And then there were more...

Last year we started our triking with a Terra Trike Cruiser and a Greenspeed GT3. With our pending Best Buddies Challenge Ride we needed two more rides. (For details on the Best Buddies ride see http://trikelandblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/best-buddies-challenge-ride.html.)

I was planning on renting or borrowing the trikes/bikes for the other two riders but my initial recumbent rental didn't work out all that well. So I started cruising the Internet looking for used trikes.

Bingo! As with many other things in life "timing is everything".

This week I found a Catrike Pocket for sale locally. I quickly bought it even though it may turn out to be too short for us. I'm thinking it can always be a loaner or I can sale it later. I took it out for a test run today. It's light, short & quick. Overall a lot of fun but since I couldn't extend my legs fully I think it would not be on my list to ride for an extended time.

I also bought an older Terra Trike model, the 3.6. I'm still arranging shipping for it to get here from Columbia, SC.

But the trike I'm most excited about is a Catrike Road. This particular trike was ridden on a wonderful journey from California to Texas (see Favorite Links page for details). I expect it to arrive in the next 7 to 10 days and I'm hoping it will inspire us to ride more & further as well. (Thank you Sheila.)

With these additions we'll be a 5 trike family. I have noticed that my neighbor, who is an avid cyclist, has multiple models. I guess it customary to have different models for different needs but when we started this adventure last summer I never dreamt we'd get in this deep.

Three Wheeled Tow Trike?

Some days you get the feeling that leaving the house was not the right thing to do.

Today started with a trip to the tire store to have a nail removed. This was possibly the positive highlight of the day. No actual damage because the nail was short and no charge for the tire check & rotation.

Since our Best Buddies ride is coming up in May, see http://trikelandblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/best-buddies-challenge-ride.html for information, we decided to start "auditioning" the additional bikes we'd need for the ride. Four riders and only two trikes leaves two people walking. So I visited our local bike shop, Bikes @ Vienna, and reviewed their rental options. After testing a Barcroft Columbia recumbent tandem, a Rans Crank Forward and a Rans recumbent, I decided to take the single rider recumbent (only 3 riders today anyway). Once the rental bike was secured on my truck it was back to the house to meet up with the family and prep the trikes.

Finding balance on two wheels after months of riding the trike took a bit of adjustment. Then about 5 miles into our ride the right pedal started to wiggle. Quick pit stop, resetting the pedal and we were off again. Only to have the pedal work loose again. So we decided to head back to the bike shop for a quick repair. Unfortunately the pedal and the distance we needed to go didn't agree and it came flying off in mid stroke. Shaky recovery but no wipe out. Now we're over 5 miles from the bike shop and without a pedal. Should we walk it back? Call for assistance? No, let's rig up a tow!

So one of the trikes was pressed into service as a tow vehicle. We attached the security cables from the rack on the trike to the frame of the bike and towed it back to the shop. Ever ridden a tandem and felt like the person on the back wasn't peddling? Imagine not only knowing they weren't pedaling but were actually using the brakes to keep their distance and the tension on the tow strap. We never exceeded 6 miles per hour but we did get back to the shop.

Quick loaner bike (the Rans Crank Forward from the earlier test ride) and we were back on the road to the house. But alas, there was the matter of the first hill. This time we learned first hand about chain tension, trying to shift with pressure on the pedals and just how much torque a chain can handle. The result? SNAP! We broke our a chain. There's that old "weakest link" again.

So my wife took the three wheel scooter back to the shop while we pedaled home, retrieved the truck and went back to rescue her. Even though the shop was pretty busy the trike mechanic repaired the chain quickly and it was ready by the time we got back to pick her up. That saved a trip on another day.

We're laughing about it already but we would like to have gotten another 25 miles on the trail today. It was just too beautiful to stay indoors.

Check back, I'm sure there will be plenty more adventures & misadventures in Trikeland.