the tandem lives...

I own this tandem bike for obscure reasons. It has an involved backstory, which is told by Jason Crane in two parts: Part 1 and Part 2.
I got the repaired rear wheel back from the Downtube a few weeks ago, and the replacement tire from them about 2 weeks later. Today, I finally enlisted the 13 year old to help me clean & lube the chains (they looked awful due to surface rust.) She did not think too much of her task, which was to hold the rear wheel up while I applied the various solutions to the chain. But she lived, and later I took it for a short (1 mile or so) ride (without anyone in back -- my daughter's time will come, though).
The bike seems to work pretty well, there are concerns about shifting which I'll have to address, but it got me down the road and back. The front brakes are a bit grabby, the rears are not, probably some adjustment is needed in back. I had to remove the shoes to reinstall the wheel, and i didn't really line them up properly.
So there you have it...