Dissing streamlined bikes as "condom bikes" is as misguided as folks on
uprights calling Recumbents 'wierd'. Streamlining is AWESOME.
As I once said:
Recumbent Riders and Designers of the class of '99:
Ride Streamlined.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, streamlining would be
it. The aerodynamic benefits of streamlining have been proved by
scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your glutes. Oh, never mind. You will not
understand the power and beauty of your glutes until they've faded. But
trust me, after a 200 mile ride, you'll think back to the first hill
you sprinted up and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much pain
lay before you and how fabulous you really felt. You are not as fast as
you imagine.
Don't worry about a puncture. Or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to convince a roadie that a recumbent can be faster
and more comfortable. The real troubles in your ride are apt to be
things that never crossed your worried mind, like running over a bunch
of nails at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Blow past one roadie every day who dares you.
Spin.
Don't be reckless with other people's recumbents. Don't put up with
people who are reckless with yours.
Lube.
Don't wash your tires with gasoline. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes
you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with the
same fellow who kicked your butt last time.
Remember "cool bike" comments you receive. Forget the laughter. If you
succeed in doing this, you should get your ears checked.
Keep your old mile logs. Throw away your old bike shop bills.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what kind of recumbent you want to
build. The most interesting people I know didn't know 20 minutes before
they started welding what they wanted to build. Some of the most
interesting builders still don't know.
Get plenty of cliff bars. Be kind to your LBS that doesn't stock
recumbents. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll race, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have win, maybe you
won't. Maybe you'll do the 200m at 40, maybe you'll win the Decimach at
75 mph. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or
berate yourself either. You'll get beat by Andres Wiegel anyway. So
will everyone else.
Enjoy your bike. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of
what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever
own.
Train, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, but don't follow them.
Do not read normal bicycling magazines. They will only make you feel
superior.
Get some new brake pads. You never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your chainrings. They're your best link to your power and
the part most likely to stick in the door of the next car to cut you
off.
Understand that riders come and go, but with a precious few you should
draft. Work hard to bridge the gap between you and the pack of roadies
up ahead, because the older you get, the more you need people you can
wheelsuck.
Ride in New York City once, but leave before it maims you. Live in
Northern California once, but leave before Zach cuts you seat down to
size.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Cannondale will be
rumored to have a recumbent. You, too, will get a trike. And when you
do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, parts were compatible,
potholes were smaller and Campangnola ruled the planet.
Disinfect your Camelback Bladders.
Don't expect any narrow tires to support you. Maybe you have a tire
liner. Maybe you'll have a thorn tube. But you never know when either
one might run out of air.
Don't mess too much with your seat or by the time you've ridden 40 it
will feel like 85.
Be careful whose recumbents you buy, but be a pain to those that ship
late. Grabbing an old bike from the dumpster is a form of nostalgia.
Dissecting it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, welding
it up, painting over the ugly parts and riding it for it's worth.
But trust me on the streamlining.