A velo weekend

I finally got the trike out for an overnight trip. I heard about a thing called the Niagara Velomobile Happening and found out that there was free camping for those attending. Seemed like something interesting and a good way to do a shakedown cruise with the gear on the Trike.

I’m usually the ‘cycle that gets the comments and stares whenever I go out for a ride, but with this group, I was the conservative one. In case you haven’t heard the term velomobile before, it refers to a vehicle that is usually based on some form of human-powered vehicle and often has a full body, or at least some windscreen.

These enthusiasts took that to heart and many velos there were fully enclosed and electric motors to assist pedaling were very common as well. Some were home made, some were commercial products. They were pretty much all very interesting.

Like going to a robotics event, the same concept often resulted in a wide variety of solutions, some odd at first, some elegant, but all original and very cool. In this crew, my basic trike was boring… Continue Reading…

9/11 Ride

A quick ride today of about 20 miles. I went out with no pre-conceived plan and just rode some country roads. I found some that were pretty nice riding too: few cars, good pavement, some of it new. The sun was out and it was warm enough that the wind didn’t bother me at all, it just felt good.

MapMyRide.com

More bike/trike riding

I’ve had a lot of fun riding my recumbent trike lately. I keep calling it a bike, but as you may know, technically, it’s a trike. Three wheels and all that, but who’s being technical. Technically, they are all Human Powered Vehicles (HPV) or as Pennsylvania calls them in it’s own quaint way, pedalcycles. I find it interesting that Pennsylvania uses a more general term to be more inclusive, while New York keeps referring to “Bicycles or skating or gliding on inline skates.” They also refer to “Toy vehicles.” Shows what the attitude towards cyclists is…

Anyway, Monday, I rode a 37-mile ride on Labor Day. The bike club I belong to held a ride with a picnic following it starting at a nice little private camp in North Tonawanda, right on the Canal. I elected to ride the longer option. Partway out the ride, I stopped to help another rider who had a flat tire. Changing a tube is easy to me, but a couple sets of hands makes it go quicker. The rider held the bike. I removed the front wheel and changed the tube. Another rider pumped it up. It only took a few minutes. Continue Reading…

More on bike taillights

Left: Dinotte 140R-AA Right: Cateye LD-1100After a couple months, I finally broke down and bought the Dinotte 140R bicycle tail light. It is by far, the brightest LED tail light available and has been shown to be effective, even during daylight, in being seen by cars approaching you from the rear. The light is painfully bright, so much so that it gets attention other lights don’t get. Maybe it’s curiosity, maybe it’s annoyance, but drivers wake up and give you a wide berth when they see it. Video of the lights is at the end of this post.

Some other innovative bicycle lights have come across my computer screen. I haven’t tried any of them, but they are worth considering if you’re in the market for such a thing. Continue Reading…

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