My Bike rides

[carni 10,094]

So glad to hear you are well enough to get out and about on your Trike Rog. You have the Summer and Autumn to build your strength back up.Nothing to strenuous at first Aye! Must obey the Medicine Man! We look forward to your pics, when your back fully on form, but your description of your Trike ride today gets the imagination going. We are managing a 7/10 mile a day at the moment and loving it as you would understand that! We also had the grey skies. We had gone barely a mile when the rain started, though we carried on with our mac's on. The brakes aren't as good in the wet, so had to go carefully. Best Wishes Rog..........Keeeeeeep Peddling.

[plantfit 7,601]

LizzieM, didn't see the one show but there are plenty of newspaper clippings in the pub (the green man) to Walt's visit, the original name for the pub was the St Vincent arms named after the battle of Cape St Vincent in-which a local man (will think of his name in a bit) captained a ship and fought alongside Nelson at the battle, after returning to his home village he planted horse chestnut trees all along the road through the village,they are still there today and produce masses of conkers each year,I live in the next village 1.5 miles away,

Carni,thanks for your comments,most encouraging, the wet weather doesn't affect the brakes on the trike because they are drum brakes and are fully enclosed, similar to the rear brakes on some cars,by the way,did you manage to get a riding jacket for your cycle rides? I have a few thats never been worn and they are too small for me now anyway, PM me if you or Chris want some of them and I will post them to you

Rog

[darkazana 1,736]

We once went to look at Cold Harbour Farm in Norton Disney, but decided it needed too much doing to it (It is now Norton Lodge Conference Centre) and believe that had some connection with Nelson, though cannot remember what. It was up for £75000 at the time (1993) Wonder what it must be worth now!!

Good to know you're back on the road again Plantfit. I always enjoy reading about your travels.

[carni 10,094]

Plantfit,

Thank you for your kind offer. I will do some measuring up and PM you.

[PeverilPeril 3,284]

Plantfit / Rog - just found your topic and gone back and read them all. I would just like to thank you for this enjoyable series.

I must get my rowing trike street legal and get out a bit more.

[plantfit 7,601]

PeverilPeril, Glad you enjoy reading of my exploits on the Jolly Roger, still unable to get out on the trike as still not back to full health but I think heading in the right direction (fingers crossed) quite like the look of your rowing trike, obviously use a different set of muscles to the recumbent trike, did it take you long to get your muscles used to it? It took me about 1000 miles to get my "recumbent legs" as they are called,nice to lay back on the recumbent and take in the scenery,can't do that on a road bike because you are looking at the front wheel all the time and all that leaning on the handle bars used to make my neck and shoulders ache,not so on the trike,have you checked out "cycle chat" forum? theres some guy on there looking to arrange a cycle ride for "different types" of bikes and your rowing trike fits the bill perfectly,not sure where in the country he is but I think he's looking at organising the ride for next year,theres also someone who's built his own trike from scratch you maybe interested in reading.

Rog

[PeverilPeril 3,284]

Thanks Rog. Hope you get back to fitness and start posting your trips and pics again soon.

The rowing trike is built from scraps and based on a Raleigh RSW folding bike. It is very inefficient because the legs are not used much - and it is heavy. Cruising speed is ~ 8mph and hills bring it to a standstill. It's more of a fun thing. It's named The Village Cruiser. It has to be transported to cycle tracks where it causes some amusement. It will be up graded soon with better bearings, a brake and a child pillion seat for my great grandkids. I have designed a Mk2 with a semi sliding seat to utilise the legs a bit more. I am an indoor rowing enthusiast so the muscle usage is OK. The idea with this machine is more to do with a comprehensive outdoors workout, than a means of getting about.

I'll be out on my Look carbon bike tomorrow.

[plantfit 7,601]

Just a couple of pics of the Trike (jolly Roger) in case some of the newcomers aren't sure what one looks like

As you can see the rear wheel is more or less a standard mountain bike wheel fitted with a 9 speed gear cassette and 6" disc brake,the front wheels are 20" fitted with Sturmey Archer drum brakes,steering is called underseat because the stem and handlebars are fitted to the main frame (cruciform) under the seat,the seat is a mesh fabric over an aluminium frame making for a very light unit,the main frame (cruciform) uses cromoly tubing about 2" diameter and the rear triangle and front boom are of aircraft grade 6061 aluminium,gear are provided by a "Sram" twistgrip system giving 27 gears starting at 12" and finishing with a whopping 97" in other words in the lowest gear for each pedal stroke the trike will move forward 12" and at the other end of the speed range ie: biggest ring on the front and smallest on the rear whell will give a total distance of 97" for the full turn of the pedals,talking of pedals they are the "clipless"type made by Shimano,these are the type where you have cleats fitted into your cycling shoes and they lock into the pedals when you press you foot on them,to release your foot you simply twist your foot and they unclip, I use this type of pedal because if you used the standard type and your foot slipped from the pedal you would run your foot over with painful consequences,Total length of the trike is 80" width 33" seat height top 22" and the bottom of the seat (your butt) is just 6" above the road,Sorry to go on a bit but could be interesting for bike fans or the technically minded

Rog

[plantfit 7,601]

Back home now after a nice ride around the lanes out here,got stopped quite a lot as I was riding through the villages,every one wanted to talk about the trike,usual questions,"did you make it yourself,where do you get them from,how fast does it go (as fast as the legs will pedal it) do you need a license for one",great to talk to people about something you have an interest in though,took a nice steady ride between home,Bassingham,Stapleford (lincolnshires Stapleford) back through Norton Disney,Thurlby,Bassingham and back home,maybe 10-12 miles in all lost track of my time with talking to so many people most of them I never seen before,upper legs aching a bit now as not used to using those muscles now,you use different muscles on a recumbent to the ones you use on an upright cycle,but it is nice to pull up at the side of the road for a breather and just lay back in the seat,(always got somewhere to sit on the trike)

next time out I will get some pictures took

Rog

[plantfit 7,601]

Out came the Jolly Roger this morning for a ride around the local lanes,legs aching a bit because I've got to get used to riding in a recumbent position again but it's still good fun,well the sun was shining and there was no wind not even a breeze,sun block plastered over exposed parts and sun glasses on,what a feeling of freedom,everyone I passed waved to me as I rode through the village and onto the open road towards Navenby,didn't go there because of the steep hill needed to ride up to get onto the Lincoln ridge (A607) but I carried on the bottom road and towards Haddington and Auburn<I've posted pictures before of those places so cruised through and along the back road to Thurlby and Bassingham,a phone call from Mrs P to make sure I was ok, had to stop to answer the phone call and say "Yes I'm fine" put phone away and set off again coming into Bassingham from the north,decided to stop at the cross roads for a photo,back on the trike and up the foot/cycle path to our village for another picture,this time of our village hall that doubles as a post office on Friday mornings,never saw a sole as I rode the perimeter of the village,houses and bungalows on the right and fields as far as Brant Broughton and Beckingham to my left,into the close where I live to see Mrs P waiting at the gate saying she was worried about me because I didn't answer my phone,tut,if I kept answering my phone I said I would never get home,stop worrying! bless her,anyway a couple of pics for the album

Hope you enjoy as much as I did

Rog

[Smiffy49 590]

Used to live in C-L-M Plantfit (Sands Lane) !

As you say it is fairly flat around your route but the road to Norton Disney is very dangerous for cycles with all of those bends !

I'm sure I have seen your cycle (or one similar) on the Wellingore to Temple Bruer Road a few days ago?

[carni 10,094]

Hope you don't have to many aching muscles tomorrow plantfit. It's nice to see your pics with the trike again. Once you get the feel of the breeze on your face and the feeling of peace and freedom again, there will be no stopping you. I'm looking forward to more of your pictures already. Best wishes all goes well for you.

[plantfit 7,601]

Smiffy, sands lane very nice,village green complete with duck pond,I'm in the close overlooking the fields at the back of the seed merchants,the road to Norton is not too bad but I prefer to go through Bassingham and turn left at river farm onto clay lane,very open area with good visibility and not much traffic, wasn't me going through your village,I know of a couple more trike riders in the area but have not rode with them yet,next time I plan to go through Temple I will post on here a couple of days before and you could meet me with a coffee lol.

carni,thanks for your comments,very encouraging,you use a different set of leg muscles when riding a recumbent to riding an upright bike and when I first started riding one it took a few weeks and about a thousand miles to get what is known as "recumbent legs" shouldn't take too long to get me legs back,

for info my top speed today was 32mph on the flat and the average was 18mph,I can't see me improving on that in the near future,I'll have another ride next week if time allows

Rog

[Michael Booth 7,364]

I'm pleased to read that you're back on your trike, plantfit. I can feel your enthusiasm coming through your post...lol. I think you should mention to Smiffy49 that a couple of chocolate biscuits would be nice with the coffee.

[darkazana 1,736]

So pleased to see you are back out on the trike Rog, look forward to reading of your travels around the local villages again.

[plantfit 7,601]

Not so much of a bike/trike ride but I have been on my trike,got myself one of those "Turbo Trainers" to sit my trike on in the shed,took all of ten minutes to assemble it and get the back of the trike sat in the securing screws,sat in the trike and had a steady (at first) pedal,five resiatance settings via a remote cable attched to the handlebars from easy going to bloody hell,anyway after half an hour of going through the gears and different resistant settings I am knackered,good fun though and with the dark nights soon to be here I will be spending an hour each night in the bike shed hopefully keeping fit over the winter, the turb trainer was from a well known cycle/car parts store,originally on for £169 but reduced to £84 with another discount because I ordered it online to pickup in store (Newark) later in the day finished up paying £76 and so far welll worth it,looking forward to tomorrow night in the bike shed with a 60's CD playing,the doos shut and the peddles going like the clappers (well going round anyway)

Rog

[plantfit 7,601]

First proper ride out of 2017 on the Jolly Roger this morning,nice crisp start to the day,a bit frosty in places and plenty of rear wheel slip when pedalling a bit too hard,just a short ride of about 18 miles today,from home through Bassingham,Thurlby,Auborn,North Hykeham,South Hykeham along the foot path/cycle way down the A46 to Witham st Hughes where the company I work for have Swinderby quarry,on the old RAF Swinderby airfield where some of our members spent some of their early years,a quick photo stop to get a picture to put in our company news letter (they like to see employees taking an interest in healthy persuits) then along camp road back to Thurlby turning right and heading for Norton Disney,the previous quarry was there until worked out and moved to Swinderby,another photo stop in front of the quarry sign (again for the news letter) then a steady ride through the village of Norton Disney and back home,the roads were still icy in places,not much of a problem on the trike though as it is quite difficult to fall off one (although I have managed it a couple of times),all in all a nice couple of hours in the fresh air.

 

 

Rog

[MargieH 7,600]

Lovely pictures, Rog.  Whenever you mentioned 'trike' I always thought of the two wheels being at the back!!  I am very ignorant of things like that...  sounds like you had a good ride

[plantfit 7,601]

They do make trikes with one wheel at the front and two at the rear,they are called Delta trikes after the triangle shape thingy from the Greek alphabet,the one I ride is called a Tadpole being fatter at the front and slimmer towards the rear as in the little froglette thingy's,A Delta trike tends to lift the front wheel in the air when going up hill and pedalling hard because they are lighter at the front,not very good for steering if the wheel is off the ground I think they might be a bit more stable on sharp bends with all the weight being over the two wheels at the rear,mine does tend to lift the inside wheel off the ground when going down a fast hill and a bend at the same time,you need to lean into the bend to keep all three wheels on the ground which is what I didn't do when I tipped mine over a few months ago,As a matter if interest to you Margie, I got my trike from Ely,theres a guy there who has all makes of recumbent bikes and trikes,really great bloke with mountains of knowledge on all things recumbent,company called D Tek, glad you enjoyed reading about the ride,nip down to D Tek and ask for a demo ride,you won't regret it

 

Rog

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PeverilPeril 3,284]

Your trike looks like a quality machine Rog. Is it built by Pashley? The front hubs look similar to my Pashley Mailstar (24" front wheel)..

[plantfit 7,601]

Thanks PP,No It's an Ice (Inspired cyle engineering) made in Falmouth,I bought it as unbuilt because |I wanted to build it myself,be in at the birth as it were,the brakes probably are the same as yours, Sturmey Archer drum brakes,really good especially in the wet as water can't really get to the shoes,the configuration I have is called the Ice Q26,the 26 refering to the rear wheel size,the standard Ice Q has a 20 inch rear wheel the same size as the fronts,on the standard Ice Q the rear triangle has suspension through a polymer cusion the 26 is rigid but being the larger wheel it does ride bumps easier,gearing is via a Sram derailleur of 27 speed,three up front and nine on the wheel,most of the components are compatable with standard mountain bikes so spares availability is not a problem,the rear disc brake I fitted myself as a parking brake,the operating lever being at the bottom of the left side steerer arm,seat frame is high grade aircraft alloy 6061 covered with high quailty breathable mesh which is adjustable through a series of adjuster straps,Ice/Trice do have a website with video's of all their range,well worth checking out

 

Rog

[carni 10,094]

Glad to see you are on your trike again plantfit. I hope we can look forward to reading about your travels and viewing your pictures again. Take it easy, no dangling upside down miduck, you might not get away with it next time. 

[MargieH 7,600]

Rog, I've just followed your route this morning on my road map - I just have to do that when people mention place names!

[PeverilPeril 3,284]

#171 well blow me! I'll be in Falmouth on Sat. May look in at ICE.

[plantfit 7,601]

Thats brilliant PP,Iv'e been told from many people what a friendly lot they are at Ice,have you checked out their website yet? very informative with video for all of their range,the lady who cycled to the South Pole rode a Ice trike with fat tyres,some video of that too

 

Rog