Saturday, Early

We went out again yesterday (Saturday) just before 6am. We headed up to Tempe Town Lake and from there north on College to wind our way along the canal that is just east of the zoo. It's the same route we took last time (it's about 20 miles). However, this time, it was MUCH cooler. We even had to wear our windbreakers until we got to the ASU campus. Those mini-hills were still a climb, but I think we did much better this time (Karen at least stayed on her bike this time and I didn't have to stop half way up).

I did have to change a flat on Karen's bike the night before. We must have hit something sharp during our shorter, weekday morning rides. We were still waiting on the word from Performance that they had bought tire liners (Tuffys) for us (they lost Karen's other ones when they traded out her wheels for new ones). I finally bought some and put the front one when I changed the front tire. Her back tire still doesn't have one, but does have a puncture resistant tube. I'll need to take that out and put a tuffy and regular tube in (she feels that the puncture resistant tubes create too much drag on the road).

I had an awful time getting her front tire off. And even with Nathan's help (our eldest, machanically minded son), we had an awful time getting it on. The tire fits the rim very snuggly.

Back in the saddle...

Over the past two weeks, we have been back on the roads in the morning. Friday we went on a short 12 mile ride, and this morning we went on a 20+ mile ride. We started around 7am and took a new route north of the boat landing at Tempe Town Lake. The route goes up College to Marigold, and from there it goes along a canal and is on the east side of the Phoenix Zoo in Papago Park. We cut the ride somewhat short due to the heat (it was reaching 90° and the high humidity was not helping at all). We got to McDowell road, cut west to the Galvin Parkway and from there took an asphalt path through Papago Park down to Van Buren. We took Van Buren east. It curves south and turns into Mill Avenue. From there we were back to Tempe Town Lake and then ASU and then home. It was a nice change with some small (though very steep) hills and some sharp curves.

I have been asked to lead a group of Explorer and Varsity Scouts on a 50 mile ride in December. We'll be following a number of the paths we have already trod through Indian Bend wash and Papago Park. It should be interesting. Although I probably should have a support vehicle ready in case some of the Scouts (or more to the point, Scout leaders) "give out" during the ride... ;-))

We returned our one tire pump to Performance Bike. They were kind enough to give us credit for it. We picked up a higher end pump from them instead (with the exchange I had a $10 out-of-pocket cost). It works much better on my wife's bike, but still refuses to work with the tubes on my trike. The main problem is with the puncture resistant tube on the trike's rear wheel. Either the Presta value stem is too long somehow or is too big in diameter. I was having some problems with my front wheels as well (even though they are not puncture resistant tubes). I am still considering getting tubes with Schrader values and drilling out my wheel rims to accommodate them.

Karen still has not decided whether she is doing the 35-mile portion of the Tour de Tucson with me or going for the 67-mile portion. We will need to be signing up soon.

Way too hot...

We haven't done much the past few weeks. On a Saturday about two weeks ago we did go for a short 10 mile ride along a route we hadn't tried before. But when it's 85 degrees in the morning and the sun's not even up, it's hard to get enthused about going on a long ride (since it would be well over a 100 degrees by the time we got home).

A couple nights ago, I was getting the tires on the bike and trike pumped up in anticipation of going out the next morning. However, I had problems, again, with our tire pump. It is from Performance and has always caused me grief with the Presta values. For whatever reason, it is hard to get on and sealed, and once on and with the tires pumped up, even flipping the handle on the stem end of the pump hose doesn't release the pressure in the pump value. As a result, it won't let go of the stem on one of the tires on my wife's bike! In trying to pull it off the stem, the pump end ripped the guts out of the value on the tube. Obviously the tire went flat immediately and the tube was at that point useless. (I had a similar problem with my hand pump, also from Performance, when using it on my daughter's bike in the Tour for Tucson's Children and ripped the guts out of the Presta value there as well.) The pictures show the stemp after the fact and the end of the pump value (red arrow points to the Presta value opening). I am not sure if I am doing something wrong, the pump is just defective, or the Presta value is just really fragile.

I plan on drilling out the wheel rims on my trike so that they will take Schrader values. But I don't know if I can do that with my wife's wheels (since they are so much thinner than the ones on the trike).

Aftermath...

Not too many sore muscles from the tour on the Fourth of July (given we had real and lengthy "hills" to go up).

We were back on the road this morning -- early. Still, it was in the high 80's. We only went for five miles or so. Given the heat and humidity (it is now the monsoon season here in the Valley of the Sun), we are seriously looking into getting one or two indoor trainers to hook up to the bike and trike (as well as doing other related exercises). It might just be better to "be tough" and go out in the heat and humidity and work hard (hey, then when it cools off, it will seem so much easier).

I am hoping that the temperatures for the Tour de Tucson at the end of November will be much lower. I think, given my experience in Tour for Tucson's Children ride that I will stay with the 35-mile portion of the Tour de Tucson. On the other hand, my wife would probably do well in the 67-mile portion.

Tour for Tucson's Children

Friday, the Fourth of July, was the Tour for Tucson's Children 27-mile bicycle ride.

When I got home Thursday evening, we finished up our major packing for the trip to Tucson. After dinner on Thursday, around 6:30, we took off. We got there around 8:30, unpacked, said hello to everyone, and settled down for the night.

I did not sleep very well. I kept waking up. We got up around 4 am, ate a good breakfast and got the bikes and trike out and ready to go. We were on the road around 5 (or shortly thereafter), heading down for the center of Tucson. It was my wife, my daughter and her husband, and myself.

When we got there, there must have been 100 cyclists already in the crowd. By the time they gave the "go" at 6 am, there were probably close to a 1000 bikes (at least it seemed like it). Off we went -- and man, did most of them go so fast. Thankfully the little bit out of the city was down hill (which lead to the first uphill).

Photo from Tour for Tucson's Children (www.tourfortucsonschildren.org/)

My son-in-law was out and gone before we knew it. My wife and daughter were just behind me. However, on the first "hill" (a long incline up around a mountain), my daughter came up next to me and my wife pulled out in front. She took off up that hill and my daughter and I never saw her again for the rest of the race!

My daughter and I kept a relatively steady pace of about 10 to 12 miles per hour, slowing down on other uphills. I was drinking a lot. It was very humid and the temperatures were in the 80s. I think, for the whole trip, that my muscles were ok, but it was the heat and humidity and lack of rest stations (we only saw two – there may have been more, but we didn't see them or they were already closed) that did me in (tired me out and let the heat get to me).

Our first stop was at a fire station about five miles into the 27 mile tour. We had to stay out of the way of the firemen (who had a call while we were there). We got back on the road after about 10 or 15 minutes. There were still people behind us.

On our way, we were passed by boat loads of bikes and a few recumbents too -- there were three recumbent trikes, one of which was for a gentleman who was "pedaling" a special crank in front of him with his hands and arms.

At one point, we saw a motorcycle officer heading the opposite way and he was followed by a big group of cyclists. We both looked at each other and wondered if there was another tour or competition going on. Then it dawned on us that this group of cyclists had already made the loop of our tour and were already heading back to the finish! Man, did we feel slow...

We made it up several hills and then were on a long, gentle slope up on a road with little or nothing around it. Just as we got close to a gas-station mini mart, my daughter, who was behind me, called out that she had a flat. I stopped, got out, and between the two of us got her rear wheel off and the tube out. As we began this exercise, two motorcycle officers road by and asked if we were ok. We said sure and they went on. She had a spare tube, so she put it in. She then used one of those CO2 canisters to inflate it. It was still squishy, so I got out my hand pump and put some more air in. As we took the pump off the tube value (it had a Presta value), it tore off the top part of the value and let all the air out. That new tube was now useless. As we were picking up the pieces, another motorcycle officer road by and asked if we needed help. My daughter just laughed and said we might.

We took her bike and went over to the mini mart to be in the shade. I took her old tube, blew it up a little and dunked it in the windshield washer water to find the hole. We did and then patched it. As we were doing this, a fire rescue van with two firemen drove up and asked if we needed help or if we needed a lift back to the finish. We said we were going to try to finish. My daughter then asked them, "If we do need your help, is there a number to call besides 911?" That stumped them for a second, then one of the firemen gave her his cell phone number (she joked with her husband later that day about getting a fireman's phone number). We thanked them and they were off.

We got the patched tube back in to the tire, she inflated it with another CO2 cartridge and we were off again... for about two seconds. The tire was still too low with air. So I got my hand pump out and pumped it up some more (that little hand pump is not the easiest to use -- but man, was I glad that we were prepared and had it). We got it up enough to get going.

In the meantime, most of the other riders had passed us (this whole tire thing set us back at least a half hour if not forty minutes). We were at that point about 12 miles into the tour.

We reached the outer-most leg of the ride and found a lone motorcycle officer parked under what little shade there was to be found on that street corner. He saw us coming and brought his motorcycle around to us. He said he thought that all the police support had already gone home. My daughter told him that the tour people had said that if you were at the last aid station by 9 am, you could still finish and that there would be support. It was only around 8 by then. So he radioed in and his boss said to let us keep coming. So, from that point on, this good officer followed us all the way in, pointing the way as we went (we considered this guy a guardian angel at this point). In fact, if it weren't for him, we probably would have gotten lost.

We were now headed back into the city (we were still probably around 7 to 10 miles out). I was constantly pouring water over my head and down my back to cool off. I was also drinking as much as possible. At the top of one little hill, where my daughter and the officer were waiting for me, I stopped and ate a little something.

By the time we reached the section of the route that we had come out on, heading in the opposite direction, we had picked up another motorcycle officer. They were both now behind us with their lights on. When we got to an intersection where we had to turn left, they pulled into traffic, slowed down, and told us over their pa system to pull on over into the left turn lane. One of them then sped ahead and blocked oncoming traffic. From then on out, one officer was in front, followed by my daughter, followed by me, followed by the other officer.

We kept getting closer and closer to the finish. Each officer at a corner we passed was vigorously waving us through. By now, we were the last two cyclists in the race. All the other participants had already finished or had dropped out.

We turned up Congress, the main street into downtown Tucson on the tour. As we passed other motorcycle officers, they joined in the "parade" in behind me. Other officers were still blocking other major intersections for us.

To tell you the truth, I was pretty much dead because of the heat. I really didn't know if I could make it. However, what was I to do? I had more than half a dozen motorcycle officers behind me along with officers and bystanders on the side of the road urging me along. I couldn't stop.

By now, my daughter and the first officer were several blocks in front of me. By the time I got to a couple blocks of the finish line, I was joined by (I believe) a police officer on a bicycle and was being followed by at least ten to twelve motorcycle officers with their lights going! (At least I heard the rumbling of the motorcycle behind me and that is what my wife said she saw as I was coming.)

As I got near the finish line they were blaring out on their speakers that the last cyclist was finishing and we even had some short bursts on their sirens!! Quite a prestigious escort!!!!

My wife was there at the line to greet me and I saw one guy taking a picture (unfortunately, neither my wife or son-in-law took any pictures!! so we don't have one of this procession!!). (I sent an email to the Tucson police department later in the day saying how grateful my daughter and I were and wanting to know who that one, first officer was so we could thank him -- and maybe they might know who the photographer was and put us in touch with him.)

After crossing the finish line, I must have looked lost because one of the officials came over and directed me to a tent where they were giving out the finish ribbons and medals. I cycled over, picked it up, and then cycled over to some shade by one of the buildings in the area.

I got off my trike and just sat down. My wife brought me some cold water. I drank only about half of it because I was pouring the rest on my head and down my back. I must of sat there and did that with that cold bottle of water and one other bottle for about 15 or 20 minutes.

When I finally got some strength back, I joined my wife and daughter and we cycled back to her house (which is about two or two and half miles from the city center). Our son-in-law, who had finished the race in little over an hour, had already gone home, showered, and come back with their dogs before we had gotten to the finish line.

We got home, and I sat around drinking liquids, having a banana, and just recuperating for an hour or so. I finally cooled off enough and had enough strength to get cleaned up.

Our son-in-law had finished in little over an hour, my wife finished in little under two hours, and my daughter and I finished after about three hours. It was quite an experience (real roads, real traffic, real hills...).

Now if they could just move the temperatures from February to the Fourth of July here in the desert...

I want to give a BIG thanks to the Tucson Police Department (and any other law enforcement that were helping out) and the various Fire Departements and those manning the rest stations! Your support and encouragement were GREAT! You should all be commended for your efforts and time. Thanks again!

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Benitez

Getting ready...

We went out early Saturday morning (5 am) for a 30+ mile ride. We figured we needed it in preparation for the Tour for Tucson's Children ride on the Fourth of July (this coming Friday). This upcoming event is an easy 27 mile (mostly flat) ride from Tucson's city center in a loop to the southwest of the city. Our daughter and her husband will be joining us (in fact, my daughter is the one who clued us into this event).

This was the first long ride that both my wife's bike and my trike had Tuffy tire liners and puncture resistant tubes. I noticed a slightly stiffer ride, but my wife complained that she had to put a lot more effort into cycling this time. We are going to put her old, non-puncture resistant tubes back in and see if that makes the difference of if it is the liners (we are not sure which are causing the problem).

First Flat...First Crash...

We got up early this morning to beat the heat on a short ride. As I wheeled out of the garage, I noticed that my front, right tire was completely flat. I figured that I must have had something major happen to the tube, so I wheeled it back into the garage and started fumbling about for the tools to take the tire off. My wife suggested that maybe, since I had pumped all the tires up the day before, I had not tightened the Presta value all the way. So I took the cap off and, sure enough, the value was not tightened down. So I filled the tube and properly tightened it up and off we went.

Some time and miles later, as we were going through a park (on a narrow pathway), I came to an abrupt halt (there was a man with two large dogs on the path ahead and sprinklers in the park were going and spraying on the sidewalk). I thought to stop before reaching either, but miscalculated and ended up stopped on the sidewalk and getting thoroughly soaked by the sprinklers. And immediately thereafter getting run into by my wife. Thankfully, she stayed on her bike and didn't receive any harm to her or her bike. I on the other hand, got a thump on my head and had one of my tail lights torned off. We got out of the water, picked up the pieces, and continued on our way.

However, just a few yards down the path and I realized that my front, right tire was again going flat. I got off, took my small hand pump, and pumped the tube up as best I could (far less than I could using the pump in our garage -- there is no leverage on those little hand pumps to push against the 50 or 60 pounds of air pressure you need in the tire).

We turned around and headed home. We made it without the tire going flat again (though it was getting flatter). I guess I will be changing the tube (or patching it since I cannot find a 20" tube around here with Presta values -- I have to order one from HostelShoppe). While I have the tire off, I will also be putting the Tuffy tire liners in that I bought some time ago. Guess I should have put those liners in right after I got them...

112°

We didn't go riding today. It looks like even early in the morning it will be kind of warm (the low tonight is going to be around 86°). We'll have to gather our courage together and brave a morning ride in the next few days (before the sun comes up).

My friend's comments (on our previous post) about his 25-mile ride is yet another good warning for those that might want to challenge the heat AND the bad air around here.

Summer In The Desert

Well, it's really summer again. Today is Fathers' Day and we are expecting 111 degrees. It's currently two in the afternoon and 104 in the shade. So maybe we won't make it to that 111 after all (at least in the suburbs). We set up our small solar oven in the backyard and my wife is making pineapple upside down cake to cook in it. That will be followed by some potatoes to bake (all in preparation for our Fathers' Day meal). Two of my sons and their sons will be here for a while (most of the kids were here last week for a different occasion and so we had a head start on Fathers' Day celebrations).

We went out somewhat early yesterday morning for a quick 10-mile ride. We went around the ASU Research Park a couple times and then came home. It was pretty warm by the time we got home. We went by a couple people we know who were standing outside their house and we waved. They waved back. When we saw them later in the day, we asked about waving to those strangers on the bike and trike and they laughed and asked if that were us. They hadn't recognized us, but since we waved to them, they waved back. I wonder how many of our other friends have seen us out riding, have done a double take, and said, "Nah, it couldn't be THEM..."

We will be trying to do part of the Tour de Phoenix course early on the Fourth of July (if we are not in Tucson trying a route down there with our daughter and her husband). Chances are, if it is like our other early morning rides, even the long ones, when we get back, the rest of the family will still be sleeping or just getting up.

45 Miles!! Again!!

We did it again! Friday, we set out from our home and went up through Tempe and Scottsdale to Shea Blvd. There were three of us this time. My son, visiting from Minnesota, came along for the ride. This time we took extra water and some food (in the form of energy and cereal bars). That made the exertion part of the trip much easier. And in this case, the computer on my son's bike agreed with mine in regards to the mileage (45 miles). So we think we need to revisit the settings on the computer on my wife's bike.

We started out at 5am and hit the top part of the ride around 7:30. We made it home around 10:30. It was still plenty warm. But it wasn't the warmth that slowed us down a bit this time. It was my knee. It started hurting in earnest about two-thirds of the way on the outbound leg of the ride and hurt all the way home. The knee brace didn't seem to help this time.

Here's a video of our going homeward and going across the north side of Tempe Town Lake.

My wife thinks we can do the 67 mile portion of the Tour de Tucson. I am not yet convinced. We'll have to decide soon so we can sign up for the event.

Memorial Day - 43+ miles!!

We got "on the road" shortly after 8am on Monday the 26th (Memorial Day). We left directly from our home and headed north to the ASU campus. You can see our outbound jaunt across campus in the following video.

Prior to getting to campus, we had to pass over the I-60 freeway. The next video shows a bit of this. (I was having problems with the camera, hence the reason it cut out. I also think the batteries were running low.)

The outbound portion of the trip was not too bad. We undoubtedly got on the road a little later than we should have. By the time we got to Shea Blvd, it was getting a bit toasty. We were half way done (at about 21 or 22 miles).

On the return trip, the heat started taking it toll. I think we were both pretty tired by the time we got back to Tempe Town Lake. There is not a lot of shade in that area. In fact, once you get south of Curry Road, it's pretty much sun and "desert" (or sun and dirt).

By the time we got to the south end of campus, we were getting really tired. We made it south and back over the freeway bridge (the one in the short video above) and stopped to rest. My wife used up the last of her water at that point, and I had only a bit left (lesson here - two bottles of water were not enough - we needed to refill the bottles at the northern most point of our ride at one of the parks in the green belt).

I was also noticeably "red" at this time. We had used sun screen, but apparently had not slathered on enough (or we should have taken some with us to re-apply about half way through the ride). The following photo of my arm demonstrates the "ouch factor" in my sunburn. Unfortunately, I was also starting to feel nauseous, a sure sign of heat exhaustion (probably coupled with not enough water).

We did make the last 3 or 4 miles of the trip back to our home without "calling for help". And were we ever so hot and tired. BUT WE DID IT! After this 43 mile ride, we knew we could do the 35 mile portion of the Tour de Tucson. We will keep riding and keep extending our "reach" each time just to keep ready. In fact, we plan on re-doing this 43 mile trip within the next few days (with one of our sons - if he can keep up). We'll be leaving a lot earlier this time (around 5am) so we can be done and back before the temperature gets too much beyond 90 degrees (the temperature forecast for the day we are going is 101).

Time to get up earlier...

Normally we go cycling in the evening, just before the sun goes down. Well, given the current temperature, it might be time to go cycling in the morning when it's a comfortable 78 or 80 degrees...

Easier riding...

As I stated in an earlier entry, I decided to see what I could do to make the ride on my trike a little easier on my back and seat.

I took some very porous foam (the manufacturer of which claims will dry quickly and not be prone to mildew and the like) and tried putting it on top of the existing "canvas" seat of my Catrike.

The immediate problem I encountered in doing this was that it hiked my reclined position up and toward the front of the trike. This threw off the, until then, correct positioning of the boom and pedals. I no longer could get a "straight stroke" on the pedals (I was essentially pedaling from an angle -- imagine sitting on a regular bike's handle bars and still trying to pedal -- although not that extreme) and my knees also ended up being bent more than they should on the outbound stroke. This wouldn't work without some adjustment to the trike boom and who knows what else.

The Catrike canvas seat is "wrapped" around the frame and connected in the back with plastic snaps (like what you might find on some backpacks or fanny pack belts). There is a space (the width of the frame) between the front seat and the rear of the canvas.

I cut the foam pads I had to fit between the frame bars and within that space -- one on the bottom, going slightly up the back, and the other going from the top by the head rest down the back to meet up with the bottom one (that way the "gap", if any, between the pads met somewhere in my middle to upper back instead of directly under me).


The pads make the canvas seat stick out a bit (looks puffed up like a small pillow), but not enough to throw my location off (thereby not affecting the boom length and how I reach the pedals).

I took it out on some bumpy Tucson streets and felt a marked improvement in the comfort of the ride. Granted, large bumps and dips still jar me a bit, but overall, my teeth didn't chatter as much.

Over twenty seven miles and climbing...

Saturday we started our ride from a park along the Indian Bend wash greenbelt, headed south to the north side of Tempe Town Lake and then back up to north of Shea Blvd and 92nd street in Scottsdale. It was a little over 27 miles! Not bad for having re-started cycling just three months ago. We even met a gentleman that was resting by the side of the trail with an ActionBent recumbent tadpole trike.

Going as far as we did, it drove home a couple points to me that I have had in the back of my mind along with a "warning". The points are: 1) My helmet does not have a visor; I need a visor and one that is a bit longer than the normal visor one finds for bike helmets (since I am reclined on the trike), and 2) I need greater support for my back and, well, the bottom line. I am still pondering the visor, but, with the help of my wife, we bought two open (large) pore, spongy cushions (Ez-Dri Outdoor Cushions) from a local fabric store, and will be "encasing" these in a porous pillow case (black to match the Catrike canvas seat) and using that as a pad on the trike seat. It will probably be Velcro'd on (to keep it, and me, from slipping off). We'll let you know how it works. I am hoping it will at least keep my teeth from chattering so much on those nasty bumps we encounter...

The "warning" was from one of my knees. I had heard that riding a recumbent can be more hazardous to your knees than a regular bike. I have been careful not to push too hard -- in that, using the seat as a prop for my back to allow for a stronger or more forceful pedal stroke. However, I think I disregarded my own caution on this last trip. By the time we got done, my knee was hurting quite badly. It has since stopped hurting, but if I bend it for awhile and then move it, it hurts. I looked into various knee braces and have gotten one to try. I am hoping that with better support, my knee won't be bothered as much. I also need to shift down a little sooner on the hills (thus relieving the hard pumping I was doing on occasion).

A "thump" in the road...

On one of our previous jaunts, we were on a regular, multi-use path and doing quite well. Then there was that bump...

As we went through an underpass, we hit a trench in the concrete path, obviously put there by the designers to help funnel rain water out of the path and onto the park grass. However, the trench is about two to three inches deep and only about six inches wide. Consider it like a reverse speed bump.

The first time I hit that, on my trike, I was probably going 12 miles an hour or so. It was quite a jolt. I twisted one of my ankles slightly, and I won't even mention my lower back (and other areas) that took a beating going over that man-made, elongated pothole. It was several days for the pain in my back (and insides) to go away. (Coming soon will be a note on my search for a proper cushion to put on my canvas seat.) On our second trip over that same area, I slowed WAY down (my wife, who was behind me, yelled out and asked why I was slowing down... then after the bump I thought I heard, from behind, "Oh ya...").

I am surprised that there isn't a sign or some colorful markings on the trail itself warning about this trough. I would think that even joggers could twist their ankles and the like if they were to hit that long hole wrong.

But maybe I am just being picky. There were many other spots on the trail where it was obvious that the cement slabs had buckled and the city engineers had conscientiously come out and ground the differences down so the bumps were gone. Maybe they just didn't think about this mini-ditch as a problem or mistake.

And besides, my daughter from Tucson was with us, and all along the way she kept saying, "This is WONDERFUL! -- compared to the condition of the roads and paths in Tucson." Well, we will see. We'll be down there sometime soon, riding those trails. I kinda hope, for my back's sake, she was exaggerating...

Late start...

We had planned on doing a 26 mile ride last weekend, starting at the north side of Tempe Town Lake. Our daughter and her husband were going to come up from Tucson to join us. However, my daughter called the night before and said they wouldn't be coming.


We got up at 6:30 am and just as we did so, the phone rang. It was our daughter. She said her husband wasn't coming but that she was about an hour to an hour and a half outside the valley on her way up and "could we wait for her?" We said yes.


By the time she got here and we had the bikes and trike loaded in the van it was between 8:30 and 9 (a little later than we had hoped to get started). We headed over to the marina parking lot by the lake. As we pulled in, we were greeted by two young men in fluorescent vests who told us that there was a boat regatta that day and only those involved in the regatta could park in the parking lot. They said there was another lot farther away, but I noticed that the bike trail to that lot was blocked by some fallen tree debris.


So we headed over to our other starting point at Eldorado Park in Scottsdale (the 18 mile route start). My wife said we could do the 18 miles up north and back and then head south to the lake and back, giving us around 26 miles.


We managed the 18 mile portion, but by the time we passed back by the van, it was later than we had anticipated and was beginning to be rather hot (we are getting into the 90's here...normal for this time of year, in fact a little lower than normal).


We figured we would try the start from the lake another weekend (this time checking the city's calendar to see if there were going to be any more such exclusive events that would keep us from parking there).

Fenders?!? Who needs fenders? Mud is therapeudic...

We took a little longer trip up through the Indian Bend Wash green belt in Scottsdale. We started from the same place, but went all the way up to Shea Blvd. We have intentions this coming weekend to go from Tempe Town Lake up to the same place (that first trip was about 18.5 miles, the second will be close to 26). And though it hasn't been raining here, they do water the greenery in the the "green" belt.

We had the opportunity to run through several puddles -- nice, dirty puddles -- those kind that have collected all the dust, smog, and other goodies out of the air, sidewalk, and surrounding undergrowth. And of course, I was riding behind my lovely wife on her bicycle.

There I was, getting hit in the center by the gork being kicked up by her wheel, and getting hit on the shoulders and arms by my own two front wheels (which obviously are in front of me). The bright, yellow shirt you see in photos below became bespecked with splotches ranging from light brown to coal black in a varity of sizes. My pants suffered the same fate.

I guess if you were to go cross country in a tadpole, fenders (and a face plate attached to the helmet) might not be a bad idea. I mean, mud is one thing, but there might also be rocks and other junk kicked up by passing bikes and cars (so far, I have been fortunate in this regard and have not been hit by such debris).

"Could you hold that sun a little higher please..."

I went and bought a helmet cam and tried it out on a 13-mile roundtrip jaunt to the ASU campus from my house. I won't bother to post the video (or even portions of it). Though the camera was mounted properly on the helmet (I'll comment on that a bit more later), cycling in a recumbent means your head, and so your helmet, is tilted back a bit more than a "normal" cyclist. As such, I had an hour's worth of video of tree and telephone pole tops and the bright blue sky. And the mounting mechanism that came with the camera for helmets consists of a small plastic fixture (into which slips the camera), a rubber pad between that fixture and the helmet, and a velcro strap (that goes into the head space of the helmet). Not real secure or steady.

The next time out, I mounted this small helmet cam on a "boom" of sorts made from PVC pipe fittings hooked together and forming a platform on which to hook the camera (with one of the many mounting devices it came with). This boom was tightly affixed to the frame of the trike and rose above my head and helmet. We used this for the first time going through the ASU Research Park in south Tempe. Again, I won't bother to post the sped up video here either. The camera kept drifting to the side (so most of the scenary is as if you were looking out of a car window). And, even when straightened out, we were out late in the afternoon and as such, the sun was low on the horizon and continually got into view, washing out the view (showing up as a black circle surrounded by bright light).

I was also a bit disappointed by the quality of the video (even when just walking around with it in hand and taking video). Granted, the camera is ruggedized to withstand hitting the ground and bumps and such for off-road cyclists, and, if you fall into a lake, can take pictures to up to three meters under water, but still, the 640x480 resolution seemed a bit blotchy. I have seen video taken with this type of camera before and thought it would be better than this. Maybe it's just my setup or maybe I got a "bad" camera. What I am thinking now is to expand my PVC pipe fittings mount to allow me to attach my regular digital camera (the one I held by hand as I took the video posted elsewhere on this blog).

I will give the camera one more try on my helmet, tying it down in a more secure manner (yet to be figured out) and angled farther down in front so when I am riding reclined, it is looking straight ahead or slightly down as well.

Now the only problem is, if I do start using it on my helmet and getting good video, how can I disguise it so I don't look like I am wearing Marvin the Martian's helmet...?

Long and Winding Roads

We've been looking for bike paths that we could use that would be interesting and safe at the same time. We've now visited two of these "multi-use" paths. They are paved, striped paths for walkers, joggers, and cyclists (and probably any other non-motorized means of transportation).

The first of these is the Indian Bend Wash green belt located in Scottsdale and the northern part of Tempe in Arizona (see the map at right). The "Over Twelve Miles and Climbing" entry below shows a short video view of part of this path.

One can start on the north side of Tempe Town Lake and ride north all the way to Shea Blvd in Scottsdale. This is about 12 miles one-way (so an easy 20-mile round trip). There are various parks and parking lots along the way where you can start, stop, and rest (so you can go from just a couple miles up to a goodly distance). Several of the parks have "facilities" for quick pit stops.

The second path we found is located in Provo, Utah. We were there dropping one of our sons off at the LDS MTC and stayed in a small inn that backs up to one of the multiple paths found in the city. The picture shows the path from the back of the inn. It runs from Utah Lake (to the west) all the way up through Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls. Be aware that the altitude in Provo is around 4500 feet, so if you are use to lower altitudes (like we are in the Phoenix area at around 1100 feet), it might be a bit of an exercise to do the same distances up and down the grades on this route that can easily be done at lower altitudes.

The circled area on the map below shows where the photo was taken.

"Obnoxiously" Bright

In figuring out what to wear in our cycling, we have gone to bike shops and looked around on the web. But we have also been looking at what other cyclists are wearing (you know, the ones running in packs with various colored, tight-fitting jerseys and shorts with ads all over them).

From what we could learn on the web (and we all know that everything on the web is true... ;-), and from what we have observed as we have ridden and driven around, multi-colored or multi-patterned jerseys, no matter how brightly colored or patterned, often fade into the surrounding background, especially on city streets.

We came to the conclusion that a single, bright color (almost obnoxious color), might stand out better. And we decided to go with that approach. The color in the photo below actually matches pretty closely the new warning sign colors that the city is putting up for pedestrian cross walks and the like (and in addition, one of the fire departments here in the valley has their vehicles painted this color -- though granted, they are big, have lots of flashing lights, and very loud sirens).

And as for those bike shorts... Hey, I'm almost lying down, so I want comfortable as opposed to aerodynamic. Hence the comfortable cargo pants. I still use reflective strips that I slap onto my pants legs (or around my ankles for when the pants change to cargo shorts during the summer).

Over Twelve Miles and Climbing

As practice for the Tour de Tucson, we headed over to Scottsdale and did a 12 and half mile ride along the Indian Bend Wash green belt. Twelve miles might not seem altogether that long, but for us (who have only been cycling again for the last two month), it was a good workout.

What’s nice about this area is that it has a wide, two-way, non-motorized path that runs the length of the green belt (north-south) with under- or overpasses for the major streets.

It was a bit warm today (mid 80s), but will seem like winter when we get to our summer temperatures of 110 or 115 (with 80s and 90s as the lows).

I think I will be looking into a helmet cam. It was a bit harrowing to be steering with one hand and holding a camera in the other.

Eye-to-Eye With Bumpers

Being eye-to-eye with the bumpers of most cars and trucks can be a bit disconcerting. As such I wanted to be noticed as much as possible. To that end, I have put some additional flags and color on the flag whip on the back of the trike as well as a number of lights.

Apparently color glow pink (fluorescent pink) does not occur in nature (or at least is rare), so the human eye picks up on it as something "unnatural" and draws the viewer's attention to it. So I have put some flapping glow pink ribbons on the whip just below the orange Catrike flag and also put some windings of glow pink duct tape on as well.

I thought it good to be seen from the front (for on-coming traffic). I found a headlight/tail light pair, the Ascent Jet Set, that is small, light-weight, yet extremely bright. The headlight holds five very bright white LEDs and can be set to be on steady or on in a strobing affect (which is very noticeable). I wanted to have two of these lights in the front, one strobing, one on steady. The Catrike has a rod and half T at the end of the pedal boom. This was fine for holding one light, but I wanted two lights and a computer there (it was convenient and easy-to-see to have the computer right in front of me – you can see that in the photo). I invested in an add on T-bar that slips into the end of the boom rod. You can check these out at http://www.hostelshoppe.com/ (the full location, which may change, was http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Accessory=983907300). I also had to get a shim to use this on my Catrike. This allowed me to place two of the Ascent Jet Set headlights and a computer on the front boom without interfering with my pedaling.

I outfitted the back of the trike with three tail lights. The center light (which is just the tail light from a Planet Bike 1200 light set) I keep on steady, and the two outside lights (the tail light portion of the Ascent highlight/tail light pairs) flash. Granted, during the day, these may not be that noticeable, but at dawn, dusk, or night, they really stand out. And as far as the front lights... My son told me, after riding toward him at night, that I looked like a very bright, flashing, glowing orb of light at around knee level coming down the street -- odd, but very noticeable.

Fresh Out of the Shop

When we decided to get into cycling and enter the Tour de Tucson, I decided that maybe a recumbent would be the best bet for myself. I was completely clueless at that time about recumbents and especially recumbent trikes.

Both my wife and I investigated trikes from various manufacturers, looking at size, weight, "features", and most importantly (at first anyway), cost. We looked at Greenspeed, Sun Trikes, Action Bent, Catrike, and many others. As a side note here, these trikes come in two major configurations: A tadpole (two wheels in the front and one in the rear) and Delta (one wheel in the front and two in the back -- like a "traditional" tricycle).

I was looking at spending as little as possible (as we all are) yet still get a reasonable machine that I could use and enjoy. We first looked at Sun trikes, but their being somewhat heavy, we started seriously considering the newer trike (T1 Tadpole) from Action Bent. This was around $1300. What I liked about it was the larger (700c) rear wheel. It had "standard" 20 inch front wheels (similar to other manufacturers' trikes). This was around November of 2007. Serendipitously (is that a word?), Action Bent did not have any in stock and wouldn't until after the first of the year (their supplier is in Taiwan). This gave me more time to investigate other makes.

When I first had started looking at tadpole trikes, I was very impressed with those from Catrike. However, their prices, though certainly not on the high side, were still higher than Action Bent or Sun. However, as I kept looking at construction and features, I was again impressed with Catrike and especially their "newer" model the Expedition.

I learned that a bike shop in Tucson, Ajo Bikes, was a distributor for Catrike. So when I was there visiting with some of my children, we visited the bike shop and got to ride an Expedition they had there. I was told later that when someone rides a recumbent tadpole trike for the first time, they grin all the way. Well, I was grinning. And I was sold. After some more deliberation, I decided the higher cost (the Expedition was going for $2550 at that time) was well worth it and ordered one.

Impatiently I waited (Catrike is a smaller, US company based out of Florida -- and apparently very popular). Then around the end of January my trike came into Ajo Bikes, was assembled, and I was there in a flash to pick it up. This photo is me on the Expedition shortly after picking it up and just before riding it around the University of Arizona campus for its first multi-mile tryout.

Welcome (And A Little About Us)

We are just getting back into cycling after a many-year absence. We were the support vehicle for my daughter and her husband in the 109 mile 2007 Tour de Tucson. We decided, "We could do that..." Well at least the 35 mile portion. So here we are (I decided to do it almost laying down):

We went out and got a new road bike for my wife and a recumbent tadpole trike for myself.We're busy with seven children and two grandchildren, but find time to cycle 2 to 5 miles almost every weekday and longer trips on Saturdays.We'll share our experiences as "re-cycled cyclists" on this blog as well as any insights we learn as a newbie on a recumbent trike.