Well, I wish I had a rosy report on the trike, but I don't. I mentioned in the previous post how my back started bothering me during my maiden voyage ride on the trike last weekend. Thursday night I went for a ride with my friend Julie and my back started bothering me pretty much immediately, even after I had it refitted by Mark at Power On. I rode for about an hour and 15 minutes and was pretty much in pain the whole ride. I was pretty discouraged, realizing I can't even sit on the trike for ten minutes, how am I going to ride it 350 miles in a week? Well, the answer of course is I'm not. There's no way I can put my back at risk like that. I'm not sure, but I believe the issue is the construction of the seat itself and the position my back is in when I'm sitting. ICE makes an upgraded seat, but it looks like the shape is the same as the base seat. Mark told me he might be able to use a Euromesh seat, the same as I have on my Bacchetta, and mount it to the trike. Right now though I've put the trike on the back burner to focus on what's necessary to get the Bacchetta ready to travel. There's no way I'm putting this ride off!
Sunday after my ride on the General James A. Van Fleet Trail with my friend Martha...
...I dropped my bike off at Outspoken Bike Shop in Lake Mary for a tune-up. I'll need to replace both tires on it. My wheels are smaller than typical, 650x23c, so it can be difficult finding tires in stock. I decided (with a nod of approval from John at Outspoken) on the Continental Ultra GatorSkin tires.
"Designed as a high mileage tire with excellent flat protection. Many refer to the Ultra Gatorskin as "Bullet Proof". A layer of Duraskin and an extra layer of Kevlar under the tread keeps flat protection to a maximum. Low rolling resistance tread design excells in both wet and dry."
I'll be traveling back to Power On tomorrow to get a rack installed and pick up my Arkel recumbent panniers that Mark ordered for me. Hopefully after that the Strada will be ready to go!
It's a little bit beyond my comprehension that this is all happening in a few days. I feel totally prepared and not ready at all!
Glad to hear the last minute bike prep is coming along. You were meant to ride the Red Ranger on your maiden tour!
Red Ranger...love it!
Pardon me my ignorance, but what is the advantage of having a trike as opposed to a bike? I hope that this setback (for lack of better words) won't be disappointing. You'll do great no matter what! GO MOTHERP!
It's just soooooooo fun! No disappointments here. I love the Red Ranger!