My Recumbent Days

A fter a close medical scare I am back riding, but it is going to be a slow start.  A few weeks ago I was just sitting around after a walk along the D&R canal when all of a sudden I felt like my throat was closing up and there was someone sitting on my chest.  I was really scared as this has happened twice before after a spider bite and a bee sting. I can't use an Epe pen as I can't tolerate the drug. I called my wife who was at a friends house around the corner and she rushed home. We headed for the ER where I spent the next two days.  Since the doctors couldn't find a bite mark they decided to treat it as a heart problem and an insect bite. I now had to make an appointment for a nuclear stress test and an Echo Cardiogram.  I passed both with flying colors, but the found that I have a swallowing problem which requires me to take more tests.  Back to the ride! I rode a short 5.29 miles in 33.38 minutes at an average speed of 9.4 mph and a max speed of 14....

T his morning I decided that I would make up for lost rides after my injury.  Big misconception on my part.  It was 96℉ at 8:45 AM when I started my ride.  No matter how hard I pushed myself it was like pedaling against a brick wall. My average speed was 10.1 mph and my max speed was 18.6 mph. I burnt 584 calories and my HR was 142 bpm avg while my max HR was 183 bpm. Maybe I should have stayed home today as I was under general anesthesia yesterday for a procedure on my lower back. I just wasn't thinking when I decided to ride. T he trike is working fine after the repairs, just a few things need tweaking, and I will leave that until a cooler day next week. M y riding stats are posted below.

W ell this morning I decided to ride along with a friend for a short 7.75 mile break in run.  It wasn't the fastest ride I have done in the past but it was just enough to test the repairs and brake adjustments. All repairs and adjustments were good, so normal riding can start as soon as my body says so.  My average speed was 9.6 mph while my top speed was 21.2. The speed was low do to the route taken through Princeton University Forrestal Campus. My stats are below.

Y esterday the last of the repairs were completed.  The brake rotor was slightly bent, but the LBS was able to straighten it without a problem. I am still in a lot of pain and my arm looks nasty, but I am going to be riding tomorrow.  It won't be a long ride, but just enough to give me a taste.  Thinking back to my accident, I came up with the following impressions: 1. I was going to fast for the road conditions. 2. I wasn't thinking as I know how the roads here get after days of rain, and I should have avoided the conditions that put in that place. I am not going to cry over spilled milk, but move on and avoid the situation in the future. I know sometimes I can be foolhardy and go a lot faster than I should.  The fellow from the LBS said that I had to be doing over 20 mph as I passed him and he was doing 22+.  Oh well accidents do happen!

W ell it is a few days since I flipped the Black Widow and some things are improving while others are not. First thing yesterday I bought the parts needed to repair the computer mount, and a new replacement Mirrcycle Mirror.  Last evening I cut the parts for the mount and painted them this morning. The base of the mount has been installed and the vertical stem fastened in place.  I will not know until tomorrow if the adhesive held, so I am unable to mount the mirror until then.  Next will be to mount the SlipGrip mount for the iPhone.  After I know the adhesive is dry and the mirror and SlipGrip is mounted I will bring the trike to halters for the brake adjustment. N ow my damage is going to be an up hill battle. As the doctor said "It will get worse before it gets better!" Well he is correct, as I feel horrible, and the pain is very bad. I will post here as things progress, for both me and the trike.

T his morning I was out on my usual route and came to a corner that I usually can take at 20+ mph, and flipped the trike. There has been a huge amount of rain and sand had been washed up on the road, so I didn't have a chance. There is no damage to the trike that I can see other than the rubber axle cover on the left front wheel. The custom mounts for my computer and my Mirrycle mirror was destroyed. Tomorrow I will start the process of building a new mount. The Mirror is ordered, but I am having trouble finding the rubber end cap or axle cover. I have a call out to Steve and Randy, I hope they can help with that. My left arm and leg are covered with Road Rash and I am hurting bad, but my pride is hurt more. A motorist viewed my accident and just drove off without even asking if I was OK. I heard from Steve as I was writing this post and he has the part I need. He is sending it out today. I rode 10.41 miles at an average speed of 9.5 mph and a top speed of 23 mph.I burnt 698 cal...

I rode 11 miles by myself and felt a little lonely. My average speed was 12.4 mph and my max speed was 22.2 mph. I burnt 623 calories and my avg HR was 139 and my max HR was 165. There was a bit of abnormalities between my Garmin Edge 305 and my iPhone CycleMeter. The Garmin I tend to think is more accurate, but the was almost a mile per hour difference. But since I use both it doesn't mater.

Y esterday I added a SlipGrip iPhone 4 mount to the left instrument cluster. It will allow me to use my iPhone 4 and the Cyclemeter on my rides. This mount allows use of the OtterBox Defender on the phone. Now my phone is at least protected from minor accidents. I will also be able to use the Bluetooth calling features while triking. The unit in itself is well made here in the USA which is rare to say the least. The mount is made of Polycarbonate and feels sturdy. The mount has a bicycle clamp which has a ball joint allowing many different positions and angles. I can even go into landscape mode and use the map feature of the Cyclemeter. I know that the Cyclemeter is a redundant instrument as I already have the Garmin mounted on the right instrument cluster. But as a recumbent geek and a computer geek more is better.  I bought this mount from http://slipgripcarmounts.com, and I am excited about getting out on the road again. Looks like a long way off as there is still lots of snow o...

I Planned to ride today, but the wind had another idea regarding that. I was all dressed and headed out the door for my ride, and got all of 20 feet before I returned home. The wind was blowing in all directions with speeds exceeding 20 mph. I had dust in my eyes in just 20 feet. My wrap around sunglasses didn't help one bit. I am really annoyed as i have been unable to ride for a week and a half do to rain every day. O n another thought: Last week I ordered another MARS logo flag from Devil Women Flags to replace my tattered flag. This time I ordered it in yellow. Yesterday I ordered some reflective tassels for the top of the flag mast as an added safety measure. The flag shipped on the 5th, but the tassels have not. I ordered the tassels in ANSI Yellow to make sure they are seen and it should go with the color of the flag. I ordered it from Purple Sky Flags Or at least close enough. #4 is the color I choose

T his morning I ordered a replacement flag from Devil Women Flags. This is the same place I ordered my original flag.  I placed the order for a yellow MARS flag which is the same design as the original flag, but in yellow not orange. The order was posted as $20.00 for the flag and $5.00 for shipping.  When I went to her home page it now says all flags are $25.00, if that is the case I will cancel the order and order a non MARS flag from another vendor.  I will call later and see what happened.  I went directly to the MARS flag bypassing the main screen so I didn't see the price change notification. UPDATE: I spoke to Barbra and she didn't mention anything about a price change so I guess the $20.00 plus shipping is what I will pay for the flag. Mean while I installed an old Be seen wear flag. MARS Club Flag Night View Day View

T his morning I had a few things to get done, but I managed to get out as soon as possible.  The rain is do to return this afternoon, but the weather forecasters have not been right in a while. I rode 10.16 miles in 40:15 minutes at an average speed of 15.1 mph and a max speed of 23.3 mph. I burnt 586 calories and my average HR was 149 bpm and my max HR was 163 bpm.  The temperature was 63℉ when I started and 67℉ when I returned home. The winds were from the NNW at 4 mph. My stats are below.

I t looks like bad weather until Wednesday so riding is out. I ordered a Nathan wrist wallet the other day as I realized that I had no room to carry my wallet while the trike is in lite weight mode. I am hoping that this will serve the purpose. I wanted to order it in another color, but it seems like there are none available in anything but black. I will update with a photo once Google gets the editor fixed. I am using the old editor until the fix arrives. Nathan Reflective Wrist Wallet

T his morning went for a group ride with three other members of MARS. Steve Friedlander led the ride through West and East Windsor and Heightstown. We rode 22.05 miles under very cloudy skies. A few times it started to rain, but all in all we lucked out. My average speed was 14.0 mph and my max speed was 26.6 mph. I burnt 1,219 calories and my average HR was 137 bpm and my max HR was 169 bpm. The members that rode with me were Steve, Bert and Ming a potential member. When we returned to the bike shop Charlie was there and we were able to look around, and buy if we wanted. I will post photos once I receive them. Below are my stats. L to R Steve, Bert, Ming next to the Black Widow Me Steve Front to Rear Bert, Steve and me L to R Ming, Bert, Me,Steve L to R Bert, Me, and Steve

T his morning I got a little later start as I have my weekend chores to do. The ride was a little daunting as it was very windy again.  Even with the strong winds I pushed forward trying not to loose against the wind. I rode 10.18 miles in 42:23 minutes at an average speed of 14.4 mph and a max speed of 26.2 mph. I burnt 561 calories and my average HR was 142 bpm and my max HR was 154 bpm. My stats are posted below. UPDATE: Tomorrow I am going on a MARS group ride leaving from Jersey Bents LLC in Hamilton Square NJ.  Not sure the distance we will go, but I am assuming 20 miles will be in order.  We will stop for linch at a Pizza and Sub shop over in Windsor Village. When I get home I will post my stats and info about the ride.

T his morning I got up to a cloudy sky and thickening fog. The fog seemed to worsen as the morning progressed.  I decided that I wasn't giving up a day of riding so I got my gear together and headed out.  I turned on my headlight and my flashing taillight and put on my new Brooks Essential Jacket.  The jacket is a super bright yellow called Nightlife™. I rode 10.17 miles in 41:56 minutes at an average speed of 14.5 mph and a max speed of 24.3 mph.  I burnt 544 calories and my average HR was 144 bpm and my Max HR was 160 bpm.  The temperature was 66℉ at the start of the ride and 67℉ at the end. My stats are at the bottom of this post. M y impression of the new Brooks jacket are as follows.  You can see this jacket from a very long distance off even in dim light or fog.  The vents on the back are probably useless as you are pressing against them in the recumbent position. It does stop the wind and wasn't very warm, but I wish the vents were better. ...

T oday I was unable to ride as I spent the morning have an epidural shot into my cervical column, to treat chronic pain. I hope to ride tomorrow morning. I made two purchases one yesterday and one today. The first was for one yard of 1" wide reflective iron on material to go on my flag to make it more visible. The second was for a new chain keeper to replace the one on my Terracycle idlers. The original goes on from the back and the chain can get free. The new one clamps on the outside.

T his morning was perfect weather for a ride, the temperature was a beautiful 60℉ when I started and 64℉ at the end. I rode 10.10 miles in 41:05 minutes with an average speed of 14.8 mph and a max speed of 28.2 mph. My average HR was 143 bpm and my max HR was 161 bpm and I burnt 561 calories. My ride stats are below. I ran into some derailleur problems and will head over to my LBS after I shower.  For some reason it jumps cogs and isn't smooth. I think it wasn't adjusted correctly last time I was in. UPDATE: I went to my LBS with the Black Widow and he adjusted the tension on the rear derailleur and it seems fine now. I went for a test ride around the parking lot and it shifted well, but I wasn't at any speed to be sure. Friday I will test it again on the road.

A fter yesterdays ride from hell, I was dreading going out today, but I pushed myself. There are those days where I get in a funk and want to vegetate.  Today I started out and was pushing hard and not getting anywhere. I continued to push and near the end of the ride I looked at my front chain wheels and realized the reason for the hard time was that I was in the large ring not the middle ring. I can't believe I was so stupid and did such a bad move. I rode 10.14 miles in 41:26 minutes at an average speed of 14.7 mph and a max speed of 23.6 mph.  I burnt 541 calories and my average HR was 149 bpm while my max HR was 160 bpm. The temperature at the start of the ride was 45℉ and it was 62℉ at the end of the ride. I sure needed my new jacket today, but it is sitting in Portland OR for the last four days. UPS said it is on time for delivery. M y stats for today's ride is below. I t looks like next season I will have to buy new cycling pants as mine are all large.

I headed out today with a smile on my face as I was looking forward to the ride. Well after the first five minutes the smaile was gone from my face.  The winds were so strong that I had a hard time pushing against them. They seemed to be coming from all directions at once.  The leaves and debris were flying everywhere including in my face. The winds were 18 mph gusting to 28 and the temperature was 59℉ at the start and 62℉ at the end of the ride.  I rode 10.26 miles in 44.35 minutes at an average speed of 13.8 mph and a max speed of 20.0 mph.  I burnt 527 calories which has to be wrong as I worked my butt off trying to fight the wind.  My stats are below. B elow are the modified Flag mounts with included anti-noise grommet. Grommet added to eliminate tapping noise Grommet added to eliminate tapping sound

T oday's ride was all and all usual for this crazy weather pattern. There was a constant 15 mph wind that was in my face no matter which way I turned. I rode 10.15 miles in 41:21 seconds at an average speed of 14.7 mph and a max speed of 24.4 mph.  I burnt 561 calories and my Average HR was 145 bpm while my Max HR was 164 bpm.  The trike was performing great even when the pilot was not performing well. My stats are below.