Hiatus

It's been over a year or so that I've posted. Things are still too hectic for me to post on a regular schedule. I hope to start doing so this cycling season.

While I'm away here are a few recumbent sites to satisfy your thirst.

• Recumbent Journal


• Recumbent.tv


• BentRiderOnline


• BentBlog.de


• Ligfiets.net


• Velovision.com

Hope to catch you on the trail later.

Reds Opening Day Parade

Every year the Cincinnati Cycling Club took part in the Reds Opening Day Parade. I always wanted to be in the parade and for the past several years tried to be in it. Riding with the Cycling Club was not a problem. The major factor was the weather, it was either too cold or raining. This year was different, the weather was forecasted to be in the 60's and partly sunny.

The kids and I waiting for the parade to begin. Jim Coppock in the upper right corner.

Logging in to the Cincinnati Cycling Club's forum site, I posted a question on who is the contact person for the Opening Day group. I soon got a reply that it was Jim Coppock and the rest was history.

The weapon of choice was my Catrike Speed hauling my two kids in a Trek GoBug trailer. It was sure to be a hit at the parade.

Former Cincinnati Councilmen Jim Tarbel (right) waving to the crowd at Findlay Market.

At the begining of the ride the kids were actually waving to the crowd, but I guess they just got overwhelmed.

One of the group cyclist, showing his foldable bike.

2010 Reds Opening Day Parade from glenn m on Vimeo.

We had a blast at the event! I saw two coworkers, one high school classmate and one acquintance. After the parade allot more people informed me that they saw me. If the weather repeats it's self for next year I'm sure my kids and I will do this again.

First Ride of the Season

Last Friday was sunny and in the 60's, great riding weather. It was my first ride of the 2010 season. Right after work I got the recumbent (Bacchetta Strada) out and suited out for the ride.

Once again I never know who I would meet out on the trail. My recumbent is a great ice breaker. People normally stop to say "wow, that's what I need, that's awesome", etc.

On my halfway point on the trail I met Tim Guthrie and his son, who just turned 13. They were on their road bikes. Tim told me that he was looking into getting a Bacchetta and had a Rans recumbent in the past. It's such a treat talking shop with someone that has the same interest. We talked about websites relating to recumbents, local bike shops, cycling lights, etc.

I love riding on the Little Miami Bike Trail. The new season has started out great.

2010 Season

As I sat down with friends at dinner, we talked about the upcoming 2010 cycling season. This season will be almost the same as last time; friends, family and toddlers. But, as our little ones grow and change so do our bikes. I plan to leave the two seat trailer behind and switch to a tandem road bike. I'll still ride my recumbent during the week days, but not during when I have to haul the rug rats.

The reason for this, my son is big enough to pedal and will aid him in learning to ride a real bike, plus, it's less weight for me pull. Some additions will be needed to make the tandem child ready, but that will be recorded in later posts.

Also, we plan to do a group night ride this season. Ride an hour before sunset, eat dinner at a restaurant at Loveland and ride back to the cars in the dark. With lights of course (see the past posts on affordable bike lights that I've reviewed).

Spring is only a few weeks from here and I can't wait.

My 70 mile bike ride

About two years ago Jon and I road our bikes on the Little Miami Bike Trail, Newtown Ohio to Yellow Springs Ohio a 70 mile bike ride. It was an adventure. This year I did the same thing.





It was Jon's idea to do the ride again. He was to leave his car up in Yellow Springs and ride down and meet me at Newtown. Then we would both ride up north to Yellow Springs. 7o miles for me and 140 miles for him. Some how at the big day he was no where to be seen. Cell phone calls were routed to the mailbox. As I said before in the video, "If you learn to be disappointed in Jon, you will not be disappointed". So instead, I re-adjusted the route. I would ride 35 miles up and back. Where the mid-point would be, I had no idea.

Of the whole week, that Sunday was the best day to ride. Forecasted for in the lower 70's, sunny the first half of the day and overcast the last half.

A beautiful fall day.

Larry Varney, Bent Rider Online Co-Editor

Two miles into the ride I encountered about ten or more fellow recumbent trike riders going the opposite direction. At the head was Larry Varney, a well known recumbent rider among the US recumbent circles. He took a photo of me as I passed by.

Photo by Larry Varney

Trail side view.

I-71 Bridge

Near the halfway point the skies turned overcast. But, that did not diminish the sight of the I-71 bridge. The first time I rode under the bridge I was amazed on how high it was. Driving up I-71 I always wondered what the bottom looked like and I wasn't disappointed.

The halfway point.

The landmark of the 70 mile halfway point looks to be at the Little Miami River Canoe Rental.

The halfway point.

Looking south for another 35 miles.

Heading south again underneath the I-71 bridge.

The trail north of Morrow, Ohio seem to be lightly traveled. It's quite rural and any breakdowns out here would be a problem. Just south of the bridge is an entrance to the Fort Ancient State Memorial Park.

I took a 15 minute lunch break at Morrow and met again a cyclist that started in Loveland. We were doing between 16 to 18 mph back to Loveland. He was the guy in front of me (on the video) as the two recumbent riders passed by. He was doing his last leg of his 54 mile ride.

Hunter's Moon

On the last 10 miles my legs started to feel fatigued. I believe, that if I kept a better track on drinking regularly I would have faired better. That day sunset was around 6:44 PM. I was ready with my 900 lumens bike light. The first 70 mile ride Jon and I got caught without any lights on our last 10 miles. From that day we made sure we had the best lights to illuminate the trail.

On the way back to Newtown's parking lot my truck was the only one left. Arriving back around 7 PM, it took me around 5 hours to finish my 70 mile ride. Would I do this again next year and maybe do a longer ride? The answer would be yes.

Commemorating 53rd birthday

Last Sunday evening I met a fellow cyclist on my way back to my truck. Since I ride a recumbent, it initiates people strike up a conversation with me.

Asking me where I was going and I told him, "Back to Newtown.", which was the same place he was also going. He was riding a Litespeed road bike. Well versed cyclists would know that this type of bike is not cheap. Titanium frame and high end components would put this bike past the $2,000 mark new. Just the frame alone on some models would cost around $5,000.

Back to the cyclist. I learned that he was completing his 110 mile ride (Newtown, Ohio to Oregana, Ohio). This was basically a recovery ride for him. His previous ride on Saturday was his 190 mile ride on the Little Miami Bike Trail. That ride was to commemorate his 53rd birthday.

He was also impressed by my cycling lights, since the sun was setting and we had 20 minutes left to go on our ride.

Time, time, time

MTE SSC P7 900-Lumen 2-Mode LED Flashlight (18650)

About 19 years ago I was reading an article in Bicycling magazine. It was about finding the time to ride if your life or schedule was full, be it family or work. The article suggested riding at night or early in the morning, which to me sounded crazy. I was still in college at the time and my schedule was more flexible than now.

Now having kids and a full time job, I fully understand. I scrape any time I can get to ride on the trail. It's normally in the evenings or before dawn in the weekends.

Riding when light levels are low or non at all brings the problem of getting the right equipment to ride safely. Enter bike lights. In my previous posts I have experimented with several lighting solutions. Through trial and error, I have narrowed it down to a few lighting equipment that is affordable and puts out an enormous amount of light.

1. For a compact flashlight I found the MTE SSC P7 900-Lumen 2-Mode LED Flashlight (18650) to be adequate. For around $35 you get a nice 900 lumen LED light. Unlike another LED flashlight that I have, it will not change to the next mode when jarred. When your riding your bike it will be a bumpy ride. This particular model will not jump to the next mode unless you fully click it to the next mode. The downside is the battery life, on high it would only last for about 50 minutes.
   
2. For an affordable dedicated bike light the HA-III SSC P7-C (SXO) 3-Mode 900-Lumen LED Bike Light Set is a good investment. For around $80 you get a good flood type 900 lumen LED light. On high mode the battery life is around 3 hours. Several times on the trail people often tell me how bright the light is. The beam spreads out quite generously (about 20 or more feet) and illuminates a good 100 feet down the trail.

These lights are all sold online from "dealextreme.com". Shipping is free, if you don't mind waiting 14 days for your items to arrive. It's a Hong Kong company and paying with PayPal, the buying process is quite secure.

HA-III SSC P7-C (SXO) 3-Mode 900-Lumen LED Bike Light Set

I can't tell you how many times I've helped out fellow cyclists caught on the trail with little or no bike lights. Just before typing this post I've helped a dad and his daughter get back to their car with my lights illuminating the trail.

I've also met a fellow recumbent rider named Mike, whom I've seen quite often on the trail, but never had the chance to talk to. He was riding an older model Sun bike that his wife bought him. His house is just about a stones throws away from the trail.


I love riding on my local bike trail, because I'll never know who I'll meet or help out.