2012 will be an exciting year.

Happy New Year!

The cross county bike trip is a go.  We will ride from Maine to Washington: East to West.  A 90 day trip starting mid-May.  There will be three cyclists: Pat, Ed and myself. 

In addition, Pat and I will be riding in the Amgen California Coast Classic September 2012: a ride from San Francisco.  The entire trip will be a fund-raiser for the Arthritis Foundation.   

We have started the planning.  I’ll share with you our plans as we make them.  I’ll also share our training plans, tips, ups and downs.  None of us are young, but we would like to thing we’re not old either.  But “old” is in the eye of the beholder: both Pat and I will celebrate our 59^th birthdays in 2012.

East to West or West to East

Pat talked with a friend that has led 12 Adventure Cycling Tours and he had lots of good advice. (10 Cross country tours)  He suggested we change our direction.  He says we should really consider going east to west for several reasons:

East to west would mean we could start in May because we wouldn't be facing snow and mountains right away and the temperatures would be more moderate.

The sun will be in our eyes every morning going east, and in the eyes of drivers....making it hard to see us. 

The slope to climb the mountains is easier going from the east.

The prevailing winds really end up being neutral:  So just as much head as tail winds. 

Plus - we will be in better condition when we face the mountains in Idaho and Washington, at the end. 

 It may be easier to think about riding all that way "to" home then all that way "away" from home and then the long drive at the end.

My HPV - by Trisled

My HPV aka Trike

I ride a Trisled brand recumbent trike.   Trisled calls their recumbent HPV’s:  Human Powered Vehicles. The Trisled brand is not well known in the USA.  Maybe because they are manufactured in Australia.   They are one of Australia’s well known and respected HPV manufactures.   

What Do They Make?

Gizmo

First developed in 2002, Gizmo was the beginning of a new era in compact sports trikes, and represented a movement away from clunky, heavy touring trikes. After almost a decade of incremental improvements, Gizmo’s simple design is still as versatile and practical as ever, making it a model we (and our customers) keep coming back to.

Velomobiles

Rotovelo

Our latest velomobile builds on Trisled's philosophy of simplicity equals usability, with all the sleek curves and Trisled speed tweaks thrown in. Improve your commute, pick up your shopping, tour the country, or just take it for a spin. With a light system, hatch, mirror and built-in luggage space, Rotovelo is ready to ride!

This revolutionary new design features the world's first roto-molded fairing, making it more durable than any other velomobile on the market. You can leave it on the street, park it outside and take it anywhere you want without having to worry about scratching the paint.

Avatar

With its small frontal area and completely enclosed wheels and rider, this velomobile is built for high performance and speed.

Building on fifteen years of human powered research and development, our integrated design process and vacuum-infused Kevlar fairing gives Avatar an extraordinary weight of just 25 kilograms. Yes, you heard us right. In just 2 years since we first launched this model, Avatar has lost a massive 3 kilograms!

 Check out the trisled website for more info on their products and some cool videos of their HPV in action.

http://www.trisled.com.au/

Let Go of Lycra

Another typical Saturday 30 miles of riding: Farmer’s Market and some extra riding over the Palos Verde peninsula – lots of juicy hills.

I am now on the hunt for sensible cycling clothes.  My cycling wardrobe is lycra.  A holdover from the road bike riding.  Yuk! I hate that stuff.  It’s made for people with no body fat.  That is surely not me!   I’m an overweight  granny. 

Don’t get me started about the typical cyclist.  They love acting like jerks when they put on lycra.  Maybe they’re trying to convince themselves that they are manly even though they are wearing a brightly colored superhero outfit.  But not just any superhero outfit – this one comes complete with a diaper sewn into the shorts!  Many of these cyclists even believe they have to shave their legs – something to do with aerodynamics and making it easier to clean road rash.  But I know they are just making sure you can see how cute their legs are.   

I call these guys the greyhounds.  The greyhounds can only see other greyhounds.  They run in packs.  They are challenging each other to determine who the top dog of the pack is.  The top dog is the rebel: running lights, blocking traffic lanes, flipping off drivers, and other silly rebellious behavior. A greyhound would never ride a mountain bike, a hybrid or a recumbent!! 

Once these guys get off the bike, they are normal people.  It must be the magical transformative powers of lycra!

Typical Saturday

This morning was a perfect day for cycling: cool, overcast, no wind.  Most people start their Saturday chores later when the day starts out gloomy.

I checked my bike, attached my big panniers and rode to the Torrance Farmer’s Market at Wilson Park (its only 8 miles).  I stocked up on veggies and fruit: apples, heirloom tomatoes, fresh kale (alligator and regular), arugula, and avocados.  

The Farmer’s Market was in full swing.  I stopped at the Corn Maiden Tamale booth for a vegan tamale.  I always eat first to give my food some time to digest and to chat with the guys playing pinochle.  Mostly we chat but we also discuss the latest Los Angeles news: how about the Dodgers and that awful  beating during opening day?  Today we were discussing the 6-figured salary of lifeguards in Newport Beach.   That’s why David Hasseholf stayed on Baywatch so long!

After finishing my shopping I headed to Office Depot in Gardena for a toner for my laser printer.  I had gotten a low ink level warning and figured, since I was out on my trike, I would ride to the store.   It was only 5 miles.  But they were out of that toner.  I did pick up printer labels and stopped by Starbuck for a decaf soy latte.

So now it’s decision time: head to Staples in Compton (I did call and yes, they do have the toner in stock) or head home and drive to Staples.  It was only 5 miles.  So I rode my bike.

My total mileage today was 28 miles. Average speed was 13.1 – wow! Getting better.

Today I saved @$8.40 in gas (14 miles to the gallon x 2 gallons) and got great exercise. 

My trike, Bluebell

The Typical Questions

When I ride my trike, I get a lot of attention.  Children wave and adults scratch their heads.  I usually get questions: what is it?  How much does it cost? Where do you buy one? Is it hard to ride?  Isn’t it hard to see in traffic?  So I thought I would answer these questions (some of this information comes from Wikipedia):

What is it?

It’s a recumbent trike – a type of recumbent bike.   A recumbent bike is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. I chose this type of bike for comfort and stability.  My weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks. On a traditional upright bicycle, the body weight rests entirely on a small portion of the butt, the feet, and the hands.

Most recumbent models also have an aerodynamic advantage; the reclined, legs-forward position of the rider’s body presents a smaller frontal profile. A recumbent holds the world speed record for a bicycle, and they were banned from international racing in 1934.^[1]

Delta Style Trike

A variant with three wheels is a recumbent tricycle. Recumbent trikes are closely related to recumbent bicycles, but have three wheels instead of two. Trikes come in two varieties, the delta, and the tadpole.

Tadpole Style Trike

The popularity of trikes has grown significantly over the years as aging baby boomers discover the benefit of continued riding without the issues of balance and pain mostly associated with traditional upright bikes

How Much Does it Cost?

How much do you want to spend? 
Just like a diamond bike, prices vary.  Here is a partial list of trike manufactures and the list price for their lowest priced trike:

Catrike $1500: Greenspeed $1900: Hase $3100: HP Velotechnik $2600: Sun $1200: ICE $2500: TerraTrike $1500

Where Do You Buy One?

Look for a recumbent bike shop in your area (search the Internet or Yelp.com).  I can recommend Bend Up Cyclist in Van Nuys, People Movers in Orange (they have lots of used bikes) and Richards Bikes in Garden Grove. 

Is It Hard to Ride?

No.  You just sit down, clip in and ride.  But you MUST use clipless pedals or, if your foot slips off the pedals you are in for a major hurting.  Here’s what Wikipedia says:

Safety. Although recumbent bicycles are generally considered safer than upright bicycles (as noted above), they do have some specific safety issues. A type of injury characteristic of recumbents called "leg suck" occurs when a foot touches the ground and the bike runs forward over the contact point, causing ligament damage and, in some cases, ankle fractures. The use of clipless pedals reduces this possibility by preventing the foot from slipping off the pedal. But with clipless pedals, remaining clipped in during a front tire or wheel failure at high speeds can result in the recumbent rolling over the rider and taking a clipped in leg or legs with it. This scenario, although very rare, can create severe spiral fractures of the femur rarely seen with upright bicycles.

Is it Hard to See in Traffic?

Yes and No.  It does sit much lower to the ground so drivers cannot see a trike.  But, because it looks so odd, drivers do see you.  I also wear very bright clothes.   

  

Reflecting and Planning

I drove to San Diego Saturday for a training class and was impressed with my own bike ride.  That’s a long drive and an even longer bike ride.    But enough of this patting myself on my back.

Now I am thinking about what I really need to bring for the long trip we are planning next year.  I also am thinking about what I need to do – training my body, putting together care packages that my husband can mail to me, researching vegan recipes, dehydrating food, setting up bill pay so my husband doesn’t have to think about paying our monthly bills, deciding what equipment I need to buy.

Pat put together an essential packing list which I have posted on this site as a static page but I haven’t figured out how to link it to this first page.  I’ll play with that this week.

San Diego Trike Trip - Day 3

Now you’re talking!  We’re in The OC!  My turf!  No more reading maps.   50 miles of mostly PCH – Pacific Coast Highway.  Urban riding.  Fighting cars and other cyclists. Well, not fighting ‘cause the cars would win!  But you know what I mean! More like dodging cars. Looking out for right hand turn lanes so you don’t get caught in them.  Following traffic rules.  Keep a watchful eye for opening car doors and distracted pedestrians.

We even had some ‘encouragement’ from drivers: a mad dog pick-up truck driver who tooted his horn at us really loud, a granny that gave us an interesting one-finger wave and those enthusiastic kids that yelled “fun you” as they sped by. 

We started at Capistrano Beach forged the hills of Dana Point and Laguna.  This day was a much earlier start: 8:00 am.   Newport Beach next then Huntington Beach.  Bolsa Chica beach then Sunset Beach - - -  All right! We passed the Los Angeles County line!  That means we’re in Long Beach and it’s still morning! 

Now its lunch time so we stopped at Chronic Tacos next to Whole Foods for yummy veggie tacos.  We soaked up the rays and let those tacos digest.

We rode to 2^nd street and experience the unique Long Beach bike left hand turn lanes.  Then were on the beach bike path.  Ocean on our left and the beautiful buildings on our right.  A bike path on the sands of Long Beach.   Then up the Los Angeles River bike path with an exit at Del Amo west to Carson.

Lessons Learned:

Adventure is fun but there's no place like home.

San Diego Trike Trip - Day 2

I woke up early and explored the camp. We were the only bike campers there.  The rest of the campers drove: campers, trucks, trailers and cars.  Our fellow campers were mostly from California but some had driven from far: Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Texas and even Quebec. 

Most everyone was friendly and a few people asked us about our trikes and our plans.  One fellow, Tony, stopped by to chat and let us know that he leads bike tours in Maine!  Tony was a lifesaver: he let us know that we needed tokens for the shower and that he would be happy to pick up some for us. 

We explored the campgrounds this morning and found:

The campgrounds are on a cliff overlooking the ocean.  You can descend stairs to the ocean.

There is a little general store and laundry

There are camp hosts at the campgrounds who perform maintenance and answer question and take care of the facilities and the campers.

Many campers thank the camp host by picking up a rock from the beach and painting it.  

We decided to experiment with sprouting so we could have fresh greens every day.  I used my sprouting jars and rinsed the sprouts a few times a day.  Check out the results.

Pat and I spent too much time chatting with our fellow campers so we got a late start @10:30 today. But 10:30 isn’t bad if you’re only traveling 40 miles.  But it was slow going for us that day.  Lots of hills and headwind.  The headwinds were so powerful, you had to peddle downhill!   That headwind zapped my strength.

We did have the pleasure of riding through Camp Pedleton: Marine Corps.   You could hear the gunnery exercises off on a different part of the base.  We stopped for a quick snack then made our way past San Onofre Power plant.    We threaded through the backstreets of Oceanside then onto Capistrano Beach.

The treat at the end of the day: a lush, 2 bedroom timeshare at Capistrano Beach.

Lessons Learned:

Sprouting works for some seeds:  mung beans were great, wild rice, not so great.

Start early

Camping can be confortable if you have the right equipment

A great Mexican food dinner with a Margarita can fix a rough day of riding. 

San Diego Trike Trip - Day 1

Our San Diego Trike Trip was a very interesting experiment.

Pat and I want to know that we CAN travel together.  When you plan to spend 3+ months together with one person, you want to make sure that you are compatible.   How does this person act under stress?  When stuff happens, how do they react? Are they a loner or a party person (like to have fun with others)?   A three day trike trip can reveal a lot about a person.

Day One – Thursday May 5

I planned the trip.  The plan was to:

1.       Load our trikes and trailers.

2.       Ride to Union Station, downtown Los Angeles

3.       Board the train

4.       Depart train Solana Beach station

5.       Ride north on PCH – highway 1

6.       Stop at The Greenery raw restaurant to pick up dinner

7.       Ride our trikes to the San Elijo Campgrounds

8.       Set up camp

Union Station

9.       Do the camp thing: shower, fix food, eat, explore, bedtime, etc.

Nice plan.  But there was one little problem: Amtrak would not allow the trikes and trailers on the train!  My husband, Dave, took pictures of the trikes and trailers along with dimensions,  to Union Station a few weeks ago and the fellow he talked to said there would be NO problem loading the trikes and trailers on the train!

Not true.  Now what?  We did get a refund from Amtrak but we had traveled only 18 miles on our 120 miles trip.   Pat and I put our heads together, came up with a plan and called Dave.

Dave to the rescue!  He put the trailer hitch on Pat's car and picked us up at Union Station.  We loaded both trailers, Pat’s trike (it folds!) and Pat in the back of the Honda Element then loaded my trike onto the trailer hitch trike rack. 

Next stop Solana Beach train station.

The printout from Google maps said it was @7 miles from the train station to San Elijo campgrounds.  But after riding 8+ miles, we did find a camp grounds but it was Carlsbad! San Elijo was around 8 miles south of where we were.   So we camped at Carlsbad, no need to ride south 8 miles.

We did stop at The Greenery for yummy Raw vegan food.



So here’s what happened on our trip – day one:

1.       Load our trikes and trailers.

2.       Ride to Union Station, downtown Los Angeles

3.       Load all our stuff into Pat’s car

4.       Dave drives us to the Solana Beach train station

Our Camp

5.       Ride north on PCH – highway 1

6.       Stop at The Greenery raw restaurant to pick up dinner

7.       Ride our trikes to the Carlsbad Campgrounds

8.       Set up camp

9.       Do the camp thing: shower, fix food, eat, explore,bedtime etc.

Lessons Learned:

1. Planning is great but you must have a back up plan and maybe even a back up to the back up plan.
2. Sometimes it's better to lose a deposit (on the San Elijo campground) then add another 1 hour of riding to the trip.
3. A hot shower makes everything better!
4. The best lullaby in the world is the sound of crashing waves.

Test Ride #1 San Diego

We’re taking our first multi-day test trike ride next
week. The literary is in my hands. 1) We ride to Union Station, downtown Los Angeles
(@20 miles) and take the train to Solana Beach, just north of San Diego. 2) We
ride from Solana Beach train station to the campgrounds and set up 3) we break
camp Friday morning and ride to Capistrano beach (@50 miles), to our (the
Morris family) timeshare (I am looking forward to that!). 4) We ride from Capistrano beach to home in
Carson (@50 miles). Sounds simple? But there is a lot of planning that goes into
this trip.

The DREAM

Pat and I met at the 2006 Amgen California Coast Classic bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Not only did we hit it off but our husbands, Dave and Bruce, clicked too. All four of us rode the Amgen Coast Classic in 2007.

I seem to remember Pat planting her dream in my mind, to ride across the United States, at that time. My first reaction?? ARE YOU KIDDING?? Riding over 500 miles in 8 days is crazy enough, now you're talking about months of riding over purple mountain majesty and through amber waves of grain??

AND

I HAVE to camp??? What the heck? I'm a city gal. I do NOT camp.

Pat kept watering that dream. Then it took root. Now it's growing strong.

Our 2 trikes travel is that dream, shared with you.