My Recumbent Days

I truly thought I would be out riding by now, but all we have here is threats of violent thunderstorms and rain.  The skies are dark and threatening, so I haven't dared getting caught out. As all this ride posturing is going on I have been stuck at home waiting for my cable provider to fix my Internet and phone. It has been over a month where my phone either disconnects or is totally unavailable.  Then when that is working my Internet goes out. I have had four service calls and still problems.  I finally got so upset I contracted with FIOS which it has some limitations that I will have to live with. I will loose my mirror web page, but no big deal as I have my high speed primary.  Oh well enough wind for today, I will post as things progress and I get out to ride.

A s I sit at my desk looking out at the rain filed sky I wonder about what to do next on my trike.  I seem to be in a funk of sorts as the weather has not been cooperating.  As the readers that follow my blog realize my trike goes through changes every year or so. It goes from having many accessories to be stripped down to nothing.  I finally think I have found a good balance of weight to gadgets.  I am afraid if the weather doesn't allow me to get out on the road, I might have a relapse and start adding to the trike.  I am trying to keep the trike and the engine at a certain weight, and so far I have achieved both.  My weight is down to 140 lbs and I am feeling well, but I still have to get back on the road to build some muscle mass which I lost over a period of bad physical health. T he seat and neck rest are adjusted to accommodate my bad cervical condition. My lower lumbar is now as comfy as it is going to get, with the seat in this more reclined position. W ith the Delawar

Y esterday USPS delivered my Kuat bottle lock and I was highly impressed with the ingenuity of the thing.  As I said it isn't a heavy duty theft protection device, but a secondary line of defense for when I make short stops.  The cable isn't very thick about 5 mm I guess and a length of 5 feet.  Enough length to go through the back wheel and frame around a post through the front wheel and back to the Bottle Lock.  It has a compartment on the bottom to hold the keys, but I wouldn't do that. The key goes around my neck on a light chain. T he lock slides easily into my Carbon Fiber bottle cage.  I have three cages on the trike but only one is suitable for the lock as the others seem a bit to loose for my liking and might rattle.  you know how much I detest rattles. A t this time I feel confident that the combination of the Kuat Bottle Lock and my Bike alarm will serve as a mid level deterrent.

Y esterday I purchased two (2) Radio Shack part # 270-409 and a RCA Female plug.  I connected the two 4 AA battery packs in series for a total of 1.5 volt X 8 giving me a total of 12 Volts.  Then making sure the polarity was correct I attached the RCA plug. Connecting the two in series battery packs, created a extremely loud horn.  My project was a total success.  The battery life should be extended as all a 9 Volt battery is is 6- 1.5 volt AAAA cells with a MA rating of 500.  The AA cells have a MA rating of 2000 each.  ON my next ride I will test the horn in real life conditions. Below is a photo of the inside of a 9 Volt battery.

I had sent two emails to the makers of the Gale Force Blaster regarding the use of two 9 volt batteries with the horn, and to my surprise no answer.  I don't like the idea of the extra heavy 12 volt battery and the space it requires, but two 9 volt batteries would be the ultimate solution.  All I can do now is wait. I am not the only person to request this same info, but they also have not heard back.  This is the first time that communication was lax with them. I hope all is well with them.

L ast season when I flipped my trike on a nearby back road I not only damaged myself I lost my Kuat Bottle Lock.  This lock is not what you would call heavy duty, but for the times I go into the local store or bathroom it serves the purpose.  I know I can't just depend on the lock, so I also use my bike alarm as a second line of defense.  So yesterday I ordered the replacement for the Bottle Lock from Amazon and it was shipped today. What is nice about this lock is that it fits nicely into one of my bottle cages. "Kuat Bottle Lock (White)" UPDATE: Received word that the Bottle Lock will be delivered May 15th.  A day later that I thought. It is being delivered by FedEX Smartpost and USPS.  Since 1:10 AM this morning it has been sitting 6 miles from my door. I hate Smartpost as it can sit for days before being delivered to the post office.

E arly this afternoon the USPS truck dropped off the brake light.  I promptly opened the little box and inserted the two AAA batteries.  So far no problems.  I then choose the mounting bracket to fit my custom mount and headed to the garage and the awaiting Black Widow.  It took only a few minutes with a Phillips screwdriver and a level to get the Maxxon mounted. The unit looks well made, but as most taillights the bracket looks like the weak link, but only time will tell.  There is a button centrally mounted on the top of the unit to set the different modes. But if I start to ride before turning on the unit it will automatically go into mode 3 (Daylight) mode within 30 seconds of riding.  It will also turn off within 4 minutes of inactivity.  Below are a few photos of it mounted.  It looks very nice, but the ride reports will follow. Maxxon Rear View   Maxxon Side View

I was notified the day before yesterday that the Maxxon Brake Light was shipped from California on the 7th by USPS First Class mail.  It should take 3 to 5 days to reach New Jersey.  As soon as it gets here I will install it, that is if time allows.  I am looking forward to testing this and riding as the weather here has been nothing but rain for days.  I do not ride in the rain unless I happen to get caught in a downpour. I will keep this Blog updates as things proceed.

A fter ordering the Maxxon brake light I thought I had better come up with a mount for it.  I looked carefully at the trike and realized that locating it on the same stem as the laser taillight was not going to work at all.  I then came up with the idea of mounting it on the left rear chain stay, but I still had to find a secure and good looking way of doing it.  After a few ours in the workshop looking through my piles of bike accessories and accessory mounts I decided on using the "Minoura Light and Computer Mount". Do to the strap size it took a lot of adapting for it to fit. but it looks great.   N ow once the Maxxon Brake Light is delivered I will mount it and give it a test run.  Once I removed the frnder the trike was once a gain it's streamlined self.

F or the longest time I have been in the market for a brake light, and I finally found one that needs no switches or wires.  The Maxxon Brake light has the following specs: Employs similar-to NINTEDO Wii technology world-first wireless brake light bikes Innovative award winner with U.S. patent (US7649447B2) Equipped with PWM/SWITCHING tech, able to work with rechargeable batteries without sacrifice of brightness, environmental ! Equipped with auto-on (within 30 sec of riding, on to Mode-3) and auto-off (when bike is still over 4mins) user-friendly functions World-strictest German standard approved with supreme brightness and 250-degree wide beam angles I just ordered this unit, so I will not know if it will live up to my expectations or not.  Between this brake light and the Laser tail light I think I will be covered from rear end collisions.  Well maybe that is asking a little to much, as I have seen how people drive around here.

W e had a few nice weeks for me to ride, but many things prevented me from getting on the trike.  When I had the trike ready to ride the weather got in the way, then it was the paving on my street and now of all things my back popped out.  The weather is going to be bad for the rest of the week so maybe next week I can get back on the trike.  I see the pain doctor Friday for some spinal shots that usually help, so I am confidant that I will be OK to ride.  If so it will be the shakedown ride of the season. I have my Vivitar DVR 480 mounted on my helmet and fresh batteries installed, so it will get it's test as soon as I ride.  I am not expecting a record high speed ride, just a nice leisurely ride along the canal tow path.  The Delaware and Raritan Canal tow path has just been re-topped with something that looks like red clay, I hope it is compacted well.