Jun 9, 2010 2
Xtracycle: The Wedding Bicycle of Choice (or Why Tandems Will Never Be)
Seems like every month we get a picture of another happy couple riding off into matrimonial bliss on the Xtracycle, which leads me to believe (okay, so I am a little biased) that Xtracycle is the definitive bike of choice for married couples, on that special day.
Why, I then ask myself, is it not tandems, that fill that special niche?
I suspect it is because tandems fail as the ideal vehicle for the following reasons:
1. Tandems force a true hierarchy by design - there’s the person that leads and then, there’s the stoker. The leader gets to steer and see the road. They get a boost from behind, and some extra mass when flying downhill. The stoker is an energy source but not much more - makes me think of the saying: “behind every great man is a great woman.” I don’t think this is a fun way to kick off a marriage - especially as we have come to understand marriage as a democratic union of two people, rather than ‘her’ obeying ‘him.’
2. Tandems are not that romantic - I once heard a man say that “my tandem bike saved my marriage” — as touching as that statement was, it wasn’t romantic. It conjured images in my mind of working through the greatest challenges in one’s relationship on lonely roads with brutal headwinds. Healthy? yes. Romantic? No. Not what you want to evoke on that oh-so romantic of days.
3. Tandems are too ‘equal.’ While we have given up on the hierarchical pretext of marriage - we have not yet given up on the notion that in marriage - each person is in service of the other. As such, shepherding your spouse-to-be on the back of your Xtracycle to/from/around the wedding ceremony does bring that proverbial tear to one’s eye. The lady (or the guy) seated casually, always sidesaddle (no straddling…ahem…yet), all makes for great photo-ops, and a good statement to those conservative wedding guests about your feelings about the global oil oligarchy wreaking havoc on our communities and our environment. What would a wedding be without a little drama - a little family politics?
No, the Bakfiets will never work as a wedding vehicle, though it’s alright for the photographer. Steering your bride or groom away in the front of a Bakfiets is not that far a stretch from to hauling them off in a wheelbarrow with “Just Married” chalked on the side and cans a-trailing. Just doesn’t have that elegant charm of the side-saddled steed.
If you like bike weddings, you’ll love this video posted to TucsonVelo’s blog. Mazel Tov!
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