought their own tandem.

Matilda from London

Matilda and Robert borrowed the Surrey based Dawes tandem. They had it from early October 2012 to January 2013. Thanks to Martin for arranging it.

Karen from Sheffield

Karen and her partner were the first borrowers of the Derbyshire based blue Orbita tandem. She had it from the end of September 2012 and returned it in 2013. Thanks to David for arranging it. She wrote in mid October, "A quick update on our progress with the tandem so far - we've been using it at weekends to take the dogs round the park. It means I can get out for their walk and we can go further. Walking has been a real problem since my diagnosis of MS 4 years ago! I used to be really active and the tandem has given me the opportunity to get out and about a bit more. We would like to venture out a bit further but are reliant on borrowing my dad's van to transport it! Still feeling a bit saddle sore and have had to buy some clips to keep my feet on the pedals but it's been great so far! Thanks to such a great charity".

Elis from Llanidloes

Elis and his parents are the first borrowers of our Wales based Viking Valhalla tandem. They have had it from early October 2012 and have been riding up and down the road to get used to it.

Watergate School in Lewisham

The Watergate Special School was the first borrower of our Wakefield tandem. They had it from September 2012 to March 2013 Thanks to Jim for arranging it. In mid October the Headteacher wrote, "At the moment we are using in school with a few of our oldest & therefore biggest pupils. It's fun!"

Sukhan from Daventry

Sukhan has never riden a bike before he rode on the back of a tandem with Alex. He and his fiance, Kate, were the second borrowers of the Barracuda California tandem. The had it from mid September 2012 to the end of January 2013 They hoped that it will build up the strength on his right side, which had suffered from a stroke. Kate wrote on our Facebook site, "We've had some hilarious times on it & I hope the next borrowers have just as much fun".

Christopher and Alex from Leonard Stanley

Christopher and Alex are both students at Ruskin Mill in Nailsworth. Here is Chris stoking for Ab. They were the second borrowers of the Globetrotter and had it from mid-September 2012 to mid-April 2013.

Dee from Cheltenham

Stroke survivor Dee and her husband, Phil, borrowed one of the Viking Salerno tandems from the mid-September 2012 to mid-April 2013. They hoped to go on lots of rides to the shops and with their seven year old son, who had just leant to ride his own bike. She wrote at the start of October, "Having an ENORMOUS amount of fun with the bike. Using it almost daily and it's made life much more interesting. I haven't lost any weight but can feel my fitness levels improving. Phil is amazed at how far I can go without a rest. Plus we laugh a lot as we have to work as a team. Thank you so much for putting a smile back on my face!"

Andrew from Bovingdon

Andrew and his Dad, Paul, collected the Kent based Thorn tandem from Jim in the middle of September 2012. Thanks to Jim for arranging it.
Paul wrote, in the middle of October, "It is a fantastic bike and Andrew has really been enjoying it. He is a bit of a thrill seeker (climbing and white-water rafting being amongst his other pastimes) and so at times is inclined to push it a little faster than I anticipate. Thankfully, it's brakes are more than man enough to cope with any unexpected bursts of Stoker enthusiasm!
Thank you so much to you, for organising the loan of the bicycle and of course to the donor for their considerable generosity in giving such a lovely tandem. We look forward to some more weeks of two-wheeled adventures."

Elliott from Potter's Bar

Elliott and his Dad, Ian, borrowed the Essex based Hiway Vertical tandem from Richard at the start of September 2012. They are enjoying riding it. Thanks to Richard for arranging it.

Kyle from Windsford

Kyle and his Mum, Amy, were the second borrowers of our Cheshire based Viking Valhalla and had it from the end of August to early December 2012. Thanks to Brian for arranging it.
Kyle is shown with his Granddad here. Amy writes,"Kyle really enjoyed his experience of the tandem and has given him more confidence and helped with his coordination. Also when it comes to learning to ride a bike, it has boosted his self esteem. Instead of the I can't attitude, it's I can; which was wonderful for the family to see. We can only hope Kyle goes on to learn to ride his own bike now, with a bit encouragement. We can only thank Charlotte's Tandems for giving Kyle this opportunity!"

Rosie from Bristol

Rosie and her Mum, Angela, were the third borrowers of the Orbit Gemini tandem and had from mid August 2012 to the start of February 2013. They rode it along the towpath and the Strawberry Line.

Luke from Wallsend

Luke and his Mum, Katrina, were the first borrowers of our Reflex trailer bike/tag-along and had it from mid August 2012 to March 2013. Unfortunately Luke broke his toe so didn't ride it much.

Daniel from Sheffield

Daniel and his Dad, Steve, were the first borrowers of our Rudi Altig tandem and had it from mid August 2012 to mid August 2013. They really enjoyed riding it on their holidays in the Lakes.

Ioan from Bath

Ioan and his parents were the second borrowers of the Black Thorn Kiddyback. They had it from mid August 2012 to mid February 2013. His Mum, Kate, wrote that they have been "cycling on the Kennet & Avon Canal. Ioan has left-sided hemiplegia. This is great for balance, practising pedalling and improving his strength."

Jamie from Northwich

Jamie and his dad, Tony, were the third borrowers of our Cheshire based Dawes Super Galaxy. They had it from mid August to mid November 2012. In September, Tony wrote, "After persevering for a few weeks, we've cracked the tandem with Jamie! Instead of shouting for help and to get off the bike, he is now shouting 'Again'!"

Emma from Huddersfield

Emma and her dad, Graham, were the first borrowers of the Yorkshire based Dawes
Discovery Tandem. Here they are in mid August 2012 at Ruth's shop, JD Tandems.
Since borrowing the tandem from us, they have bought their own tandem for Christmas: a Unicorn from Ruth at J.D. Tandems.

Graham wrote in mid October that they have been riding, "on the canal path between Horbury & Mirfield in West Yorkshire. It was a
lovely afternoon out and we’ve had many over the past couple of months having ridden on parts of the Trans Pennine Trail and also the Calder / Spen Valley Greenways. Emma loves going out on the tandem and needs no encouragement to drop the playstation controller and get out there ..... and that’s something of a challenge when we want her to do other things! It’s also encouraged her to try getting off on her own 2 wheels – no success as yet but we’re still hopeful! Thanks again for the loan of the tandem".

Ella from Sheffield

Ella and her Mum and Dad were the first borrowers of the Yorkshire based Adams Trailer Bike. They has it from mid August 2012 to the end of June 1013. Thanks to Ruth for arranging it. Due to a house move they have not used it as much as they wanted.

Ben from Gt Broughton

Ben is the first borrower of the third Trailer bike based in Cheshire. He has it from mid August 2012. His parents have written, "Ben's confidence on a bike has increased dramatically since going on the trailer bike. He loves going faster and has had great fun exploring the local area with his Dad the bike. Whenever he returns home he is smiling from ear to ear with enjoyment. We plan to explore some of the many cycle paths round Chester in the coming weeks. Many thanks to Nicola and her family for donating this to Charlotte's Tandems."

Brooke from Midsomer Norton

Brooke borrowed one of our Gloucestershire based tag-along bikes from early August 2012 to the summer of 2013.

James from Thames Ditton

James and his mum, Nicki, borrowered the Surrey based Viking Saratoga. Martin says that "they both seemed very confident and happy, and rode it well. They have plans for car free trips along the Thames path, which they can access safely from home". They had it from early August to October 2012.

Odette from Croydon

Odette and her husband, Jean, borrowed the Surrey based Viking Saratoga tandem. They had it for at the end of July and start of August 2012, then it went to another borrower before they hope have it back for the end of the Summer. Thanks to Martin for arranging all this. Here they are returning from a Tennis game for the Visually Impaired. They really enjoyed the rides. They are featured on their local Sport Group website.

Fraser from Scotland

Fraser borrowed one of our Viking Valhalla tandems from Andy in Edinburgh from mid July to mid September 2012. His Carer, Paul, wrote in September that they are looking now to buy their own tandem and Mum "is attracted to a shiny new one like the one we borrowed. The longest trip we did was 10 miles and he was calling "faster, faster"".

Charlie from Ipswich

Charlie and his dad, Tony, were the first borrowers of the Essex based Motobecane tandem. Thanks to Richard for arranging it. They had it from mid July 2012, when it looked as though they were ready for the Olympics. They enjoyed riding it over the summer and have been on two Sky Rides. They have left a recording here.

Larry from Birmingham

Larry was the first borrower of the Viking Salerno and has autism and learning difficulties. His Dad, Jon, wrote just after they got the tandem, "Larry and I had our first trip out today and he really enjoyed it! Got some envious looks in the park! Just on the flat for now but we will build up and try different places. Thanks a lot."

At the end of August 2011, Jon wrote, "It is being used a lot and Larry is enjoying it. I have a bit of an injury at the moment but we are still getting out on it. We are hoping it will lead to him being motivated to learn to ride a bike. We have been to Red House Park a lot and around Sandwell Valley."

The Salerno was bought with donations from various people (see the homepage). Larry had the Salerno from the end of July to the end of September 2011 and are shown on it above. In July 2012 became the
second borrowers of the Schwinn Sierra tandem, see left, and had it until early June 2013.

Tristan from Frome

Tristan and his Dad, Jason, were the second borrowers of the red Thorn Kiddyback. As you can see from the photo they really enjoyed riding it on their test ride in mid July 2012 and had it until the start of October.
His Mum, Susie writes, "We took our 6 yr old son Tristan for his first tandem ride whilst recently on holiday in Wales. We like the tandem because he has to pedal and its one of the few activities he enjoys. He has really good balance even though he is non- verbal autistic and spends a lot of time shouting at his hands and waving his arms about. He’s never fallen off and even when he rides our more unstable Spokey Joe tag-a-long he holds on well. Even though he has little sense of danger such as roads and water, he has found his balance very quickly. Our only other concern was that he would jump off when we got to junctions but he doesn’t do that either. We had a terrific 10 mile bike ride to Barmouth on an old converted railway line and had refreshing double scooped ice-creams when we got there! Fantastic!"

Liesel from Leicester

Both Liesel and her Mum are unable to ride their own bikes, so they borrowed the Red Orbita from David in Chesterfield, so that Liesel's Dad, Peter, could take them for a ride. They had it from mid July
2012 to early March 2013.
Peter says, on our Facebook site, that they they are having a wonderful time riding it and that "things I've had to get used to are the larger turning circle and remembering not to scoot and swing my leg over - I've got a nice set of bruises from hitting the stoker's handlebars with my thigh!"
In March 2013 he reported that they'd been using it a lot instead of a car. His wife, who has brain damage, and their Autistic son have also been stokers. They will be returning it soon, as they have bought their own Viking tandem.

Alex from Washington

Alex and Joan were the first borrowers of the Orbit Unicorn, which has been donated to us by Ruth of JD Tandems. Thanks to Ruth for arranging the collection. They had it from early July to the end of September 2012.
Alex wrote, "It's been a month since we came home with the tandem. So far, we have been out on it many times without any great hassle. Our main problem has been with free running dogs who tend to assume that it's ok to run out in front of you whilst you're cycling along. (Some dog owners need training)!
We get a great buzz and the exercise is good for us. However, we have not ventured onto busy roads - perhaps we'll get around to that sometime soon!"
Towards the end of the hire he wrote, "First of all Ruth and John at JD Tandems were extremely helpful to us inexperienced tandem riders. We have been able to make use of the Unicorn many times in the last couple of
months. So much so, we have now purchased our own tandem for use in the future. Thanks to Charlotte's Tandems we have found a new form of exercise and are very grateful for that."

Matthew from Gloucester

Matthew goes to Charlotte's School, the Shrubberies, and he and his family were the first borrowers of the Gloucestershire based Canyon Trailer Bike. He had from early July to mid November 2012. They went on lots of family rides together.

Aidan from Frodsham, Cheshire West

Aidan and his parents, Matt and Sarah, were the first borrowers of our second Cheshire based Trailer Bike. Thanks to Brian for arranging it. They had it from the start of July to the start of September 2012.
They write, "This weekend we re-visited the Whitegate Way, a disused railway line in Cheshire which is now a well surfaced path, and after a couple of nervy minutes Aidan really took to being my stoker.
He liked to go "Super Sonic" and even managed to pedal solo to propel both of us on his own. A huge success, after a long time trying to get him comfortable with being stable and travelling at a reasonable speed."
They say about before borrowing the trailer bike, "We had tried a "trail gator" bar attachment to add his little bike to the back of mine, but because the handlebars were not secured he felt really very unstable (even though he wasn't)!
This weekend's ride was a revelation for him - he was hooting with delight as we were zooming along, and I think the fact that he had solid handlebars to hold onto gave him this confidence."
"He was busy riding with no feet on the pedals plenty of times, and although the trailer bike did have some lean / wobble in it, he soon realised that no matter how hard he tried to lean it over, it wasn't going to fall.
I've never seen him so confident on something so new before; let's hope we can take advantage of some more dry weather to get out and about a little more!"
In January 2014 they updated us with, "After we borrowed the tandem (sic) from you last time it was such a success that we went out and bought the exact same model, so Aidan enjoys riding behind me with the rest of the family just fine now - and he's even making some progress towards riding independently!"

Joel from Macclesfield

Joel and his Mum, Laura, were the second borrowers of the first Cheshire based Trailer Bike. Thanks to Brian for arranging it. They had it from the end of June to the end of the summer 2012. Here he is riding side saddle with his dad, Mark

Timothy from Stroud

Timothy and his Dad, James, were the first borrowers of the black Thorn
Kiddyback. They had it from mid June to mid August 2012. As you can see from the photo, they have been enjoying riding around the Cotswold hills near their home.

Kai from Cleve Prior near Evesham

Kai and his Mum, Kirstin, borrowed of one of the Viking Salerno. They had it from mid June to mid September 2012, however they said that they had not riden it much due to the bad weather.

Caroline from Guildford

Caroline has Motor Neurone Disease and can't ride her own bike anymore, which she loved. She can now go out again with Pete, thanks to the Thorn tandem that she borrowed from Jim. She had it from mid June to September 2012.

Christopher in Sutton Coldfield

Christopher and his dad, Stuart, are the current borrowers of our huge road tandem, the Cannondale. They have had it from early June 2012. Stuart writes, "Here is a picture of myself and Christopher on the bike in Sutton Park. Initially he was a bit nervous but he now is realy enjoying it. If I could get him to help me pedal, we may get somewhere quickly!"
"Thanks once again, it is such a great thing to be able to do, nice to get a bit
of fresh air together and spend some quality time."
Watch a video of them in action here.

The Chescombe Trust in Bristol

The Chescombe Trust provides "accommodation, care and support for adults with Learning Disabilities". They were the second borrowers of the Orbit Gemini and had it from the very end of May to mid August 2012. In the middle of June, Loren wrote, "Stokers include Johnny, Darren and Richard and maybe Martin & Kosi too (they are still not sure!)".

Hassan from London

Hassan from the Pocklington Trust borrowered the Surrey based Dawesvfrom late May to late September 2012. Here is is wth his Captain, Toby, after a 6 mile ride through Rush Hour in London. He is enjoyed the extra fitness training it gave him for the England Blind Cricket Team.

Emily from Arlingham, Glos

Emily and her Mum, Jane, were the first borrowers of the red Thorn Kiddyback. Emily goes to Charlotte's School, The Shrubberies. They had the tandem from mid May to mid July 2012.
Jane wrote in mid July, "Emily and I were out on the red tandem again this evening, getting up speed down to the river and back and Emily is delighted. Well done for being at Shrubberies May Fayre and for Kate's expert dismantling to fit in the car (and for your replacement of saddles the following day).
They then replaced it for one of our Viking Saratogas, as the Kiddyback was needed for a shorter stoker, and returned the Saratoga in mid March 2013.

Ben from Birmingham

Ben and his family were the first borrowers of the Canyon trailer bike that we have bought and placed under the care of John in Rugby, Ben's Mum said, soon after receiving it in mid May 2012, "We will take him up the park on it this weekend and take some photos and email you some pictures. Thanks again, hopefully it will teach Ben to ride a bike (at least he will get on it!)"
Well, here he is with his Dad. I think they were both enjoying it.
They had it until mid Jul 2013.

Clare from Cirencester

Clare and her husband were the first borrowers of the Globetrotter and had it from mid May to mid August 2012. She was really looking forward to riding again since loosing her sight. She has written an article about us for her local paper. You can read it on our Facebook site, here.

Alison from Livingstone

Alison is blind but would like to do a Triathlon. Andy has put slick tyres on the second Edinburgh Viking Valhalla tandem so that it will be faster on the road. Alison had the tandem from mid May to the end of July 2012. She likes riding so much that she has now bought her own tandem and will be taking part in a Triathlon in September. Here she is with her sister.

Andy from Northamptonshire

Stroke survivor friend, Andy, and his friend, Jon, were the second borrowers of the Mercian tandem and collected it from John in early May 2012 and returned it in mid July 2012. They rode from Paris to London in June in aid of Different Strokes, a charity that helps young stroke survivors, see here. Thanks to John for arranging it.

Jack from Cheshire

Jack and his family borrowered Charlotte's original tandem, the Raleigh Venture U+1. His Mum and Dad, Natalie and Mark, collected it in early May and returned it in early October 2012 and initially said that he holds on well and are just trying to keep his feet on the pedals, see the Facebook site for more info. Thanks to Brian for arranging it.
His Grandmother enjoyed watching him ride it so much that she has bought him a tandem of his own.

Ollie from Edinburgh

Ollie is the first borrower of one of the Edinburgh based Viking Valhalla tandems and has had it since early May 2012. His Mum, Kirsty, says "We had a great cycle today and my son loves it. He pedals furiously and it is hard to keep up!! :-)"

Matthew from Stockport

Matthew is the first borrower of our Cheshire based Viking Vahalla tandem, bought from our large grant received from Tesco. He has it from mid April 2012. Thanks to Brian, our Cheshire helper, for getting it ready so quickly for Matthew to enjoy. The photo shows Brian with Matthew.

Matthew's Mum, Helga, wrote, "We have manged to have a short ride out today (despite the rain), make some adjustments to Matthew's seat and start to build confidence (and stamina). We even managed to stay upright when a dog chased us down the road! We could not have wished for a better start to our bike riding."

Ben from Cheltenham

Ben is a young man from Charlotte's school, The Shrubberies. He has the Sun tandem from mid April to December 2012.

Dave from Ellesmere Port

Dave is visually impaired and took part in the RNIB sponsored ride from Paris to London in late June. Brian lent him the grey Dawes Galaxy from mid April 2012 to early July 2012.

Jasmine from Crewe

Jasmine's parents borrowed a Canyon trailer bike and backrest from mid April to the end of June 2012. Unfortunately the trailer bike and backrest were too big for her.

Faith from Cheltenham

Faith borrowed of one of our Gloucestershire based Viking Salerno tandems and picked it up in mid April 2012 and returned it in early February 2013.
Her Dad, Chris, has written, "We've been out a couple of times now; once very locally to check the set up and once a bit further afield. Faith was very keen to get on the tandem the second time; we had to keep getting her off until I was ready to get on."
They plan to buy their own tandem soon.

Joe from Herefordshire

Joe is a young man with Down's Syndrome. From the start of April 2012 he borrowed our Spokey Joe trailer bike and is the first borrower of our backrest with side supports. His parents, Robert and Nicky say that the side supports really help him balance, but he isn't yet used to the new seating position compared to a baby seat. Here is is with his brother.

Amanda from Wootton Bassett

Amanda was the first borrower of the Barracuda and had it from the end of March to mid August 2012 and has mobility problems. She has written, "My first ride, though difficult, was exhilarating. I smiled like a Cheshire Cat the whole time we were out (we were out for an hour) and for the rest of the day. It made me realise just how much I have missed cycling. I had pushed any thoughts of ever getting back on a bike to the back of my mind. I have decided to set myself a challenge next year, cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats. I have cleared it with my medical team, who think it is a great idea. My plan is to raise money for research into my condition and also for Charlotte's Tandems, whom without you I would never had the chance to give cycling a go." Click here for an article.
She then swapped the comfortable Barracuda for the speedy Mercian, see above and returned it in August 2013. She is hoping to become a Paralympic cyclist. Read here all about it and her LEJoG ride. She also took part in the RideLondon 100, see our Facebook site.

Abbie from Nailsworth, Glos.

Abbie and her Mum, Gail, were the first borrowers of our second Salerno. When they borrowed it they were looking forward to riding along the cycle track to Stroud and had the tandem from early March to mid June 2012.

Orlando from Uley, Glos

Orlando is a young boy whose physical difficulty means he can't balance his own bike. He is the first borrower of the Tag-a-long and had it from early March 2012 to mid July 2012. His Mum, Melanie, wrote, "Orlando loves it and we have been riding all round Uley."

Oliver from Macclesfield

Oliver and his family borrowered the Columbia tandem in early March 2012. Unfortunately he didn't enjoy riding it and they returned it in early May 2012.

Joshua from Stourbridge

Joshua and his family were the first borrowers of the Schwinn Sierra tandem and had it from early March to mid July 2012.

Rosie from Berkhamsted

Rosie has partial chromosome depletion and can't ride a bike on her own. Rosie and her Dad, Pete, are the first borrowers of the Essex based, Hiway Vertical tandem. Her Mum, Su, says, "Rosie is thrilled and we can't wait to go out for a family bike ride, something we've not been able to do since she grew out of the trailer bike over a year ago! Thank you, it's organisations like yours that make life with special needs a little easier."

Richard, who looks after the Essex tandems wrote, "Su and family came by this afternoon and have tried out the Hiway - very successfully. They are on their way back to Berkhamsted with it. Their daughter, Rosie (a namesake of my firstborn) was particularly happy with it." They had it from mid February to mid July 2012.

Her mum said at the end that they had enjoyed the rides but not had as many as they had liked due to the weather.

Companion Cycling

The BBC contacted us to see if they could borrow a tandem from us for a feature for Radio 4's PM programme. A blind lady, called June, had written to them to say that she would like to spend the 29th February 2012 riding a tandem. Martin from our Surrey outpost arranged for the our 2nd Blue Dawes Super Galaxy to be captained and looked after by Companion Cycling, who have a range of Special Needs bikes. We think that June was too small for our tandem, so she rode one from elsewhere on the the day. Here is the video.

Jan from Carshalton

Jan is visually impaired. She was the first borrower of our second Viking Saratoga tandem. It is the first tandem lent out from our Surrey outpost. She had the tandem from mid February 2012. She said, soon after receiving it, "We went out on it today for the first time and it was absolutely fantastic. I had really missed cycling and this brought it all back for me. We are going out again tomorrow". Thanks to Martin for arranging this.

Ben from Bristol

Ben has Retinitis Pigmentosa. He was the first borrower of the Orbit Gemini. He had the tandem from the end of January to the end of May 2012. He wrote, soon after getting it, "I took the tandem out for a proper ride on Wednesday and absolutely loved it. Was amazing to be on a bike again after so many years. We did a fifty mile round trip to Tintern, and it was beautiful..." The tandem was a little small for him but he said that "It really was a brilliant day, and I'm so grateful to Charlotte's Tandems for making it possible. Looking forward to going out again soon." He hopes to borrow a tandem again.

Adam from Sandbach

Adam borrowed of the U+1 from January to April 2012. His mum, Sam, wrote, "I took Adam on the tandem today, first time, straight on it and we were off and did a three mile trek. He loves it.. And I did to, he was laughing all the time on it. Thanks for the opportunity." Thanks to Brian for arranging this.
At the end of March, Sam wrote, "Well the tandem has been brilliant and has actually done the trick with my son Adam. It's built his confidence up do much we wanted to have a go on a bike on his own. We got him his own bike, within about ten minutes he was off on his own riding a two wheeler!!! For a boy with autism who a few months ago wouldn't even sit on a bike to this is absolutely brilliant. I can only thank you do much for the confidence the tandem has given him."

Caitlin from Runcorn

Caitlin and her dad were the first borrowers of the Grey Dawes Super Galaxy and had it from the end of December 2011 to mid April 2012. Thanks to Brian for arranging this. Unfortunately Caitlin didn't enjoy riding it.

Tom from Northamptonshire

Tom is blind and picked up the Mercian tandem from us in mid December 2011. He and his friend Brad couldn't wait to have a tandem and started practicing before they got it. They were the Mercian's first borrowers.
Since borrowing it, Tom has given us fantastic news that he has got his sight back and therefore the has now handed the tandem back.

Dave from Worcester

Dave is blind, has riden a tandem before, and tried a few years ago to find another one to ride. Click here for a clip from his radio show where he talks about finding a Captain, borrowing a tandem from us and their first ride in December 2011. Since his Captain, Mike, is 6'3", our huge Cannondale tandem is ideal for them. After their first ride Dave wrote, "I loved the freedom, fresh air, exercise, sense of space, relative speed compared with walking, and am itching to go out again as soon as possible." He found the saddle a bit narrow though and has bought himself a new saddle.
At the end of his hire period in early June 2012 he wrote, "Massive thanks to Charlotte's Tandems for the loan of the Cannondale! The bike allowed me to rediscover a long abandoned hobby without commiting to a substantial purchase. Once I found a regular pilot, I was out around twice per week. From my home in Worcester, I cycled to Malvern and Grimley, plus many trips alongside the River Severn. The fresh air and exercise did me the power of good. A chance meeting with paralympian Sarah Storey was inspirational and renewed my enthusiasm for cycling. As my strength improved, I was amazed to find this former couch potato averaging around 20 km per hour. I've no plans to emulate Sarah and cycle competitively, but I am now in the market ready to buy my own tandem and hopefully take on some longer trips. I'd recommend cycling to just about anyone. A tandem is more exhilarating than walking, and more sociable than an exercise bike. Give it a go, you may just surprise yourself. I did!"
He has since bought his own tandem.

Jacob from Cambridge

Jacob's dad, Andy, has wanted Jacob to cycle for a while and now he can, thanks to the Dawes Galaxy tandem that he collected from Richard in Essex in October 2011.

He writes, "Jacob has severe dyspraxia and has always had significant challenges with his fine and gross motor skills. The tandem has been superb and a new lease of life. The provision has enabled Jacob, for the first time in his life, to ride a bike. It has been such an encouragement. Our thanks go to all you at Charlotte's
Tandems and the wonderful work you do in allowing us to have this opportunity."

Chris from Hertford

Chris and his Dad tried out a tandem, with the help of Richard. Unfortunately due to Chris' lack of strength they found out that a normal tandem is not suitable. Chris and his Dad are now looking to try out, and maybe buy, a tricycle tandem. If anyone can help then please contact us.

Charlotte from Oldbury, West Midlands

Charlotte, like many other of our borrowers, is unable to ride her own bike safely, so Mum and Dad saw an advert of our tandems in a Contact a Family newsletter and were the second borrowers of our first Viking Saratoga, having it until July 2012. Her Mum and Dad rode on their own first, to get used to the bike, before taking Charlotte on it. Charlotte has been looking at pictures of people on tandems and been getting very excited. Dad, Mark, wrote our Facebook page, "At first, Charlotte was reluctant to go on the tandem. However, as we live on an hill, she appears to have realised this is the best way to get home - with dad doing all the work".
In June 2012 her Mum wrote, "Charlotte's Dad and Charlotte have been busy on the tandem, mainly keeping to our local streets. Charlotte, despite her limited communications problems, has always been keen to go on the tandem and has always had a smile on her face, Our reason for wanting the tandem was that we had no idea how she would cope with cycling, but she has adapted very well - although her dad informs me she peddles very occasionally!!
As the tandem is returned we have made the decision to purchase a speciality adapted trike for Charlotte. Such an item does not come cheap, but we would not have had the confidence to make such a purchase
without Charlotte's Tandems. Thank you for giving Charlotte of Oldbury the opportunity to cycle.

Barney from South Gloucestershire

Barney's Mum first thought about tandeming when she saw the Tandem Club Rally in Jersey in 2011. Barney was the second borrower of the Salerno. His Mum wrote a week after picking it up the following message,

"Barney loves the tandem, he has been out with his Dad about 5 times since we collected it. Today all three of us went out together something we haven't been able to do since Barney outgrew his tag along. The only down side is Barney asks every morning and every evening when are going out again! It really has been fantastic and I can't thank you enough,"

In February 2012, she wrote that they have been stopped by a member of the Tandem Club, who had seen their photo in the Tandem Club Journal. They handed our tandem back in April 2012, since they now have their own tandem.

Helen and Jerry from Wells, Somerset

Helen has never really riden a bike before but her husband, Jerry, loves to ride. When she lost her sight she thought that she wouldn't be ever able to ride. They were the first borrowers of the Viking Saratoga that we bought with donations and had it for a week in mid September 2011 until they had nowhere to keep it anymore.

Eve from Market Drayton

Eve borrowed the U+1 from September 2011 to January 2012. Her Mum, Rachel, wrote this lovely message, just two days after collecting it:

"Eve absolutely loves the tandem!! She went on it with me last night and although nervous to start with she now kisses it constantly and it was the first thing she signed when she woke up this morning! I've promised her another go on it tonight when she gets back from school. Thank you so much for letting us borrow it. We plan to do a family cycling day this weekend (weather permitting) around where we live, the first time ever for us that we'll all be able to cycle together as a family! I have a attached a photo of our 'maiden voyage' and will send more through over the coming weeks when we have travelled around a bit on it. Again, thank you so much. I expect we will end up buying a tandem eventually once we'd saved up a bit, but it is brilliant to be able to trial one first."

Stuart from The Forest of Dean

Stuart was the first borrower of the Sun tandem and had it until mid April 2012: here is an article that he has written entitled "A little insight".
Hi folks. Having lost my sight suddenly about 3 years ago, I have become quite unfit through lack of exercise. I was told about Two's Company and went for a taster session and discovered just how unfit I was. I heard about Charlotte's Tandems and contacted them explaining the situation. I was fortunate in that they had a spare tandem available which they willingly loaned me AND at no cost! I had already foolishly agreed to a 12 mile ride with Two's Company in about 1 month's time. A keen cyclist friend of mine offered to take me out on 'Charlotte's Tandem'. This we did on several occasions during the intervening month. I was amazed how just a short ride teriodically, all be it spasmodic, had on my general fitness. I am hoping to continue riding but not just for the exercise but the opportunity of getting out in the fresh air and the companionship that develops with your 'front' rider. This is true, not just because he is a friend, but even with a stranger. May be it's because the front rider is a volunteer and does it to enable people like me to take part in an activity we can no longer do by ourselves. If it were not for Charlotte's Tandems I would not be in a position to undertake this sort of activity, so a big thank you to Alex and Kate. Did you ever think that your concern for Charlotte would have such a remarkable repurcussion. It proves what I have always tried to see, that 'every cloud has a silver lining'. You just have to look for it.

Calvin from Gloucester

Calvin is in his late 20s and has severe learning difficulties and autism. His Mum, Julie, says that he can ride his own bike but has no road sense, so wanted to try out a tandem so that they could go on rides together. They were the third borrowers of the Columbia and had it from late June to December 2011. Julie says that they've tried to ride it but he hasn't enjoyed it as he always likes to be at the front, especially when walking. Oh well, at least thay had a go.

Summer from Stroud

Summer was the second borrower of the U+1 (July & August 2010) and had the U+1 again for the summer holidays of 2011. Her Mum, Karen, wrote in 2010, "Hi, my daughter is getting on really well on the tandem. We haven't been on it so much at the moment, but as both children have finished school now, we have arranged a lot of bike rides with family and friends". In 2011 she wrote, "We thoroughly enjoyed having the tandem over the summer holidays. We went on long rides along the canal to Stonehouse and along the cycle track to Nailsworth, stopping at Egypt Mill for a well deserved drink!"

Adam from Stroud

Adam and his Dad, Nick about to set off. Adam and his family were the second borrowers of the Columbia. They had it from late May to late June 2011 and enjoyed two long rides. See the Charlotte's Tandems Facebook page for more photos.

Joel and Zoe from Oxfordshire

Joel and Zoe have been thinking of buying a tandem for a while. Zoel is Registered Blind so he was the stoker and Zoe was the Captain. They've tried a few tandems elsewhere but haven't found a suitable one yet. They borrowed the U+1 from us, because this means that Zoe can get on and off easily, from mid April to mid June 2011.

Zoe says, "We have been enjoying it; slightly worried that when going fast downhill in the park Joel said, I used to like roller coaster rides!!!"

Maybe we need to get a dog trailer too.

Dee from Herefordshire

Dee is a very tall lady with partial vision. She loves riding a bike but has found it hard to find a tandem big enough and of a reasonable quality. She has found one: our Cannondale. Her Tandem Club member friend picked the Cannondale up for us in mid January 2011 and returned it to us in October. The photo shows her with another of her friends, Claire.

Dee said, "I am having a fabulous time with the tandem. I have been out a couple of times a week and am truly won over. I have been lucky to have it throughout this lovely weather. The countryside has been stunning".

In October 2011 she wrote, "I would like to thank the donor and Charlotte's Tandems for the loan of the adult tandem. As I am partially-sighted the tandem is the only way that I can cycle and, never having ridden a tandem before the loan, has enabled me to try one without committing to a purchase. I am now 'hooked' as I have had great fun and I cannot thank you enough!"

Ollie from Fairford

Ollie and his Dad Stu on the Columbia. Ollie was the first borrower of the Columbia. They have now returned the Columbia having had it from August 2000 to February 2011 and were the 4th borrowers of the U+1 (from Feb to mid April 2011), as that has a lower step-over at the front, making it easier for Mum to ride. His mum writes,

"I never managed to get a photo of Oliver on the Raleigh but this is a great one of him on the 1st tandem we borrowed. He loved riding around waving like Royalty around Fairford. He always made people smile. I found the Raleigh quite heavy but it was a much better size for me. I am sure there is the right one out there for us somewhere.

Thank you so much for doing what you do, hopefully it will enable many more families to enjoy cycling as a family."

Alfie from Plymouth

Alfie was the third borrower of the U+1. They had it from September 2010 but his Mum said that he didn't get used to it being with them. She returned it in at the end of January 2011.

Joel from Gloucester

Our first feedback, received via the Tandem Club Discussion board. Joel was the first borrower of the U+1. Sarah Bushell writes, "Just like to say a big thank you to the gentleman who donated a tandem to Alex, and Alex and Kate, for lending us the tandem. We had been thinking for a while of purchasing a tandem to enable us to take our son on cycle rides. Our son has ASD and severe learning difficulties and therefore it is very difficult for us to go out as a family. We borrowed the tandem for a while, but unfortunately he did not enjoy riding the tandem and was very reluctant initially, then refused to ride it at all. Allthough this doesn't sound like positive feedback, we are very grateful for this opportunity to borrow the tandem as we could have bought one and wasted our money. So once again, thank you to all involved."

Charlotte from Dursley

The first tandem that was donated was a Dawes Super Galaxy. After restoring it, Charlotte decided that she preferred to ride this over our Raleigh Pioneer Venture U+1, so we are using the Dawes now and started lending out the U+1. She loves riding it and in summer 2010 we took it to Holland. We rode every morning, afternoon and evening and she kept taking me back to it to ask to go on it again. We also took it to France in 2011.
Back in England we love cycling along the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal towpath, overtaking the solo bikes, and riding top speed down the Cotswold Escarpment.
Check out the Charlotte's Tandems site on Facebook for some videos.