My Most Recent Ride 2008 (Part I of series)

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Thanks Dave for the kudos. But this trip would be Nada if it weren't for Don Sullivan who plan the whole thing.

Still Don, Dave, and Buddy were great partners in this adventure and I am soooo thankful I went with them. A trip of a life time. BTW Dave is the "unoffical" photographer of RRI. I hope he uploads some pictures of our KATY ride because they are OUTSTANDING!!!!!

Changing subjects, I have a client who is going to ride each leg of the the Tour de France this year before the professionals do. What a vacation!!!! I am soooo envious!!!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

I did a little 22 mile roundtrip to Lowe's for parts (on my GEBE powered Speedster SWB) ... and about 4 miles around my little town on my TE Clone with my grandsons.

I've spent most of my time working on building a BenTech SWB for a client.

See the progress on my blogsite ... :

http://frethsrecumbents.blogspot.com

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Hi, Royal,

Your blog is very instructive. Interesting pictures. Seems like building a bike from scratch like you do would take more patience than I tend to have. I'm glad there are folks like you willing to do that work so the rest of us get to ride too.

I've been riding to work one or two days each week since the middle of February. I finally found a jacket and gloves that block the wind well enough that I can ride in temps down to the mid 30's. My toes still get cold -- guess I need shoe covers.

So, Jon, what was the KATY-trail-on-a-trike experience like? Did you run into any issues the two wheelers didn't? Was the crushed limestone surface ever an issue for you? Thanks...

Tom

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Awesome to see that some (most) of us are making plans and getting out for rides.

I went again today. Loke and I did 13.2 miles and it was wonderful. I feel like I did something, but I don't feel dead. I'm sure I could have made the 20 mile route though I think I would have felt very beat.

The weather was pretty much like it was yesterday. Partly sunny, though a bit cooler at 37 F, slight breezes. Pity I didn't take my camera with me, though I don't think it would have done me much good for the two breath-taking sights. It was 'Day of the Swans'

The first 4 miles of the ride, I spotted a swan winging across the sky. The SUN had broken through the clouds and highlighted it into a bright white against a lead gray backdrop of clouds. No way I could have pulled over, pulled the camera out and powered it up before the moment was gone.

The other one sight, I don't think it would have come out very well as a photo. I wouldn't have even noticed them except Loke spotted them and wanted to go play and they were a little nervous about the dog so started honking. One of the fields was still covered in snow and sitting on it were 50 or 60 swans. White birds against white ground... hmmm. Don't think it would make much of a photo.

But the ride was good. A bit colder as I said, not to mention that the temps in the country are 2 degrees cooler as well. Loke impressed me greatly. Again, he kept a very good pace. It was only the last mile and a half that he started dragging (speed dropping below 7 mph). I guess the sheer amount of distance he covered last year (540+ miles) gave him some very good conditioning and he just kept some of it even through the winter.

I have to add that I really enjoy going with the furball. I often find myself just looking over at him with a big grin and scratching his ears as he jogs along. Granted, I can go faster and sometimes farther without him, but I still enjoy it.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

I had NO issues at all. The three wheels gave me stability. The small 20 inch wheels took the extra weight without a problem. The crushed stone was not a problem because I had Kendra Quest fat tires on it. The trike worked like a charm.

I would like to try the same ride with my V-Rex and mid-panniers. The two wheels should have less rolling resistance than three or four (a V-Rex with a BOB or Rocket with a Burley trailer). I bought a used set of Terra Cycle mid pannier mounts. Haven't used them yet, but plan to. With the weight in the middle of the SWB recumbent and riding on just two tires, I think I my rolling resistance would be less and I could cover the miles easier. Plus, the extra weight in the middle of my SWB recumbent should give me good stability. We shall see!!!

Have no plans to revisit the KATY trail but it is a long range goal.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Rode the Tour de Pike ride south of Atlanta yesterday. Weather was cool to start but quickly warmed up to about 60. The skies were perfectly clear and the wind, light at first but built up during the day.

I started out with the fast group, and boy were they fast. A lot of team type jerseys leading the group, I was tucked in at the back. After about 5 miles I had to let them go as my HR was creeping up into the upper 140's and I like it in the 120's for a long ride. My adverage speed at this time was 21.8. So I dropped off the back of that group only to get picked up by the second fast group. I didn't hold onto them long before I was dropped again.

I stopped for a minute at the second rest stop and took off my heavy full fingered gloves and off I went. this time I hooked up with two other fella and we rode sort of together for the next 5 miles or so. Neither of them really knew how to work together in a paceline so they wern't much help.

We were caught by a big group that was partially made up of the first fast group. It seems they had missed a turn or something. There were about 20 or so and I picked it up again so I could stay with them for a while. riding beside a long paceline is great, sort of like riding in the slipstream of a bus. So gradually over the next mile or so the line worked past me. When I was just about to fall off the back we hit a nice downhill 5 or 6% grade. I motored past the whole group and when we hit the top of the next hill there I was firmly in the middle of their group again. Well all good things come to an end and they dropped me after a little longer, not on a hill just motoring along about 24 on the flat and my HR again was well into the 140's.

Stopped at the 40 mile mark for a nature/food stop. This was the deciding moment between doing the 65 mile ride or the century. After all the work I had done trying to ride with the big boys, I took the 65 mile turn. I followed out behind a group of four 60ish riders who were moving along pretty good. A busy highway so I drafted behind them until it was clear then pulled to the front and asked if they wanted a pull from me. A OK either way was the response and I pulled for a little while but it felt like they were sort of lagging back waiting for me to go...so I did.

Right at about the 50 mile mark we turned onto an older highway with really rough/patched chip/seal. The wind was picking and and my nose was pointed into it now. The next 20 miles were tough. I did manage to pass two more riders along this stretch and I wasn't passed by anyone else. When at last I turned back onto the major highway leading back to the start of the ride I was toast.

Coasting into the parking lot my computer said 70.1 miles, 4 hours 4 minutes. I had taken 50 minutes off my 70 mile ride last week. Granted that was in the rain/wind and had 1000 feet more climbing but still I am pretty happy.

The after ride meal was the greatest. The Kiwanis Club had taken over a small cafe and opened it up to riders only.

Ward

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

On Saturday, March 21st, I rode the Tour De Sewer hosted by the Bell Gardens Lions Club. There were a choice of 3 rides, a 15 mile (flat, out and back) a 30 mile (mostly flat, but 1 small hill to climb) and the metric century (1 small hill, 1 large hill steep and about 3 miles long, 1 medium hill about 2 miles long, and then a bunch of up and down. The day was overcast and cool, so it was very good riding weather, particularly for climbing hills. Before and during the ride I saw a total of 3 other recumbents, a low racer, a Tour Easy, and a tadpole trike.

A couple of my friends and I chose to do the metric century together, so there were 2 diamond frames and my Actionbent Jetstream doing our best to stay together.

Friday night, I dropped my bike off at Gerhard’s house and then Saturday morning my wife dropped me off there. Gerhard, his wife (who rode the 30 mile route with her sister), and I rode to the start of the Tour De Sewer, about 2 miles. We registered and met up with Dave, and then we started off.

The first third of the ride consisted of approximately 7 miles of riding the bike path north along the Rio Hondo River, from Ford Park in Bell Gardens up to the Whittier Narrows Dam, we climbed to the top of the dam, then took streets (still climbing) through Montebello flanking the Montebello Mall, at this point we headed down hill (were I reached the highest speed I would on this ride, 36.5mph) to then ride across the Whittier Narrows to Rose Hills.

From Rose Hills we followed the route laid out for us, and during this point I was passed by a guy riding a low racer, boy, was he ever fast! I was holding about a 16 or 17 mph clip through this section and he passed me like I was standing still. This section of route dropped us off on Beverly Blvd, where we headed east and up!

Beverly Blvd turns into Turnbull Canyon Rd, from the time of turning onto Beverly and reaching the crest of Turnbull Canyon, was about 5 or 6 miles of constant climb. We probably gained about 2,500 or maybe 3,000 feet of elevation. Needless to say, I wasn’t going very quickly through this section. It was through this section that the gentleman on the Tour Easy slowly passed me. We chatted for a couple of minutes as he was working his way past me. After about 45 minutes, I crested the hill where there was a rest point with snacks, and everyone was commenting about the climb, so it wasn’t just me that was thinking it was a long hard climb.

The next third of the ride consisted of circling the Whittier Hills, following various roads from Turnbull over to Fullerton Road, where we crossed over the Whittier Hills again, then rode west doing a lot of up and down riding. The second rest spot was just after coming out of the hilly area.

We then took off and went back to Rose Hills (which required climbing a shallow grade for about 2 miles) then went south on the San Gabriel River bike path to the third rest stop. A nice ride, except for the fact I was getting tired and we were heading into the wind. It was through this area that several people were willing to trade bikes with me as they were commenting about their behinds hurting. Being kind, I simply said I was quite comfortable. From the third rest stop, we went further south, and then cut over on streets to the LA River bike path, heading north to the Rio Hondo River bike path back to Ford Park. Where we gratefully got off our bikes and had lunch.

After having lunch, Dave, Gerhard and I headed back to our respective homes. Dave put his bike back into his truck and drove home (about 20 miles), Gerhard rode the 2 miles back to his house, and I rode about 5 miles back to mine. All told, I rode 69.2 miles, had a fun time, enjoyed spending time with friends and showed others that recumbents can pretty much keep up with them and are much more comfortable doing it! After all the time in the saddle, I was not hurting anywhere but in my legs, which were basically quite tired!! This was the longest I had ever ridden in one day. I’m actually looking forward to doing another long ride and the 2010 Tour De Sewer.

For those interested in the course, this web site will walk you through it - http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/2008-Tour-de-Sewer-62-Mile-Course

And here is the web page for the Lion’s club who hosted the event.

http://www.bellgardenslions.com/Ride2009.html

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

WOW!!!

It is great to hear members of our group are out and riding again after hibernating over the winter to some degree or another.

Well, my most recent ride WAS NOT on my V Rex. In fact, it wasn't on a recumbent at all. It was a bicycle because it had two wheels.

I attached a video of my ride. I had a BLAST!!!! This video was taken in the Bahamas last week. BEAUTIFUL and WARM weather as you will see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S77ogCHTj34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG_6UptBYrk

But I am back on my V Rex today. Can't wait. 62 degrees and sunny out. Whoo Hoo!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

That's no bicycle. It's a Segway, and there's nothing else to compare it to. I rode one recently when the utility meter reader came to our plant. I threatened to not give it back to him. The standard version was a blast, but the off-road version is something indescribable. Now if I only had $6000 lying around waiting to be spent...

Dave

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Here is rare footage of David riding the Segway. You will notice he is a little bit shorter than the other chap, but I really like his dismount! Also if you don't know, Dave works for a Japanese company. His boss is showing him how to ride. Nice bike helmet Dave!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pFv8CAniYQ&NR=1

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Hi, Jon. I'd like to take you up on your offer. Would this next Friday (April 3) work for you?

Thanks!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Another outdoor ride under my belt.

Wasn't sure it was going to happen. We had one of those strange snowy days yesterday. Look out the window, perfectly clear, trees peaceful. 15 min later, snow flying sideways, can't see across the street and trees whipping around wildly. Rinse and repeat.

But it didn't accumulate much. I didn't think I was going to make it out today though since it was supposed to stay around 25 degrees which would have meant snowy paths and roads. Around 10:30, I looked at our window thermometer. It said 38. I took the dog for a quick walk to double check conditions and the snow was vanishing fast so I decided to chance it that I could handle what little snow wasn't going fast with my slicks.

It was nice. We did our 13.5 mile loop with sunshine and snowy fields. The roads were mostly clear except in two little spots, but Loke (for once) threw his weight into his harness and helped get us past them. Saw a few hawks and even a fox. There were swans back in that field again today, but only about 20 or 30 of them instead of 50 to 60.

My stamina seems to be picking up faster than Loke's. I could have comfortably done the 20 mile loop, but I almost had to drag Loke home over the last 2 miles of the 13.5.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Tom (Tbarron) and I are planning a ride next Friday April 3. We are leaving at 11:30 AM from my office. We are riding 20 miles on greenways.

If interested meet us at 1324 N. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. (You can Google it.) My office is a yellow and white house on the corner of Central and Scott avenue. You can park next to my house on Scott.

Call me on my cell at 310-7151 that morning to confirm we are going. Barring bad weather, we should be going.

Come join us for some FUN!!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Yesterday was my first ride in the rain. I have generally avoided riding when I thought it would rain due to the "yuck" factor. Since I've avoided it, I don't have rain-appropriate gear for riding.

When I left in the morning, riding to work, I knew there was a chance there would be rain by the end of the day, but I decided to risk it.

When I left work at the end of the day, it was raining very lightly. Of course, moving forward through it made it seem like more was coming down than actually was.

As long as I kept moving, it wasn't too bad. I'd wipe my glasses with a finger of my glove every so often if they got wet enough that my Vision was obscured. At one point when I had to stop for a red light, they fogged up pretty seriously and I was concerned, but as soon as I started moving again, the fog blew away and it was fine.

So, it wasn't too terrible. Probably not something I'd choose to do for fun, but it wasn't as awful as I feared it might be.

Does anyone have recommendations for rain gear or techniques for making riding in the rain more comfortable or safer?

Thanks...
Tom

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Way to go Tom.

Unfortunately, I don't really have anything to offer on rain gear. The few times I've tried rain gear, I found it to be more uncomfortable than getting wet since it just turns into a sauna and I get soggy any way. But that's just me. :

I rode yesterday, but I have to say it was a disappointing and somewhat depressing ride. I had my in-laws coming over for dinner so I figured that having a mostly worn out husky would be a good thing. Not to mention that my husband was home to simplify getting the trike out the door.

It was hellish. It felt like I had to fight for every revolution of the pedals, my speed was WAAAY down. Even Loke, after the first crazy mile was just dragging his tail along. The 15 or so miles I'd planned on suddenly convered to just gritting my teeth for 5. My legs felt exhausted not to mention me. I yawned the rest of the whole day, struggling to stay awake and make sure the apartment was clean for the dinner.

As for Loke? Once we got home, he suddenly had boundless energy again. We got his harness off and he was a whirling dervish around the house. Needless to say, the 5 miles didn't even take the edge off his energy when 'Grandma and Grandpa' arrived.

I'm hoping what part of the problem was with the trip wasn't a serious back step of my stamina, but the fact that I did feel a bit like I was pedaling in a wet suit. It was one of those gray, damp, blustery days and I'd pulled on an extra layer. Felt like it was just a lot more work to bend my legs more than anything. At least I got out the door.

Terii