Recumbents

Persimmon Loop - 11.6 Miles (2004 YTD: 70.4)

I topped off the battery for my light system on Thursday night. The battery came with a charge, but I was not sure how "full" it actually was. I also forgot to mention I had mounted a 7 LED red light to the back of my seat. This thing cost like $12.00 and has steady, flashing or chasing modes. It is supposed to run for 100 hours on two AA batteries. It is really bright and seems to get noticed, however I wish I had purchased two of them.

Tonight was my first ride on the Speedplay Frog pedals and my new MTB bike shoes. How sweet it is! It is so nice to not have to hold your feet on the pedals. Once you clip in your feet can just hang from the pedals, but a small swing of your heel to the outside releases them easily, which is important on a recumbent. After reading lots of reviews by other recumbent riders, the Frogs seemed like the most popular because of the float - a full 20 degrees. I must say the sensation was a bit strange, but by the end of this ride if felt pretty natural. I will write a longer review of the pedals and shoes when I get a chance.

I saw a six point buck walk across the road about 30 feet in front of me. He stopped in the other lane and just looked at me as I rode by. Then about 1/2 mile further I saw another single spike buck standing on the side of the road. Both of these were on west bound Hedge Lane. Pretty cool.

Persimmon Loop - 8.3 Miles (2004 YTD: 58.8)

This was my first night ride with a my new light system. My good friend Lowell wrote to me a week ago with some really good recommendations on light systems. He made me change my mind on the cheap LED system I was going to go with. I ended up getting a dual light system with a NIMH rechargeable battery from Performance. This thing rocks. Tonight I was riding down a busy street in our neighborhood and had the "brights" on - a car that was approaching me actually flashed their headlights at me like mine was to bright! I will write a full review with pictures when I get a chance.

Back in the Saddle (2004 Miles: 50.5)

Finally got a chance to get back out today. I went for a really nice ride around the lake nearby. It was really nice until I was on the last mile and half - then it got really steep! I had to walk the bike up the hill, for probably about 1/2 mile. It totally wiped me out - this hill was huge! My long range goal is to get in good enough shape to ride up this hill. I saw about 5 diamond frame riders in a group going around the lake.

This week I will be ordering a light package, some clipless pedals and shoes! I will report on them once I get them.

Average pace - 10.1 mph | Trip Dist - 6.6 miles

Dennis Lane Out & Back (2004 Miles: 43.9)

Okay I did 13.4 miles today in just over one hour. This was my longest ride yet, but it felt great. My legs were really tired for the entire evening, but felt great the next day. I can tell I am already improving my fitness. I averaged about 13.4 miles per hour - obviously considering it took me 61 minutes to do the ride. I saw two diamond frame bikes - one of which the rider just looked at me with this weird smirk on his face. It is very interesting to note the unique looks people give you when you ride a recumbent.

Average pace - 13.4 mph | Trip Dist - 13.4 miles

Neighborhood Loop (2004 Miles: 30.5)

Went for a ride tonight after the kids were in bed. I don't have lights or reflectors on my recumbent yet, so I just rode a circle in our neighborhood - lost count how many times I went around it. I think it is about .7 miles for one loop. Felt good! I HAVE to adjust the rear derailleur before the next ride!!!

Average pace - 12.5 mph | Trip Dist - 6.5 miles

Easy ride with the boys (2004 Miles: 24.0)

The boys wanted to go for a "long bike ride" on Sunday - so off we went. We rode thru Persimmon to Santa Fe, then down the hill. We stopped and sat on the wall to rest by the pool, and then headed down into the trees at the trail. Then headed for home. I had to basically gear down and spin to ride their pace. I think it helped my legs recover from the long ride on Saturday - I am just barely sore now.

Average pace - 5.4 mph | Trip Dist - 2.0 miles

Dennis Lane Out & Back (2004 Miles: 22.0)

Decided to stretch my ride out a bit. My sore legs hade basically recovered from my last ride. I adjusted the PowerGrips so the fit better, and the ride felt good. This route is not flat, I am basically going up or down, with only a couple of flat spots. This was also my first ride with the new bike computer. Some teenagers drove by in a Blazer, and said "wicked bike dude!" - you definately draw attention on a recumbent!

Average pace - 12.4 mph | Trip Dist - 10.2 miles

Dennis Ln. to Kansas (2004 Miles: 11.8)

Rode 7.5 miles tonight. This is the furthest I have ridden yet. The Powergrips still need a bit of adjusting - left foot was tight, and right foot, just could not go in far enough. I also need to adjust the rear derailleur. I think it might be a combo problem with the chain tube not being loose enough to allow the chain to reliably track where it needs to be.

Felt good to get out for some distance - I am really out of shape!

Hedge Lane Out and Back - (2004 Miles: 4.3)

I got a chance to head out on a ride tonight (4.3 miles) without my two riding partners (Nick 7, Ryan 4) and see how this bike feels at speed. The first half mile I thought I was going to die! But then I relaxed and settled into a nice spin and just road. I don't have a bike computer, so I can't give you any average speeds etc. I did discover that my rear derailleur needs some adjusting in the harder gears - it wanted to jump back and fourth a bit once I got up to speed in the lower tooth number gears.

I probably wont ride tomorrow night just to give my legs and knees a bit to recover. This will also give me a chance to go over the bike and make sure all the bolts and nuts are still tight. I also want to get the Powergrips installed - I felt like I spent a bunch of energy keeping my feet on the pedals, plus I could only push on the pedals, and could not pull as well.

I Rode the Bentech Recumbent Today!

(click images to enlarge)
This afternoon I put the finishing touches on the Bentech SWB recumbent. I installed the chain, or I should say about 2 1/2 chains. This was interesting to say the least. I finally did a search on Google for "recumbent chain sizing" and found a great page at the Hostel Shoppe explaining exactly how to size a chain for a recumbent bike. Ain't Google grand? So I printed this off and about 10 minutes later I had the chain perfectly sized. I then tweaked the derailleurs so that all the chain would actually go to all the gears.

We called Jeff and Holly (my wifes brother and his wife that live down the street) and told them that the maiden voyage was about to happen. They have had a bunch of fun teasing my about how I will look riding this thing, so they headed down to see it in action.

After putting on the bike helmet (better safe than sorry), I put my right foot up on the pedal and prepared myself for the unknown. I pushed down hard and off I went down the driveway. I was actually riding a recumbent - and I was smiling from ear to ear. Up the street I went with my two partners trailing behind me. It was much more stable than I initially thought it would be. Turning was interesting, but nothing that was to frightening. Our culdesac is a small incline - the boys love riding to the top and coasting down - it is very gradual, but enough slope that you don't have to pedal going down. I was surpised by how fast this bike accelerates downhill. Should be a real rush on bigger hills.

I had done plenty of reading about recumbent injuries before starting this ride. A big one seems to be the knees. The trick seems to be to spin and not mash the pedals. So I tried to keep a easy gear selected, which worked most of the time. In the evening the boys and I went out for a "long" ride - I would guess only a couple of miles, but it was fun. On a couple of smaller hills, I did not downshift early enough and had to mash the pedals, and I could feel it in my knees. The bike climbs fine, but you just have to spin the cranks fast and furious.

All in all, I am very happy with this bike! I have not really had a chance to get out and see what it is like to maintain a higher speed, but the low speed handling is awesome. With the boys, I had to ride very slow, and this thing just tracked right down the road next to them. Starting and stopping were way easier than I thought they would be.

Tomorrow night I hope to get out and ride for 30 minutes or so, just to see what it is like to "spin" at a higher pace. I am also going to install the Powergrips that I mentioned in a earlier post - I think these will be nice to help hold my feet to the pedals. Until I get a GPS or bike computer I have no idea how far or how fast I am going, which may actually be a good thing!