Greenfield Pkwy Rides 01-28-10

Was able to ride after work at Greenfield Pkwy Tuesday and Thursday after work. Met Bryan there Tuesday - rode Thursday solo. Was nice to get some extra riding in. I do not know what is the matter with me - I do so love to ride my trike. Turtle was not shifting well on the SBV ride but I found a vraded cable and pulled out the broke strains and it seems to be shifting better. I have gotten a new cable and hope to get it on before the weekend. Also TerraTrike is sending me a replacement rear derailler to repace the one that is hitting the frame due to the 26" wheel extension kit. GPS data below - no pictures.

Tuesday GPS Data HERE

Thursdays GPS Data HERE

Repairing the Schlumph High Speed Drive 2

Well as I removed the Schlumph High Speed Drive 34 tooth chain ring I began to believe I have put the replacement ring on the drive incorrectly. When the first chain ring bent the C rings which hold it on came off and it was dark and I really did not know for sure how it had been originally assembled. I assumed I did and when the replacement ring arrived I assembled it how I thought it went back together. It never seemed right to me but I assumed it had to be this way. What I did was put one of the C rings on one side of the chain ring and one on the other side assuming the chain ring was to be sandwiched in between them. When I removed the second bent chain ring I discovered littl tiny stops on the inside of the mount for the chain ring making it impossible for the ring to go onto the mounting ring past a certain point. I have missed these stops the first time I repaired the Drive. Once I discovered them it became obvious to me the the two C rings belong on the outside with the chain ring sandwiched between the stops and the two C rings working together to hold the chain ring in place. Later I went to their site and found this picture of the 34 tooth version of the High Speed Drive and one can easily see both C rings on the outside. I have now carefully flatted out the second chain ring, because it was bent less than the first, and reassembled the 34 tooth chain ring assembly and reinstalled it on my trike. I will also flatter the original chain ring and carry it as a spare because it can be changed with no tools should I damage the ring again. What is amazing it that I rode several hundred miles with the Drive assembled incorrectly. I assume the assemble was put together correctly when I received it as it looked like it came for the manufacturer so the first failure was due to me putting too much force on the pedals trying to start on an uphill in the wrong gear. So it is possible to break it that way but there is no reason to mistreat the Drive like that and I am hopping that with normal use the Drive will function correctly.

Repairing the Schlumph High Speed Drive

I decided to put the 27 tooth chain ring back on the Schlumph dirve. It is a single piece of medal so it seems stronger. I rode about 6 miles with a average of 17.3 mph - I am back to using the 11 ring again a lot but it may be OK. I was able to get to 24 mph pedaling.
While working on this I discovered another broken chain link. This is a brand new chain - it has less than 100 miles on it. Will I guess it may have happened when the ring bent but I do not think so. Well I removed the link a master link.

May GPS data is HERE

The GPS average is lower than what I rode because I ride around my home at the end of the ride testing the shifting.

I am so tired of this STUFF

Sunday it rained but I had Monday off MLK day and the weather was great. I got setup to ride and was out about one mile from home climb a little hill not even pushing hard and BAM! the front chain ring bends and the chain comes off. I am just beside myself I am so angery. I have over $500 in that High Speed Drive and it is just not reliable. I guess for right now I am going to go back to the triple that came on the trike.

Slow Spokes - Saltbox Village 34 miles - first group ride of the year

From my forum post -

Had a great ride - only did the 34 but it was what I planned - need to build some miles back in the body. Turtle preformed well the 26" rear wheel makes a lot of difference we were going about 22 and I asked Bryan what gear I was in - he said it looked like the third to the smallest - which is great I was at my cursing cadence and I had two higher gears still left - I use to ride most of the time in my highest great and still could only pedal up to 20 to 21 mph. We had a real nice starting with 14 and at least one new rider. Looking forward to better weather and riding more.

My GPS data is HERE

My pictures are HERE

More in a bit - nap attack now -

First ride 2010

From my Forum post -

Got off work early to day - was just to much like I nice day to not ride - I have everything fixed or the upgrades on Turtle except for the seat position. It is not the same as the old seat and I am not sure how to make so but I will keep working on it.

Got in a nice little 20 miles ride this afternoon and I feel OK about riding now. GPS

I plan on riding and will most likely do the 34 - I have not ridden until this afternoon since Dec 6th, My legs feel great right now and I am not tired but I am worried about the seat position not feeling right - it is does not give me trouble I may attempt the 50.

More about how I feel about the changes to Turtle in my Blog.

There is something different about the Chromo-Molly seat frame - I can not see it but I can feel it. WIth it as far back as it can be attached to the trike fram my leg extension is still too short and it is much less reclined that the old frame when I have it reclined as much as I can. IF the boom was longer I could move the seat more forward and solve this problem.. THe way I want to try to lengthen the boom is by adding some length to the post where the boon attaches to the trike.

The 26" wheel adapter kit seems to be working well and having a 26" rear wheel seems like it will make a great deal of difference.

2009 and Goals for 2010

I really did not start 2009 with any set goals but I did come up with some as the year progressed. I do not think met any of them.
I set a goal of riding 3136 miles - my age 56 squared. I only managed 2905 miles.
I wanted to lose 100 pounds I only lost 55 pounds. 100 pounds is less than 2 pounds a week I lost about one pound a week.
Riding more than in 2008 was not a big challenge since I only rode about 45 miles in 2008.
I am walking eight plus miles every week which I started in 2008 at about four miles a week.
I did make progress in January I could just finish a 7 miles ride by the fall before the weather and dark made it so much of a problem to be able to ride I was doing fifty plus miles most Saturdays and Sundays and a 30 plus mile ride on Thursdays and some Tuesdays.
My average speed when up from about 10 mph to 17 plus mph depending on the day.
I have reduced the medications I have to take.
I did do a number of charity ride including the MS which I rode 75 miles each day. My two longest rides of the year.
I have met a number of really great people while cycling and that has be truly wonderful. I am hoping to see everyone soon and meet even more.

2010 -
My goal is to lost 100 pounds - still.
My goal is to increase the normal distance I ride to 50 plus miles.
My goal is to increase my average speed to 19-20 mph.
My goal is to miss less riding opportunities.
My goal is to increase the distance I walk each week to 12-15 miles.
I think five goals is enough but I also want to add resistance training and a third type of aerobic exercise like swimming to my training.
My diet is so different that it has ever been in my life but I still feel there is room for improvement so I want to improve it.

I welcome input and encouragement fro my friends to help me stick to and make my goals.