Tuesday, February 23, 2010

There are very few things better than being with your friends and riding.

Had a real great day Tuesday. I told my friends Peggy and Bryan about my decision to remove the Bionx from my trike, of my plans to learn to ride without assistance and that I would not be riding much with them for a while because I would not be able to keep up and did not want them to have to spend a lot of they riding time waiting for me. Both were very supportive and told me that they did still want to ride with me and would. It was really great to have their kind words and support, it meant a lot to me.
I told them I was planning to ride Greenfield almost every Tuesday and Thursday evenings after work weather permitting. They both told me they would join me there from time to time and that we would plan other rides together on weekends. I really enjoy the company of each of them and when all three of us can get together it is even better.
I kind of suspected one of them might show up tonight but was not sure and neither told me for sure that they would be there. When I got there there was no one there which was fine like I said I was not really sure either was riding tonight. So I pumped up my tires and set about getting ready to ride. As I walked from the side door of the van where I had been putting on my bluetooth headset for music while I rode, I looked up and both Peggy and Bryan were sitting on their bikes right behind Turtle grinning at me. I jumped (if you know anything about my size that is not insignificant). I was completely surprised and taken back to see them there and over joyed having them here to ride with me. I find it hard to put into words how much it meant to me having them show up to ride. It made me feel like a cyclist again because I had not been feeling like one because of how hard the first couple of rides had been. They had ridden 13 miles take a round about route as Bryan described it to get in extra miles and we rode a loop and a half together before they turned off to ride home. I am not sure what their final milage was, I just hope they did not get too cold going home. It was almost dark when they turned off. I finished the loop, doing 12.34 miles for the day with a new high post Bionx average speed of 10.1 mph for the Greenfield ride. I was pretty cold when I got finished.
Peggy and Bryan helped me so much by what the described as a simple act - they just wanted to come ride with a friend. Their kindness to me will not be forgotten.
I tried recording the ride with my iPhone using iMapMyRide but the iPhone lost the GPS signal 4 different time so the map track and therefore the distance is messed up - I guess carrying the iPhone in my jersey pocket does not let the GPS stay in contact. I will have to see if I can make this work better.
I may have figured out a way to solve the seat recline problem without making major changes to the frame of the trike. I believe if I extend the seat back about 3 to 4 inches moving the upper back brace on the seat frame up it will allow the seat to recline more and that should solve the recline problem. I will also give me more back support and may make it possible for me to use the head rest attachment and the seat back bag. The nice thing about this solution is I am not modifing the frame of the trike therefor voiding the warranty. I will buy two seat frames and join them together I will also have to buy two seat covers and have them cut and sewn together to accommodate the new frame. If I ever want to sell the trike all I have to do is remove the modified seat and put the stock one back on. Also I should be able to handle the cutting, reassembling, brazing of the seat frame and sewing myself.
Like I said I had a great day.

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