TANDEM

~ Iain Kelly

‘Are you pedalling back there?’ puffed Archie as the tandem bicycle crawled up the incline.

‘Of course I am,’ Agnes lied, giving her pedals a few cursory turns for appearance’s sake.

They reached the crest of the hill. Archie pulled on the brakes. Agnes jolted forward at the sudden stop.

‘Why have you stopped?’ she asked.

‘Just need a minute to get my breath back.’ Archie pointed to the valley ahead of them. ‘Wonderful view.’

‘Not from where I’m sitting,’ said Agnes, who had spent the last hour watching Archie’s oversized behind wobbling in front of her.

‘I did ask if you wanted to go in front. Perhaps we should have got two separate bicycles.’

‘Don’t be silly. It’s been much more fun like this.’

‘Have you got the camera? Get a photo of the view.’

Agnes tutted and clambered off the bicycle. As she raised the camera, Archie pedalled past her, picking up speed on the downward slope.

‘Pub’s at the bottom of the hill,’ he called back. ‘Enjoy the walk.’

photo-20170807154618536
Copyright Dorothy

Written as part of Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. The challenge is to write a flash fiction story in around 150 words, based on the weekly photo prompt. Thanks as always to the challenge host Priceless Joy. For more information visit HERE.

To read other stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

Click here for more adventures featuring Agnes and Archie: THE AGNES AND ARCHIE STORIES

Published by Iain Kelly

38 year old, avid film viewer and book reader, employed in the media industry.

57 thoughts on “TANDEM”

  1. Pingback: TANDEM – All About Writing and more

  8. I’m not a cyclist and even though I did it a lot as a kid growing up it’s not my fav thing so I think Agnes was smart having Archie do all the work. I mean she did have to put up with that view so I think Archie needed the exercise too. But it’s probable Agnes might as well? On one hand it’s funny Archie left her behind, very well aware of her devious plan to make him her transportation; on the other, maybe Agnes is similar to me and would prefer the walk to the pub?

    On another note, Agnus could try rollerblading I’ve found that to be faster and more fun, as well as, much easier when your climbing hills once you’ve got your balance down and have practiced a bit in park it’ll lots before doing longer runs. I’m not sure of her age, but falling might be an issue but u can wear at the very least wrist guards and a helmet to catch yourself and guard your head.

    Great story Ian.

    Like

    Reply

  19. Well, Angie realized that Archie needs the exercise with his oversized behind and all 😀 Fun take, Iain. You should write a full series about Archie and Angie. I would buy that.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. LOL’s I guess it was more fun for her since she didn’t do any of the work! She could have asked to switch places with him instead of just not helping pedal, and others probably would have left her also, but she didn’t have it too bad since the ride up the hill is worse than the walk down the hill. I have a feeling they will not be riding on the same bike anymore. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  29. Great story. The dialogue is easy and natural as is the relationship between the two I was surprised by the ending as I saw Angie as younger, too young for a pub. Then again, I don’t know what, if any, age limit exists for pubs:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you! Interesting point. I see them as a middle-aged, heading to retirement age couple, perhaps on a tandem to relive their youth or try something new. Perhaps I should write about them when they were younger too.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.