Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Yes, my ride is going on a diet, from three wheels to two. I’m now the proud owner of a 2003 HP Velotechnik Street Machine GT.

I’ve wanted to have a two wheeled recumbent since the beginning when I bought my trike. I actually thought I’d get a two-wheeler when I bought the trike, but got caught up in the go-cart fun-ness of the trike. It was not a bad decision, it’s been a great ride and is still my go-to ride for touring. And a trike has almost no learning curve, unlike a two-wheeled ‘bent. Continue Reading…

I’ve written several times about bicycle lighting on this blog. You may have read them, if not you can go back and see what I wrote.

As with most technology, it is moving forward every year, and bicycle lights are no exception. I’m currently waiting for the arrival of a new tail light for my trike.

The Cateye Reflex Auto is the newest addition to my lighting stable. It’s not the best, or the most expensive bike tail light, but it represents a significant step forward in bike lights for a few reasons. Continue Reading…

I promised to continue the account of my trip, so here it is. If you missed the first part, you can read it here.

So, on the first day, we got as far as River Bend Campground. In the morning, we all packed up and got ready to head out for the rest of the way. The weather was sunny and it looked like it would be a warm day.

We start out near the bottom of this map and go nearly to the top. Our destination is Dravo Cemetary Campground. It’s convenient that these map segments seem to fit our day’s travel! Continue Reading…

As promised, I will write about the trip to the Great Allegheny Passage I took back in May. And a great way to start off the story is this video. Several people had video cameras and Robert “Bean” Blanda took them and edited them into a little piece that captures the trip’s feel perfectly.

The trip began on Wednesday, where we all met in Ohiopyle PA and camped in the Kentuck Campground, just out of town. Ohiopyle is a tiny little town best-known for it’s whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Youghiogheny River that passes by. But it also benefits from the proximity of the Great Allegheny Passage, which is a hiking and biking trail that runs along an old railbed that paralells the river. It runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland MD, where it connects with the C&O Trail. Continue Reading…