This picture shows the bike as I was about to take off on a camping trip. As you can see I had two trailers of sorts I was attempting to pull behind the bike. I was really loaded down. I was attempting to ride south of town out to a small woods to camp with some friends. I didn't even get out of town before one of the trailers failed miserably and I had to call a friend to come get me and my stuff. So the plan of getting there by bike failed but I did make it there and we all had a great time camping. While I was in the navy I bought a real pretty baby blue colored Gitane bike. It was very light in weight compared to the bikes I had as a kid.
It looked similar to this bike.However, it was no Schwinn and I swear the spokes would break if you so much as looked at it cross eyed.
Even as a teenager I can remember how sore my body would get riding a bike and these racing style bikes were the worst. Mountain style bikes aren't much better but that is what I changed to as years went by. Finally my body was crying out for relief from the torture I was putting it thru trying to ride a "conventional bike" and so I opted to do something about it. I only wish I had done it many years earlier. I switched to riding recumbent bikes. They are expensive to buy so being a weldor/fabricator I decided to make my own bike.
I never totally finished it as far as painting it as I ended up buying two used recumbent bikes to replace it. I got them at a great price so I could not resist. Anyway, Lucy and I both rode this bike and I fell in love with recumbents as I no longer had any issues with soreness anywhere. I ended up chopping this bike up and using some of the parts off of it to make another bike later on.
The two used recumbent bikes I bought are factory made, of course, and they are in like new condition. My wife and I love riding them and are anxious for decent riding weather to return after a winter which was pretty poor riding weather. Here is a photo of what our recumbent bikes look.
I rode quite a lot last year (2007) and managed to lose 30 pounds ... which I desperately needed (and a whole lot more). I rode right up until winter and then decided to do something about that so I made a tadpole trike so I could keep on riding thru the winter. That was the plan anyway.
I rode it some but winter had other ideas and I didn't ride it as much as I had hoped for. On the very last day of 2007 we got a puppy and hoped he would ride with us on the bikes. I put a basket on the trike and took him riding. 
Now I have a basket on the back of Lucy's bike and we have taken him riding in it. He didn't like it at all at first but he is starting to get used to it and we are hopeful that with nicer weather coming he will really take to it and look forward to riding with us. I guess I can't blame him for not enjoying riding in the nasty winter weather. I don't like it either.
I have signed up to go on an organized bike ride across lower Michigan this summer. It goes from Lake Michigan to Lake Erie and averages about 50 miles a day. I just hope I am up to it by then. I have a long way to go to get ready for it ... to get into condition to be able to do it.
I ride with a couple of other guys on pretty much a daily basis weather permitting. Sometimes there is a third friend who rides with us. We ride on the nearby Rivergreenway and out into the countryside east of New Haven, IN.
Here are a couple of pictures of the Rivergreenway.
It's a lot of fun to ride on.
Lucy rides with me when she can but her work schedule does not allow her much time to ride. Never the less she enjoys riding when she can and does pretty good at it. She is a trooper!
Lastly, I enjoy bicycling and hope to continue to be able to ride until I am near death in my old age. I also enjoy seeing pictures and videos of others riding and want to share a video here which has become one of my favorites.
I wish I had this tune (Happy Feet) to play as I ride along so I could listen to it as my feet are pedaling away like those in this video.
No comments:
Post a Comment