I am such a wuss. Just a threat of rain and I won’t go for a bike ride. I finally got out for a ride this week, even though I had been wanting to do so since Monday.
I took Sunday off after the all-night Relay For Life. I got home at 6:30am Saturday and slept until 2:00pm. I felt pretty good, but it had been so humid that I had gotten chafed all over … well places I won’t mention in polite company. Monday I had some excuse not to ride. Tuesday it was rainy for most of the day. Wednesday looked like rain, but it never did until late at night. I should have gone riding, but instead opened up the tent/trailer/pop-up and aired it out. I took a lot of stuff out of it that we had stored inside.
So, today I really needed to go for a ride. It rained all night and part of the morning, but by noon it looked like it was all past us. A lot of fluffy clouds were going by and it was breezy, but the weather radar online assured me no more was in the works. Continue Reading…
While outfitting my new bike, I had to choose a taillight for nighttime use, or in case I get caught out at dusk. I’ve always used a blinking LED taillight in the past and they are pretty good at getting you seen in the dark. The flashing LEDs really stand out. But this time I wanted a little more because the recumbent is so low to the ground and might not be recognized as a moving object in the dark.
I had seen some lights that were really bright, so much so that they are actually of use in the daytime. I went in search of one online. It’s really hard to get real information about how bright these really are. You can see photos or watch YouTube videos, but because cameras adjust to the light available, they all look blindingly bright individually. Only side-by-side comparisons are useful. They’re hard to find, though.
Typical generic LED tailight You’re probably familiar with lights that look like this. I’ve had dozens of them in the past and recently threw away a bunch that had quit working and couldn’t be revived by new batteries. Some are good quality, others are cheap knock-offs, but they’re all about as bright as the other. I bought four of them a while ago for $1.25 each at a flea market. Continue Reading…
One of the things about a new bike is it’s not really yours, until you customize it. That’s a process that might never end, but a lot of it gets done while it’s pretty new. Later, the urge to change or add things tapers off.
I suppose it’s the same with a new car, but it’s much easier to do, and less expensive, with a bike.
I started at the shop when I asked for the rack. There was another TerraTrike that had a really nice rear rack on it, so I asked for one like it. It was the only one they had, so they simply took it off the other bike and put it on mine. It’s very sturdy and just the right size for it. Since I’d like to be able to carry things with me, it was a necessity.
After I got home, I continued my customization. I got a couple LED blinky lights and put one on each side of the back of the seat. I liked them, and they look pretty bright in the dark, but after riding with some other people, I found out they now make much brighter warning lights, bright enough to be useful in the daytime. I’ll have to look into them. Continue Reading…