the Downside-Up Circus » tandem

The tandem is here! The tandem is here! (A tall, treacherous, tragic, and finally terrific tale.)

Victoria — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:51:44 +0000

Come dear readers, gather close as I tell you an epic tale of one bike’s journey to the edge of the universe.

Once upon a time, there were two girls. These two girls (let’s call them Tara and Victoria) were crowded closely together looking at pictures of bikes online, looking for one that would carry them both as they embarked on a wonderous tour in western Washington. As they debated the benefits of each bike, suddenly they found the perfect bike. It gleamed red and was perfect in size and price, so without hesitation, they snatched up that perfect bike.

For two months they biked happily in tandem, enjoying the breeze and company of another person close by. Time flew, its hair blowing in the wind. Soon, the time of the tour arrived, and in a frantic flurry, the two had suddenly graduated. Tara sent their “Sweet Ride” on its way through Greyhound Package Express. It was far cheaper than mailing the bike by either post or taking it on the plane, and promised to arrive at their destination in three (yes! three!) days. Though unbelievable, Tara accepted this good luck graciously and sent off the bike whispering, “We’ll see you soon, Sweet Ride.” It gleamed lovingly back as if to say, “I’ll miss you every minute I’m gone.”

And so, the two girls found themselves in Washington and eagerly called the local Greyhound to see if their dear friend had arrived. Alas, it hadn’t. Surely, the girls thought to themselves, surely Sweet Ride will be here soon. Every day the girls thought this before laying their heads down to sleep. Surely, surely Sweet Ride will be here soon.

However, the days skated by without a care for the absence of Tara and Victoria’s dear friend. After calling so often, the girls began to instantly recognize the voice of the wonderful woman, Leah, who works at Greyhound. And every day, Leah would sadly inform the girls that their red bike friend was nowhere to be found.

After a week, the girls called in to put a tracer on their friend, to see if any other stations had seen Sweet Ride. Alas, no response.

It was one perfectly normal day, as normal days go. The sun shone, peeking out between clouds. The troupe had just put together a few acts and since it was two and a half weeks from sending their bike on its journey, Victoria called once more in final resignation.

“Hi Leah,” Victoria said. “I know our tandem isn’t here yet, and so I’m calling to put a claim on it.” Leah completely understood and told us how we could come in tomorrow to pick up the necessary paperwork. Tara and Victoria hung their heads sadly, with the sad thought that they’d never again see their bike. If only they hadn’t taken their time with Sweet Ride for granted, they thought. If only we could have one last ride.

But a beautiful thing happened! Tara’s phone rang quite suddenly. They both looked at the screen. “Greyhound Xpress,” it read.

“Hello?” Tara breathlessly answered, barely daring to hope.

“Is this Tara?” Leah asked coyly.

“Yes…yes, this is Tara….” The silence stretched on for three lifetimes.

“I have a tandem bicycle here for you!”

Indeed! Their Sweet Ride, their beloved bike had arrived! The sun blasted out from behind its cloud cover and a joyful chorus rose around them as Tara and Victoria grinned at each other.

And that, good friends and readers, is how the tandem came to Washington. Tara, Molly, and Victoria will be leaving Port Townsend tomorrow to head back to Everett to pick up Sweet Ride and soon head off to Bellingham.

I can’t help but wonder: will Sweet Ride reveal the secrets of its journey? Or will it silently keep the memories of Miami beaches, New Orleans jazz and the wide open skies of Montana? Who knows? If any of its stories should slip out, Tara and I will be sure to tell you. But for now, rest assured that it is finally here.

Gearing Up in Seattle

Tara — Sun, 30 May 2010 04:37:45 +0000

Victoria and I have joined Molly in Seattle! While awaiting the arrival of our tandem (which is making its way across the country via Greyhound Package Express and should be here soon!), we’ve been going on bike rides on Molly’s family’s bikes.

Today, despite a short downpour we did a 35 mile bike trek mostly along the gorgeous Burke-Gilman Trail, from Molly’s house just outside Seattle all the way in to Seattle Center. There, where we jaunted around the Folklife festival, enjoying great folk music and street performers, contradancing, and playing with newfound fellow circus folk. Lots of fun despite the gloomy weather.

Tara and Luke juggle at Folklife.

Now we’re staying with a lovely bearded man, Bryan, in Georgetown, in a little house with its own bike rack out front. He’s involved with Alleycat Acres, an urban farming collective that “transforms vacant spaces to create a network of sustainable urban farms that reconnect people to food while helping to increase food security on a community level.” So, he’s awesome. And he’s letting us stay on his couch(es)!

Victoria and Tara do acro at Folklife.

I ride my bike I roller skate don’t drive no car…

Victoria — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:04:33 +0000

Right now, all the members of the INTERROBANG tour are scattered across the country doing a myriad of activities. For example, Tara and I are working as flying trapeze instructors at a sports camp. We’ve recently been looking into which bikes would best suit our tour, which then reminded us that we will definitely need to be training hard next year. Our goal is to bike 50 miles a day, with some days off where we stay put and perform often. Tara and I have just started biking to work, which is a very hilly 4 miles one way. The hills posed both a good challenge (especially when my bike played the ‘you wanted a low gear? Oh! Well let me just go against your wishes and shift you back into the highest gear!’ game) and insanely fun when going up and down them, respectivley. In any case, it was pretty satisfying to stroll into the camp already sweaty and thoroughly wind-blown.

Another benefit to biking is it really makes you work on your projection skills. If you wanted to talk to the person in front of you, you really do have to get your voice out there. This has a multitude of useful applications beyond chatting while biking. For example, good projection will be extraordinarily useful when letting towns know that the circus is in town, emceeing to a huge crowd, shouting up to princesses locked in high towers, and for dressing up in business suits and looking intimidating.

Tara and I are planning on riding a tandem bicycle for the tour, which means that projection won’t be as necessary (seeing as how we’re quite close to one another). We’ve been thinking of things the stoker (person in the back) can do while the captain steers. So far we’ve thought of filming/photographing the rest of the troupe as we’re on the road, reading out loud to the captain, high fiving other bikers/pedestrians, and juggling.

What would you do if you were on the back of a tandem bicycle riding through towns?