My Recumbent Days

I went out to ride to today with a sort of different attitude! I was not going to let the wind get the best of me and make my ride unpleasant.  Even with the strong head winds I decided to make it a competition, me against the wind. I rode 10.14 miles in 42:00 minutes with an average speed of 14.5 mph and a max speed of 22.6 mph.  I burnt 580 calories and my average HR was 143 and my max HR was 161. My performance has improved with a slight drop in my Max HR.  The temperature was 87℉ under a bright sun.  Below is my stats for today. M y new taillight was shipped yesterday and with luck it will be here Friday.

I am totally exhausted after this mornings ride. The temperature was 75℉ and the winds were extremely fast near 20 mph. I felt like I was pedaling against a wall. My goal is to maintain a speed for as long as possible to build my stamina. I rode 10.06 miles in 41:50 minutes at an average speed of 14.4 mph and a max speed of 22.8.  I burnt 600 calories and my average HR was 142 bpm and my max HR was 162 bpm. I can tell that I am getting stronger even with the strong winds pushing me back.  My stats are below:

I rode 10.04 miles in 41:32 minutes at an average speed of 14.5 mph and a max speed of 23.9 mph. I burnt 551 calories and my average HR was 146 bpm while my max HR was 164 bpm. The temperature was 72℉ with variable winds at 18 mph. My stats are below. Y esterday I decided that a powerful rear strobe was needed for daylight riding.  I searched the web and asked questions and ended up ordering a NightRider Cherrybomb strobe.  I should have it next week some time, but I am not sure how I will adapt it to the trike or helmet.

T his morning I headed out with a smile on my face as I knew the temperature was just perfect.  The temperature was 69℉ and the wind was a bit strong at 10-18 mph.  I rode my usual 10.05 miles in 41:56 minutes at an average speed of 14.4 mph and a max speed of 23.9 mph.  I burnt 574 calories and my average HR was 146 bpm and my Max HR was 163 bpm. My stats are below.

I t was a great morning for a ride but as usual the wind was making things a bit hard. I just got to get it in to my thick head that the wind is here to stay and I have to adapt. I rode 10.05 miles in 41:51 minutes with an average speed of 14.4 mph and a max speed of 23.2 mph.  I burnt 559 calories and my average HR was 147 bpm while my max HR was 164 bpm. Below are my stats.

I planned for a normal daily training ride but that did not bear any fruit.  The winds were so strong I had trouble just maintaining speed.  The temperature was 81 degrees and the wind variable with speeds exceeding 15 mph. I rode 10.12 miles in 42:54 minutes with an average speed of 14.1 and a max speed of 22.1 mph.  As you can see my speed was crushed by the wind. I burnt 619 calories and my HR average was 144 bpm and my max HR was 163 bpm. My stats are below.

A fter seeing a trike motorcycle yesterday and noticed that I was clearly able to see the width of the vehicle from a long distance. The reason for this was because the trike had a rear taillight and two marker lights one on each front fender.  I then thought how can I do this on the Black Widow without adding excessive weight and bulk.  I decided that by using two Red Knog Beetle lights mounted on the handlebars facing rearward would give me exactly what I wanted.  So I placed one on the right handlebar and one on the left handlebar just below the brake levers.  Now my trike will be seen wider than a bicycle.

A t the beginning of the season I made a goal for myself, to be the healthiest I could be and break my own speed record.  Well I am slowly progressing toward that goal. I have broken my average speed already and my health is greatly improved.  I closely watch what I eat and limit the amounts I consume.  Today I rode my usual boring route which is 10.04 miles. My average speed was 14.8 mph and my max speed was 24.2 mph.  I burnt 562 calories and my average heart rate was 151 bpm while my max heart rate was 170 bpm. The temperature today was a nice 78℉ and the wind was variable at 6-15 mph. The wind today seemed to be in my face 99% of the ride getting me to push harder. As usual my stats are below. 

T oday I ran my second wheel test and the facts show that the new wheel has increased my average speed. Today I rode 10.04 miles in 41:13 minutes at an average speed of 14.6 mph and a max speed of 24.5 mph. I burnt 583 calories and my average HR was 153 bpm and my max HR was 170 bpm. The temperature was 77℉ and the wind was from the WNW at 10 mph. Below is my stats.

I decided to do a test of my new Velocity Chukker wheel and I had an interesting surprise. First here is my ride report for today. I rode 9.20 miles in 37:57 minutes with an average speed of 14.5 mph which is my highest average ever.  My max speed was 24.5 mph and I burnt 493 calories.  My heart rate average was 154 bpm while my max was 173 bpm.  The temperature was 81 degrees and the wind was coming from the ESE at 15 mph, making riding into the headwind hard at times. N ow for the surprise! My average speed on this route with very little headwind is usually around 12.4 mph.  Today with the new wheel my average speed was 14.5 mph, which is 2 miles per hour faster.  I am not sure if this is a good sign or some placebo effect. B elow is my stats for today's ride.

W hen my LBS received my new custom Velocity Chukker wheel we found out it wasn't drilled out for Schrader Valve.  My LBS had no problem drilling it out but we found the Schrader valve was too short for my Mountain Morph Pump to properly attach.  I knew I didn't want to switch tp Presta valves as all my spare tubes are Schrader type.  I knew there were extensions made allowing for different extension lengths.  I wanted the shortest I could find and that happened to be 3/4".  I was forced to order one from MacTools online.  The part was $2.90 but there was tax and shipping bringing the cost to $11.00 USA.  I feel a little ripped off, but shipping choices were limited to UPS. I am sure this will do what is required so I have to suck it up and stop complaining. I t is raining today so my road test of the wheel will have to wait.  Maybe tomorrow will prove to be a better day. T he options I choose for the wheel were for strength and aerodynamic design. I choose DT-S

I was forced to replace my rear wheel do to a failed weld.  I ordered a Velocity Chukker wheel which was custom built to my specs. Below are photos of the wheel with the custom graphics installed.

I started out this morning fighting a variable speed and direction winds. There were a few calm points, but mostly constant winds varying between 8 and 15 mph, and changing direction often.  The temperature was a nice 81℉.  I rode my usual route of 10.03 miles in 45:24 minutes with an average speed of 13.2 mph and a mak speed of 25.6 mph.  I burnt 541 calories and my average heart rate was 137 bpm and my max heart rate was 163 bpm.  My elevation gain today was 273 feet.  My stats can be seen below and for more detail you can click the "View Details" link on the bottom of the map.

T his morning I got up a little late as we were tired from a great day at my sons house warming party. I was also stuffed to the limits with roasted pig. He smoked a whole 60 lb pig, and it was real good and I couldn't help my self. I rode 10.04 miles in 46:02 minutes at an average speed of 13.1 mph and a max speed of 26.0 mph.  I burnt 579 calories and my average Heart rate was 138 bpm while my max heart rate was 166 bpm.  The winds today were Variable at 10-20 mph. The temperature was 80℉. My Garmin stats are below. Click on View details for more info.

T his morning I knew as soon as I left the house I was in for a tough ride. The winds were variable at 13-18 mph. The temperature was 85℉ and rising, and the humidity was shear wet. I did very well with breathing through my nose with little or no burning, but at times it was hard to catch my breath. I think that was from the high temperature and humidity. I rode 10.04 miles in 48:23 min. My average speed was 12.4 mph and my max speed was 26.6 mph. I burnt 544 calories and my average heart rate was 128 bpm and my max heart rate was 159 bpm. My Garmin Connect stats is below, and for more info click "View Details".

T his morning I started out a little bit earlier than normal, since I had things I must accomplish by days end.  I rode 10.04 miles in 45:37 minutes.  My average speed was 13.2 mph and my max speed was 25.7 mph.  I burnt 602 calories and my heart rate was 135 bpm average and 162 bpm maximum heart rate. For some reason my overall speed has been improved since I switched to the large Q-ring.  I just guess the gearing is a better more efficient combination.  Below are my stats from Garmin Training Center. To see a detailed report click "View Details" at the bottom of the map.