Tucson Trice Trike Trips

Sunday ride

2010-04-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

We left at 9am. Biking one of my favorite routes. About 6 miles in we ran into Bruce & Wayne on the "Batmobile" tandem. Jeff2, Denise & myself had a really really good breakfast at Joel's at the UofA.

25 miles.

Impromptu Rides

2010-03-13T14:17:00.001-07:00

Jeff(2) and I have gone out a few times, on last minute rides, in the past few weeks. Today was a beautiful day in Tucson and a huge book fair at the UofA.

Great day for a ride!

2010-02-02T20:16:00.001-07:00

Better get it in before it rains tomorrow was my thought. So at 2pm I "closed up shop" and took myself for a ride. It being my wife's first day at a new job I thought I'd try to be in the area about the time she was leaving to meet up (for a ride home).

It was a picture perfect day indeed!

This last photo is 2 of about 20 A-10's that were flying in this beautiful sky.
...ah The Sound of Freedom!

DoggyRide bike trailer

2010-01-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

We hook-up David & Amy's DoggyRide mini to my ICE Trice Q and take Clara for a test run to see if we want to buy one for her.

Denise is back!

2010-01-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

J2 called and suggested a ride. Denise and I joined him, D on her upright bike. No problems at all today. In fact Denise set a very good pace along the Golf Links/Aviation MUP and into downdown. She rode the route along the 4th Ave bridge and up 4th Ave to University Blvd. and is OVER the "tracks". The three of us really enjoyed this impromptu Saturday ride and a quick lunch at Time Market.

Denise really wants a doggie trailer so I asked David & Amy to borrow their's for a test run.

Quad "Recumbents"

2010-01-09T08:48:00.001-07:00

No, not all quads today but four recumbents. Three trikes and a quad.
Amy, myself, J2, and David (L to R) .

Gear review

2009-12-03T08:30:00.002-07:00

Even though I have a few options to carry the necessities (water, repair/flat kit) and some extra gear on my trike, things were not feeling right. The Radical Allfa ICE side pods are cavernous inside. Unless you are carrying lots of large items, everything seams to get lost in this large bags (no dividers inside). Great bags for this trike, just to large for non-touring/commuting needs.

The Trice Rear Carrier that came with my trike has a problem where a portion of the rack hits the trike frame, so that's been removed until I resolve that problem. Otherwise, the bag I have for that rack is actually very nice. The SunLite is a very nice bag with lots of pockets and two large drop-down side panniers. The two new bags will work nicely with the two new bags, as the new bags have very specific purposes that are not duplicated with the trunk bag.

I placed an order with the Hostel Shoppe for:

FastBack - 4.0 Hydration Pack

FastBack - Tool Pouch

will finish this post later today, need to prepare to ride...!

Saguaro National Park East - "Work Off The Stuffing!"

2009-11-27T13:09:00.001-07:00

J2 came over at 7:30am and we rode to the corner of Craycroft & Golf Links were me met up with Dan at 8am. Unfortunatly Wayne did not show (and we have not heard from him yet either).

From here we rode together West on Craycroft to the end. A quick left on Houghton and a quick right onto Old Spanish Trail and a few more miles to the park. The BEAUTIFUL 8-mile hill loop and back home the same way with breakfast at Joe's Pancake House.

It's a pretty hilly route TO the park, than the loop itself is all hills (DOWN & up). Today there were more bikes than cars in the park - nice!

A fun day together and we did indeed work off the stuffing (and the pie!).

Here we are with our machines at the top of Hill #1: J2, Dan, J1

Saguaro National Mounument East

2009-11-24T16:43:00.004-07:00

J2 proposed a "hill climbing". From his house, out AND THROUGH, Saguaro East, and back - 28 miles.

I was a bit leery about the 8-mile loop especially after riding all the way there but thought, why not try it. We each paid the $5 park entry and in we went.

It is 8.1 miles of incline just to get to the park entry from J2's house. From the 8.1 mile mark, look at the map. You can see that when you enter the park the fun begins right away. 3.6 miles of SCREAMING downhills! Then... you guessed it The Hills... The first is a 1.5 mile hill (with a view point halfway) that makes you think the climbing is over. It's not! There are three more climbs, shorter but just as steep. The steepest being a 5.8% grade.

We took a few photos but they don't do the monument justice. You need to ride this loop yourself!

All in all it is a very doable 8-mile loop. A bit tiring and could be hard on the knees if you are not spinning fast enough. What makes it even more enjoyable is the pavement is "A+" and the scenery is beyond description. This is not a ride you want to just do non-stop. It is too nice an area to not stop and take in the spectacular views along the loop.

Here is a photo of the first climb. Quite steep and long. Enjoy the views, the perfect pavement and don't think the hills are done until you are ALL the back at the guard gate.

The view-point 1/2 way up the first climb.

The reward of the climb... the SCREAMING fast downhills!
Enjoy, you earned it!

Cleaned up the blog today = speedy!

2009-11-23T17:45:00.004-07:00

I noticed that the "RideWithGPS" embedded maps were significantly increasing the "page-load time" for this blog. I removed all of the embedded maps under each blog posting and decided to LINK to them in the right-hand list for each ride.

So, all the maps are still available - just now neatly linked in the right-hand column.

The blog loads MUCH faster now!

El Tour de Tucson

2009-11-21T23:33:00.010-07:00

Not only my first ever El Tour, not only my first ever "bike race", but my first ever competitive event!

J2 and I rode in the 35 mile portion today. Starting in Oro Valley at Ironwood H.S., then followed the route (as mapped below) into downtown Tucson to the exciting finish line!

Here we are in Oro Valley, AZ at the 12:30pm start for the 35-mile portion.

Music blaring, announcements, and a line of over 1,100 of us waiting to ride.

View from the trike as we head into, UP, and through Rattlesnake Pass...

And in we come at 3:00:20!

Denise and mom had made up nice signs for us!

"J1 & J2..."
Now even my own wife & mother are calling me J1, oh no!

J2 & J1 at the finish.

Greeted by Denise!

Friends and family came to see us off, and greet us at the finish.

Bryan, Dino, Krista & Tony, Denise, and Mom.

17 miles, registered for Saturday's El Tour de Tucson, and front derailleur issue!

2009-11-19T20:40:00.009-07:00

Rode the trike to the Tucson Convention Center for packet pick-up for Saturday's El Tour de Tucson.

Received timing chip, t-shirt, gooddie bag - all set for my first El Tour!

Here I am, rider #12886. I think J2 is #12888.

J2 met me there (via car) as K8 had to go into work for a bit anyhow so it was convenient timing for us to meet up.

Signage, walls, bollards, and especially the bike path and road surfaces themselves are VERY neglected in Tucson. Here's a photo of the one good sign on the bike path and a photo of one of the rest for comparison.

From there I went up 4th Ave., and my front derailleur came off! I called Denise for a rescue ride but then noticed a bike shop right across the street! Ordinary Bike Shop put it back on within 20 minutes and everything works great - all for $5.

I continued the ride through the UofA to the 3rd street bike route and happened along a large crowd, all on bikes, all waiting in line. The city was giving away free Trek front & rear mini-lights if you filled out a survey about bike riding/commuting in Tucson. So I did!

Here is the trike getting blinky-lights!

Dr. appt, 36 miles, Time Market x2, and PRISIONERS!

2009-11-17T16:02:00.004-07:00

Took the trike on my first "real" commute today!
I had a 9:45am Dermatology appt. on Alvernon and Glen. Yesterday I decided to cycle there, then go for a ride afterwards.

The Doctor's office is just South of the Rillitto MUP (on Alvernon & Dodge) so I got on the path there and went as follows:

Alvernon to the Rillitto MUP (Dodge)
Mountain Ave. to University Blvd. (Time Market, pizza slice)
4th Ave to Aviation/Golf Links MUP (see photo of prisioners!)
To Craycroft, turn around and head back to Time Market again.
Down University Blvd. and back through the UofA and East on the 3rd Ave bike route
to Rosemont to home.

This is a photo of a group of 10 or so prisoners in orange jumpsuits cleaning up the path. They were there with a dump truck, a mini-bus, and a pickup truck pulling their own porta-potty. They were a very rough looking bunch of guys!

3rd St. then mostly what I call our usual "Big Ride"

2009-11-15T17:36:00.004-07:00

What a perfect day, beautiful weather!

Started at home; Rosemont to 3rd St., UofA to Mountain, Rillitto MUP West to N. Camino de la Terra
Orange Grove to La Cholla, Rillitto MUP East to Craycroft, Rosemont to home.

J2 and I had lunch at The Glass Onion (with Jen1)

GABA bike swap-meet and breakfast at Franks

2009-11-14T15:41:00.010-07:00

Met the group (Bruce, Dan, Wayne) at Craycroft & Broadway this morning at 8am. We rode along the Golf Links/Aviation MUP to the annual GABA bike swap-meet on 4th Ave.

Denise & Clara surprised us by showing up at 8:45am, and they hung out with J2 for another hour after we left.

I heard afterwards that J2 had given Denise the sutle sales-pitch on the many benefits of recumbent trike riding. #1 being not falling on trolly tracks!

J2 was ready for us with plenty of sodas and mini danish, how nice!

He was there displaying his new advertising business: BikeLaneBillboards.com

We walked around for over an hour and left (without Dan) for the ride to Franks Restaurant. By the time we got to Franks, Dan was there waiting for us! The four of us enjoyed a hearty breakfast and had a good time together.

How I often forget to take photos is mind-boggling, as a group photo of the four of us with "The Food Bitch" would have been so fun!

(Missing photo here) :-(

We rode back the same way we came and met up with J2 again for a bit.

15 mile ride, also "drove" the El Tour de Tucson route

2009-11-11T19:38:00.006-07:00

We took the trikes in J2's truck to Oro Valley and drove the 35-mile El Tour de Tucson route so we know what to expect on the 21st.

Since we ended up downtown, we parked at Time Market (okay, just maybe we had a slice of pizza!) then we rode the trikes the opposite way than usual (south, west) down 4th Ave, onto the Aviation/Golf Links MUP, all the way to Craycroft - then turned around and rode it back our usual direction (Westbound) back to the Time Market and J2's truck.

Dan C. told me about a new online map that I starting using today. It looks promising, although does not run live (and record) on the iPhone like MapMyRide.

One month old!

2009-11-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

I've had the trike ONE MONTH as of today, and have ridden it 441 miles!
This is the most I've ever ridden a cycle in a month in my life!

38 mile ROAD ride

2009-11-08T12:57:00.008-07:00

Long ride, all roads today.
Dan came to my house at 7:50am. We then rode to J2's house and onto Le Buzz to meet up with the rest of the group for the official "Eastside Ride". Bruce was waiting at Le Buzz for us with Ron C. and we rode out to the end of Speedway & back as a group with a 2-mile loop through E. Woodland Rd. and back to Le Buzz for a great breakfast. Then J2 & I rode back (part way with Dan too), where I left J2 on Pantano and kept heading back home myself.

Here we are at the trail head about 9:15am. LOTS of people horseback riding on these trails, it's so beautiful against the Rincon Mountains. (click photo to enlarge)

J1, Bruce, J2, Ron, and Dan

Web-promo for this blog...

2009-11-07T23:18:00.005-07:00

In making some fun videos of us riding the recumbent trkes, I decided to open a new Youtube account: TucsonTriceTrikeTrip. I will be posting all my videos under this new account.

Denise will use her own account just for her & Clara: ClaraMarieBichon

BikeLaneBillboards.com

2009-11-05T18:15:00.004-07:00

Rode 20 miles this afternoon. Went to 4th Ave and through the UofA and back home.
J2 met me at the Time Market on University where we shot a "temporary" video for his new advertising service, BikeLaneBillboards.com

Catrike 700 - a real GoFast Machine!

2009-11-04T23:45:00.004-07:00

A video of J2 on his Catrike 700 from today's 38 mile ride...

SNAKES!

2009-11-04T21:39:00.004-07:00

During certain seasons you will always find critters here in the Sonoran Desert. Here is J2 checking out the snake. After this photo I chased it off the trail so it didn't get run over. It slithered away safe and sound.
Today's ride: 38 mile ride, re-shot some of the bridge video clips in HD.

Reid park 25-miler (distractions galore!)

2009-11-02T19:06:00.003-07:00

Left about 4:30pm to Reid Park. It's an easy 2-mile ride from home, along the Arroyo Chico and right to Alvernon. Each time around Reid Park is 3-miles so it's easy to determine how many miles you want to put in. Tonight, the only thing that stopped me was that it got VERY busy on the path and became unsafe for me to continue riding as it became dusk. That path is FILLED with walkers at certain hours every day; walkers, dog walkers, joggers (most with their iPod on so they are unaware of everything around them).

Always distractions - tonight it was the usual hotties jogging, a huge full-moon and a new one - the darn restaurant (Claim Jumper) on the path smelled like Onion Rings! I mean come on! Here I am trying to ride mile after mile (get healthy) and I smell Onion Rings!

(sorry, no picture of the Hotties or the Onion Rings)

25 miles (rode home in the dark). Done.

Poor Denise, I find her desperate for dinner, making this concoction.
I need to go make her a real dinner now....

Halloween "Midtown" Ride Update

2009-10-31T18:13:00.012-07:00

Beautiful day, great ride, and most importantly some new friends all out riding our bents together. A good day for sure!

If you want to join us, join here: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/TucsonRIDER/

(Click on photo for better resolution)
From left to right:
Riders: Dan, Bruce, Wayne, Keith, Jeffrey1, Jeffrey2, David.
Recumbents: Challenge Hurricane, Angletech Altitude, Bacchetta TiAero, ICE Trice QNT, ICE Trice Q, Catrike 700, TerraTrike Quad.

Breakfast stop photo:

Rillitto River MUP route (10/28 @ 9am)

2009-10-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

It was chilly and windy this morning!

Sat 10/31/09 Ride Map

2009-10-27T14:23:00.004-07:00

Join us this Saturday for our Halloween morning ride!
Look at my maps for: "The Big Ride"
Will include brunch at The Glass Onion.

Follow up on Denise's bike accident...

2009-10-26T21:22:00.007-07:00

All was not as well as it appeared to be. This morning the pain & bruising was much worse. We went to the Dr. and were told to get to the hospital ASAP. A full day in the E.R., and a pelvic catscan... turns out to be very very bad internal/external bruising. Luckily no internal injuries and no broken pelvis though.

Here is a shot of Denise amusing Jeffrey in the E.R., before things got worse and it turned into an all-day affair...

Feel free to ask Denise why they put her in the Psychiatric E.R. unit (seriously, I'm not joking. We spent five hours "locked" in there).

Darn upright 2-wheeled bike!

Tucson City Council Elections

2009-10-26T13:50:00.002-07:00

With our City Council elections coming up, I thought of a related slogan...

Today's half-ride, half-rescue

2009-10-25T14:43:00.009-07:00

Denise and I started out from home today. Down Craycroft, onto the Golf Links/Aviation MUP, across the Basket Bridge, the Snake Bridge, around the new 4th Ave. bridge and a nice stop for an Iced Tea and snack at the historic Train Depot.

Here is the view of Denise looking up from the trike:

The plan was to head up 4th Ave., into the UofA, Mountain Ave, Rillitto eastbound, Craycroft to home. Well we came down the Eastside of the 4th Ave. bridge after riding across it, into the street and... Denise's front tire gets caught in the trolley tracks! SPLAT!

Yes, she fell hard, right into the street on Southeast side of the 4th Ave. bridge. She rested a bit and then made it to Main Gate at the UofA where she sat on a restaurant patio with a cold drink and an ice pack while I rode my trike home to get the car.

Riding through the UofA I realized just how small the world is, just how small Tucson is and even smaller the Tucson Recumbent Trike community.

I rode right up besides DAVE, the guy on the Catrike Road who stopped on the Rillitto MUP and helped J2 with his flat (see pic from 10/17).

We rode together to Reid Park where I went East towards home, but not before getting his telephone number this time so we can ride together in the future.

Here he is as I pulled up next to him. Dave was surprised and happy to see me and get to ride together a bit today.

I then get home, got Clara and the car, and went quickly back for Denise. One hour and six minutes total. Not bad time for me, but a long for Denise waiting at the UofA in pain. :-(

A warm bath, two Aleve, and a rest in bed with a bite to eat before we have to meet my family for dinner later tonight. She's pretty swollon from the fall but we think will be okay.

Motorized trike with trailer pulling a Catrike700, then a 37 mile ride!

2009-10-23T15:26:00.007-07:00

This morning J2 came over for a ride.

He brought his Catrike 700 over, ON his new trailer, being TOWED by his motorized trike!

We then rode a 37 mile route of:
-Craycroft & 16th St. South to Golf Links
-Onto the Golf Links/Aviation MUP
-Over the Basket & Snake bridges (PB&J stop)
-Up 4th Ave. to University Blvd.
-Through UofA mall, then North on Mountain (to the end)
-Rillitto MUP path - Westbound
-North off of the MUP onto Camino La Terra (it's the last street you cross on the MUP)
-East on Orange Grove
-SCREAMING DOWN Southbound on La Cholla (I was at 31MPH, J2 got up to 37!)
-back onto the MUP - Eastbound (second sandwich stop)
-South on Dodge
-South on Alvernon
-East on Broadway
-South on Rosemont to HOME.

Trice Q, Sun EZ3 HD, and Catrike 700

2009-10-23T13:20:00.010-07:00

(pictured in center)

Sun EZ3 HD trike with Honda GXH 50 4-stroke ultra low emissions engine.

This trike gets 150 Miles Per Gallon. Jeff has created fairings that turn it into this...

You can see the development photos and order your own at: Goblin Motors

Work Women Stripping???

2009-10-23T11:09:00.002-07:00

No J2, it reads workmen striping.
They painted new yellow lines on the Rillitto MUP today and it looks good!

Inspired Cycle Engineering (ICE) sent me a package!

2009-10-21T17:38:00.010-07:00

In today's "Post" (that's British for regular MAIL), I received a part for my trike.

I emailed ICE a week ago that I had bought the Trice Q used and was loving it but was missing the "neck rest light mount". They replied that they put one in the post to me that very same day.

It's a tiny (one inch) part that allows mounting of a standard bike tail-light onto the small tube of the neck rest.

http://www.ice.hpv.co.uk/

25 mile ride and a Coyote Wore Sideburns visit

2009-10-21T15:34:00.007-07:00

Today we did the 25-mile route of: Home, Craycroft, Golf Links, Aviation, Downtown Tucson (bagel stop), 4th Ave., University Blvd., UofA mall, North on Mountain Ave., to Rillitto MUP Westbound, South on Craycroft, to home.

Along 4th Ave. we stopped at The Coyote Wore Sideburns so I could show Carmen the trike and introduce him to my friend Jeff Bales.

Golf Links/Aviation MUP ride video

2009-10-17T14:05:00.003-07:00

My first attempt at taking video clips while on a ride. Need to take another try at it!
(only the first clip got recorded in HD as I must have accidentally switched to "email" quality for the rest).

J2 got TWO flats today!

2009-10-17T11:13:00.001-07:00

First flat was only two miles into the ride. Another Catrike owner (Dave?) stopped to help by loaning J2 some tire irons and advise on flat repair.

The second flat happened at 19.5 miles into ride (7.5 miles away from our vehicle). While J2 worked on fixing the flat with his bare-hands (no tire irons), I rode up to River & La Canada to get us a few burgers!

Needless to say, J2 is ordering three new tires, Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

The best recumbent accessory?

2009-10-16T22:13:00.004-07:00

A better visor! Lying back in a prone position on a recumbent bike puts your line of sight towards the sky more. Next to WATER, this is the most needed recumbent cycling accessory...

J2 & I received our Carbon Spider Visors today.

First "commute" up to the coffee shop/bookshop

2009-10-16T13:07:00.004-07:00

Even though it's less than a mile from home, it's still fun to be on the trike!
The laptop even fits in the side-pod pannier.

Where to buy accessories?

2009-10-15T20:38:00.001-07:00

A new toy needs accessories, at least that's what guys do!

In Tucson, THE recumbent bike shop is Ajo Bikes. My friend Jeff knows the owner, Frank, and does business with him. Another of Jeff's original recumbent creations, his Tadpole Fairing (Catrike 700) is featured on the Ajo Bikes homepage!

Here is the direct link: Goblin Motors.
You can have one of these beautiful hand-made fairings for your Catrike 700 for about $1000.

The original point of my post was that I needed a bit of gear:

- Safety Flag $7

- SunLite Toploader-3 Bag (has built-in panniers) $55
- Aardvark Reflective Safety Triangle $10

The trike is now HOME in Tucson!

2009-10-14T11:25:00.002-07:00

Ah, it's so nice to be home and on MY trail, on MY trike!

Uneventful ride back to Tucson is good

2009-10-12T11:58:00.013-07:00

With bikes loaded onto the roof-rack (I took the seat off the trike for better aerodynamics) and no car trouble, the ride home was easy peasy!

Photo: Chili Peppers are everywhere in New Mexico

Ballon Fiesta & Old Town Albuquerque

2009-10-11T11:56:00.011-07:00

It wasn't all about biking... We spent time at Ballon Fiesta Park and a day in Old Town.
We liked this long-weekend trip so much, we vowed to come back.

Quick fix needed...

2009-10-10T14:47:00.022-07:00

The night prior in the hotel room while I was adjusting the seat, removing the rear rack, and generally just messing around with my new toy - I proceeded to inflate the tires as I prefer bike tires inflated to their max for better rolling resistance. Well, you can guess what happened...

I noted on the front tires it said 95lbs, so I proceeded to pump up the tires in anticipation of the morning's long ride.

Left front - check.

Right front - check.

Rear - BOOM!!!

Well, the rear is a wider tire and the tube was only rated to 70lbs. Luckily I had researched in advance the closest recumbent shop just in case.

Two Wheel Drive
1706 Central Ave. SE
Albuquerque, N.M. 87106
505 243-8443

At 10:00am after breakfast at the Route 66 diner, they installed a new tube.
(If you click on the picture below, to make it larger, you can see all the cool PEZ dispensers!)

First ride in Albuquerque, NM

2009-10-10T11:52:00.008-07:00

We took Kester's advise and did the trail right up to Ballon Fiesta Park. Taking the Rio Grande trail back into town, riding through downtown (lunch stop), and back. A long day, and over 25 miles at this mile-high altitude, but so much fun!

Albuquerque is beautiful and we are thankful for this long-weekend get away.

It fits!

2009-10-10T11:50:00.007-07:00

Before the trip I removed and reinstalled the Yakima roof-rack on the car so it would (hopefully!) fit the Trice Q. I looked up the measurements online, (31.5" track) and used two bike trays for the trike, remounting the third tray to hold Denise's bike on the passenger side.

If it can't be put on the roof, it may have to go IN the car for the ride home. I prepared for this by removing the rear seats and rear headrests before our trip just in case. If I have to go this route, at least the Trice Q does fold like this:

On Saturday morning, I went outside early to see if my pre-planning worked, it did!

Perfect - no need to take the trike apart and no adjustments needed to the roof-rack at all.

The specs

2009-10-09T23:29:00.046-07:00

Used 2006 ICE Trice Q package $1800.

The previous owner of this well loved trike even had the invoice from PBW Bikes in Chico, CA.

2006 Trice Q - ICE	$2,430.00
Rear QR Rack - ICE	$195.00
TerraCycle Ti Dual Idler	$150.00
Panniers: Allfa Bags	$108.00
Front Mudguards - ICE	$95.00
Adj. Neck Rest - ICE	$95.00
Dura-Ace Shifters	$90.00
Tires: Marathon Plus	$92.50
Quick-Release Kit -ICE	$75.00
SPD Pedals	$45.00
Cateye Micro Wireless	$40.00
Chainring Upgrade	$20.00
Extra Mirrior Mount	$16.00
Extra Mirracycle	$15.00
Topeak Modula H20	$8.00
Shipping - England	$55.00
TOTAL	$3,529.50

Albuquerque here we come!

2009-10-09T06:44:00.007-07:00

Road-trip to Albuquerque today...

We left at 9:00am. What should have been a 7-hour trip, turned into 10-hours as we had car trouble.

As it turns out, after getting the VW TDI serviced in Tucson last week and readied for this trip, they pinched the turbo wastegate hose while installing the new timing belt. Here we are stopped at VW in Las Cruces, NM who took great care of us.

We finally got to the hotel, met Kester, and I bought the Trice. He then drove me over to the University of New Mexico a few blocks from our hotel so we knew where to ride in the morning. Nice guy!

$0.38 to re-configure the Yakima rack!

2009-10-04T18:20:00.005-07:00

(after 2+ hours and a trip to Ace Hardware $0.38) I got the Yakima rack totally re-configured. Here's hoping it will be all set for Denise bike (passenger side) and my new Recumbent Trike - both on the roof!

Found a RED TRICE online!

2009-09-29T11:07:00.006-07:00

After many Google and Craigslist searches, within 750 miles of Tucson, I only found two used ICE Trice recumbent trikes for sale. One in CA and one in NM. Oddly enough, they were listed together on the same classified recumbent board at The Hostel Shop.

I was originally looking for the "NT" model (narrow track) like the one in CA but liked the description of the trike in New Mexico best and thought that would make a nice mini-vacation for Denise and I. After communicating with the seller, I was sold. Kester was very nice, and very willing to hold the trike until I could make arrangements for us to take the time come pick it up.

Turned out the annual Balloon Fiesta was soon so we scheduled our trip to coincide with that for something special to do.

Researcing Recumbent Trikes

2009-09-01T12:34:00.038-07:00

So my research begins...

I looked at Jeff's trike and some other brands & models:

- Catrike

- Terratrike

- Greenspeed

- even this odd bike: RANS Crank Forward

While Googling "Recumbent Trikes", I found this great blog of a guy riding around the entire USA on a trike; http://cycleamerica2009.blogspot.com/

This man is riding the entire USA border on a ICE Trice Q NT.

I researched the ICE brand some more and really liked this Trice Q-NT in red, just like in the blog.

Wow, these things are expensive!

Maybe I can start out with a used trike. Is there such thing?

This Cannondale Mtn bike is KILLING me!

2009-08-29T11:18:00.047-07:00

I've been riding this full-suspension Cannondale Rush 3z mountain bike for the past 8-months and cannot get comfortable on it. During every ride I experience serious pain. Numbing of certain body parts, pain & numbing of both wrists, neck pain, sit bones are sore...

I came across the ISM saddles online while researching the numbness issues and found them at Tri-Sports.com, which happens to be right here in Tucson. The staff was very nice, did a $40 re-fit of me on my bike. I rented two saddles to try (and now have a $40 saddle credit there which I will never use).

Nothing worked. Until...

I've been riding with J2 for about a month. Me on my Cannondale Rush 3Z (complaining about the pains) and Jeff zipping along on this thing called a "Recumbent Trike".

Then I rode his recumbent for the first time, 7 miles and no pain.
Um, let me try that again... 24 miles almost no pain...

Hey, there might be something to this!