On this fair Sunday afternoon I took my new baby out for a short spin,
along a rather drab, but flat and straight, cycling path not far from my
home. We did several aller-retours, amounting to about 13 km.
First Impressions
I never noticed before how cambered a lot of streets are. I took a short
stretch of road to reach my path and I swear my right wheel was about 6
inches lower than my left.
STEER, STEER, STEER! This is new. On Fly, I only have to look in a
direction and he reads my mind and goes there. Not so Widders. I have to
tell him _everything_. On said cambered road, he kept trying to fall
into the curb. No dear, go LEFT! Anyway, despite Carol Hague's
contention that recumbent trikes are all female, I now have no further
doubts about his gender.
Overgown hedgerows are a problem. They now overhang at face level. I
wouldn't even have noticed them on a bike.
It is magnificent to be able to stop and just start again! I can be
polite to families and old ladies. I can respect traffic lights without
foul language. On a bike, all of this would have unhorsed me again and
again.
Uphill is a joy. My path was flat, but I spent some time yesterday doing
the ramp to the upper storey of the underground parking. I used to
practise getting up this on Myrtille. Shift down, pedal pedal pedal,
brake, turn, pedal for your life, push, push, push, turn again at the
top and usually miss the mark. Now, shift down, pedal relax, turn, pedal
relax to the top, turn again. I kept trying to speed until I realized I
didn't even have to. It's so zen, I don't even break a sweat.
I had to get in before dusk, not so much because I feared Widders would
turn into something hairy at the sight of the full Moon, as because I
don't have lights for him yet. I've ordered two Cateye EL530's, since
Helen is so pleased with hers. But I'm in a quandary as to where to put
them. No room on the computer mount. I would like them on the front
boom, one on each side, just next to the wheel axles. But how on earth
shall I mount them as the diameter of the boom is about 3", much thicker
than a handlebar?
This is supposedly a folding trike but my first attempt to fold it
failed miserably. I did get the seat off. But the quick release clamp
for the fold didn't seem to release anything, and getting the seat back
on was about 45 minutes of panicky sweat. The manual is most unhelpful
because there are almost no illustrations so you can never tell what it
is talking about; OTOH it is constantly telling you how much danger you
are in if you put things back incorrectly. I will write to HP
Velotechnik demanding more diagrams and better tech writing (given that
it's my own profession.)
EFR
Ile de France