My Recumbent Days

I received a response from Novsport regarding seats. He recommended two seats, not sure which would fit my trike better.  My Trike above:  Recumbent Seat  Trike Seat

I rode my usual route today and the average temperature was 32.7ºf.  Garmin Connect is down for maintenance so I will add the ride maps later.  I spent a while cleaning up the trike and polishing it using Turtle Wax "Black Detailer", the stuff brought the shine back to the trike giving it a new trike look.  I am still on the hunt for a replacement hard-shell seat and pad.  A neckrest will also be important. After the New Year I will make some calls to get prices and options.

F or a a long while I have used Lemon Pledge to keep the frame shinning.  I have noticed that the frame looked dull as if there was a cloudy film on the black paint. I tried my black auto wax with no joy.  I asked around and came up with a few suggestions.  I went to my local auto parts store and ran into my bike mechanic and he said he uses "Black Detailer" by Turtle Wax on all the black frames he sells.  I decided I would give it a try. It took no time to get my frame looking like new. It took a total of 10 minutes.  So if you have a dull black frame this is the way to go.

T oday's ride was nothing short of a challenge for me.  The wind and the temperature combined made my hands numb and really put a damper on my overall performance.  It might have been hard, but in the end I felt I did well.  I know I complain, but that is my nature, but I do get a lot out of the ride. Next year I will have to look into some real good bike gloves, as the Fox gloves and glove liners did nothing to prevent the cold from cutting through. T he new headlight seems to be working real well, actually better than expected.  The flashers are so bright I can be seen a very long distance off.  The brake lights seem to work well as do the Mars Click markers.

I had planned to ride this morning, and the weather looked good. The time I had breakfast and got my gear together the weather turned for the worst. The clouds turned very dark and the wind started to blow wildly. I decided to wait a little to see if the weather would improve, but it didn't.  I needed to buy the Nob computer mount, but my local LBS had to order one and it won't be there until after the new year.  I had only one choice, and that was to build my own.  I had an old dual mount which I took the Dremel tool to and shaped it to my needs, it looks real good.  I might make a few improvements to it but I will ride and see if it is positioned as I need it. L ast week I ordered a new headlight which is 1200 Lumen and has a 4400Mah rechargeable pack. W hile I was at the light upgrades I added two Blackburn Mars Click Red rear Taillights one to each handlebar upright for additional 180º protection. I have also added an additional Brake light called the Maxxon W

T his mornings ride was more challenging than normal. I haven't rode for a number of days do to a Sinus Infection and bad weather.  Today was my fifth day on Antibiotics and I am feeling just a bit under the weather.  The temperature wasn't bad, but the wind was extremely strong. I didn't wear a mask today as my chest felt congested and breathing through the mask was very hard and just tired me out. Even under these conditions I managed to average 13.2 mph.

T his morning was the coldest ride I have ever done! I truly worked up a sweat fighting the wind. My face mask was all frosty and I looked a sight. All in all I enjoyed the challenge. I don't know how many more rides I will do this season, but I will try my best to continue.  

I had a cold and windy ride, but it was still a joyous ride.  I couldn't wait to hit the road even with the low temperature.  I didn't ride yesterday and I am not sure when I will ride again as the weather does not look promising.  The roads are still in horrible shape, so I doubt they will get cleaned until spring. Well I really didn't expect them to get to it.

I t rained last night so the roads are very wet and lots of standing water.  The construction crews were out early this morning so along with the water I have mud all over the place.  I am covered head to toe in mud and gunk.  I will launder the riding cloths and hit the shower. I thought by this time I would have a better handle on the speed of the new tires, but I don't think I will be able to judge it fairly.  The reason I say this is the conditions of the roads after Sandy and the amount of winds as it is coming into winter is throwing my average speeds out the window. So maybe next season I will know more.