Tandem Riding: Doggie Style

During one of our stays in Akyaka, Turkey, we decided to rent bicycles and explore the beautiful seaside valley on two wheels. We chose a pleasant 30 km loop around the valley, and after some deliberation, we settled on renting a single bicycle for the both of us.

As Ferit and I were both tandem virgins, we weren't quite sure how tandem riding worked. But, with Ferit as the bicycle's fearless captain and with me as the ever-ready stoker, we were confident we could figure out how a couple goes about losing their tandem virginity.

Excited to start the ride.

It took a mile or so for us to figure out how to ride together. Once Ferit learned how to use the gears, and once I learned to begin pedaling only after Ferit's feet were firmly planted on the pedals, we were golden.

The route was beautiful. We particularly enjoyed riding past the fields containing perfectly shaped cones of drying sesame.

Fields of drying sesame.

In the few instances where the scenery was less than thrilling, I fixed my glance forward and slightly downward, admiring the cute toosh of my captain.

Now, loose dogs are a potential threat on any bike ride. But in a country where feral dogs are everywhere, the stakes are a wee bit different.

Fortunately, most dogs in Turkey are just too damn lazy to chase cyclists. But guard dogs, on the other hand, were bred to chase bicycles -- especially guard dogs who are endowed with the responsibility of protecting herds of goats.

The video below shows a snippet of me and Ferit on our tandem ride. If you pay close attention as we circle back towards the camera, you'll notice that we are riding the tandem in our "doggie style" position.

After the herd passed, we called out to the shepherd (or would you call him a "goatherd"?) asking whether the dog was guarding the goats. The shepherd responded (in Turkish, of course), "Indeed, the dog is guarding the goats. The dog doesn't chase unless you get in front of him."

Lesson learned: Don't get in front of a goat-guarding dog.

Near the end of the route, we stopped off at one of the small villages in the valley to enjoy a refreshing glass of fresh pomegranate juice. We raised our glasses to cheer our escape from the ferocious goat-herding dog and our success in changing a flat tire (yup, we were blessed with such an opportunity on our short ride),

Enjoying a glass of pomegranate juice.

We returned to our starting point and took one final spin around the block before calling it a day.

Taking one last spin on the tandem.

What a day it was riding our tandem, doggie style! As Mr. Whitman once wrote, "Oh captain! My captain! Our fearful trip is done."