My friend Jim bought this Mic Wic Delta back to back tandem on Ebay a few weeks ago. I wasn't aware until recently that anyone made a bike like this commercially. It immediately caught my interest. According to "Encycleopedia: For the Love of Bikes":Stokers find it a very relaxing ride - just sit back, unwind, and enjoy the panoramic views. Conversation between the riding partners is easy: no shouting is needed with your heads just inches apart. After a few miles, the unusual feeling of travelling backwards becomes quite pleasant: you're freed from the stress of watching the road ahead, and can savour the scenery through which you travel. The captain has a feeling of complete control: the handling is very stable, and the Hope hydraulic disk brakes authoritative in their stopping power. With the stoker to warn of traffic approaching from behind -and to make eye contact -it's a safe vehicle in traffic, and certainly catches the eye of drivers, who give it plenty of room. The Delta is a quick machine, thanks to the aerodynamic layout: air flows smoothly over the two riders. The wheel base is short for a recumbent tandem, and it has a tight turning circle. Climbing performance is also good for a recumbent, helped by the very stiff frame of 2" and I 1/8"aerospace grade 4130 tubing. The Delta frame and forks are made of 4130 Cro-Moly, with hammock style seats and 20" wheels. Originally designed for racing, MIC WIC designer and builder Bob Tennant decided it was just too nice to limit it to the track and has added a lot of refinements. The Delta can be used for racing, touring ( MIC WIC has designed panniers to fit between the riders for storage ) or just enjoyable day rides. It is a superb all-round tandem. The captain has full control using Hope hydraulic disk brakes (which can be personalised), top of the line gearing and direct steering. The Delta is easy to control at low speed as well as flying around corners at amusement-park-ride speeds. It hugs the road due to its low center of gravity right in the middle of the wheels.
The bike and the company are the product of Bob Tennant. As told in the "Encycleopedia..." article, Tennant was a math teacher and an avid cyclist who disocvered recumbents and decided to spend all his time designing and building bents. According to a couple of people I've talked to, the company may now be out of business. What a pity. It seems a shame that such an innovative and unconventional design is no longer being produced (if the rumors are true). 
Angletech Cycles still lists the bike on it's product list and I'm advised that there is still one frame in stock. 
Probably the most notable Mic Wic was owned by Dustin Anderson , aka the Purple Pirate in Vancouver. Dustin and his wife Farah pioneered and rode the "5000forhealth" across Canada this year on a Mic Wic. They've since sold the bike, but Dustin is working on a new and improved back to back recumbent tandem design that should debut next year.
Ken, David, Aimee and I all went to the ride together in my Tahoe. The Draftmaster worked perfectly and we were able to haul all three bikes no problem.
The ride was not as heavily patronized as I thought it would be. I think about 450 riders showed up and I was told by someone later that 1000 were expected. The ride started at 8am in Anahuac. Our friends Debbie and Pat showed up late for the ride, but were not allowed to start. Instead, they were sagged up to Rest Stop No. 1. I assume this was for safety.
The ride south was beautiful. The route is over flat terrain with the exception of four large bridges along the way: the High Island Bridge, the Galveston Causeway, the Kemah Bridge and the Fred Hartman Bridge. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Winds were from the southeast at about 10-12mph. That meant a headwind, but we were cheered by the fact that these sames breezes would be a tailwind on the second day of the ride when we headed back up the north. I didn't realize how lucky we were with the weather until Monday, the day after the ride, a huge cold front blew through bringing rain and thunderstorms.
Our only real challenge on Day One was the High Island Bridge linking High Island to the mainland. Since it spans the Intracoastal Waterway, it's tall and fairly short. Aimee and I did not like the climbing performance of the Seavo in Oklahoma so last week we replaced the 30 tooth chain ring on the front crank with 26 tooth ring. It worked as intended and we had no problem reaching the top with gears to spare.
At the western end of High Island we boarded the Bolivar Ferry for the 10 minute trip to Galveston Island and the end of Day One.
Seen on the restroom doors at the High Island Ferry landing.
Ken, Aimee, yours truly and David. We finished Day One at about 3pm. Day Two afforded the same great wether as Day One, only now we had a tail wind. Riders were warned Saturday afternoon that the Day Two ride would start promptly at 8am and that there would be police excort over the Galveston Causeway. This worked out well. The route north covered territory that was new to me, at least on my bike. We rode along the Texas City Dike, through Kemah and the shipping and rail center at Barber's Cut.
Sag support was exceptional on this ride. I had to stop on Day One to take a work phone call. Three sag vehicles stopped to ask if we were okay. It was the same on Day two. Any time Aimee and I stopped to take an unscheduled break, a passing sag wagon would slow down to be sure were okay. There were also many motor cycle riders patrolling the route on both days.
Rest stops were well staffed and fully stocked. The lunch provided on both days was excellent, in my humble opinion. Saturday was Chick Filet and Sunday was Jason's Deli.
By early afternoon on Day Two we were approaching the Fred Hartman Bridge over the Houston Ship Channel. I've ridden this bridge a couple of times in past years, but always east to west. This ride would take us west to east. In order to minimize our exposure to freeway trarffic, the organizers erected a ramp at the base of the bridge. This allowed us to get on the bridge without riding on the busy freeway approach. It also let us begin and end our bridge transit in a cordoned bike lane all the way over. This was a great idea.
In sum, this is one of the best organized rides I've been on in quite a while. This is the first year for this ride and I hope it will be repeated next year.
