Hi Guys, My name is Mike..........Kidding, its Don : )
 
I started reading the site 2 days ago and have really enjoyed all the tales of travel i have read about so far.  
 
Im 44 years old and am disabled with something called Ankylosing spondylitis. I have had 5 lower back surgeries and my neck is fused so that i have no head movement up down right or left.  Basiclly my chin is almost touching my chest so i cant see in front of me unless i am in a reclined position.  
 
I havent been able to look up and see the moon so long i dont even remember what it feels like to see the night sky. I used to train hunting dogs and walk all the time.  I have ruffly been a homebody since that time.  I am pushing 200 pounds now and my old 5 foot 9 inch frame is now ruffly 5 foot 2 on a good day and less on a bad day. I have tryed everything to get and keep some type of exersize program. I havent been able to do most for any period of time but i believe this bike is for me and designed for me........i see some hope.
 
I live in North east Texas, about 5 miles outside a small town called Quitman so i will be riding mostly blacktop roades in the county. Like many of you guys i am on a fixed income that ironicly keeps you broke : )
 
I started doing research on the recumbent bikes a few months ago, Utube and Ebay were my research tools. many of the bikes cast more than i make in 2 months so its taken me a while to find one i could get that might fit.  My search started with me looking for a used trike and i almost got one till i called a bicycle shop from the internet and told them my condition and what i was thinking about....the trink i was looking at only had one speed and the bike shop owner told me to stay away from anything with a single speed. but at that time he didnt have anything i could afford especialy in a trike.
 
I kept looking.  I liked the lwb recumbents but honestly didnt think i could ride them from the pictures i had seen. The over the handle bar peddling scares me as i didnt think i could ride one and still have my doubts.  Heck i cant even walk a quarter mile right now with out feeling like someone is trying to rip the lungs from my chest and tear my head off my shoulders.
 
Eventualy i saw a picture of a sun EZ1 bike and started calling different bike shops. I told them i needed something i could ride and explained my situation as best i could.  The bike shop owners all suggested i try one first but assured me that i could ride the bike and it would support my back with me leaned back so i could see in front of me. I slept and dreamed about riding and feeling fresh air on my face. I started doing the math as to what i could put together cash wise to get one of these bike and started making calls. Friday i ordered a used (1 year old) Sun EZ1 SX They said it would ship Monday.
 
I havent riden a bike since 1978 so this should be very fun. My hope is that this bike will last me as one day i would like to be able to ride with others on some of those trail things you do.
 
Sorry for the long post and for those to suffered through it, thanks for reading
Don

Don:  Welcome to the forum.  Hope the recumbent effort will work out for you - I bet it will!  It always gives me a charge to read about the hardship some of you guys go thru but prevail anyway.  Keeps my problems with cramping in the proper perspective.  Hang in there!  Hope we'll get a chance to meet soon.
Robert

Good to hear from you Don, you know what Clint Eastwood said in Heartbreak Ridge , no not that one,  this one, "Adapt, improvise, overcome!"  If you ride a low racer, you will be able to see the moon. We have several in the group with back problems. Seems like many who ride recumbents have an issue of one sort or the other. Hang in there, we are rooting for you. See you down the road.
 
RichardC

Welcome to the boards Don!  This place in Colorado you mention, would it happen to be Angletech?  IF it is, you've done well in choosing to purchase from Kelvin.  I've gotten my last two bikes from there and they have been great.  See you on the road sometime!  DJ

Hi Guys,
 
The place in Colorado i was talking about is called The Fly Bike Shop. I was suppose to get an email from then yesterday as to the shipping information but no word yet. Basicly i had 450 to work with not a large ammount to most but it is all i could put together so i had to look till i could find something.
 
Mirrors, I know it will have one on the handlebars and possibly 2 (one on each side) I have Zero neck or head movement to the right or left/up or down so mirrors are a must.    
 
I couldnt een sleep last night cause i was up thinking about riding and what all type of gear im going to need to get to carry on the bike.  So far from reading this board i know i need to get 2 bike tubes some patches, a bike pump and tools to take the rims off the bike and the tires off the rims or atleast one side of te tire needs to be freed. Also i will need a chain master link. water bottle and a older and then something to carry all this stuff : )
 
Just wanting to be ready for what ever as i tend to over due stuff so i might be 15 or 20 miles down the road on what ever ups delivers. Yeah, im kinda excited / nervous : )
 
Thanks again guys.
 
Don

The trike was actualy the first thing i started looking for , just they are hard to find , heck its hard to find a used bent at a price that i can afford : )   Balance issues i dont really worrie to much about, i still have my balance except for possible falling forward do to the way my body is now. side to side i am fine.
 
I dont drive much, honestly i only leave the house maybe once or twice a month to go to town for food, other than that i am home. I dont like driving in heavy traffic because i cant turn my head so i stay away from any citys unless i absoutly have to, and then my wife will usualy drive me (She hates city driving too)
 
Changing tires on a bike wont be a problem for me I havent always been this way and have changed them before. Heck when cars wernt all computerized i did all my own car work, including changine motors and tranny. Bicycle tire tube should be doable : )
 
If i had the torch and equipmant i would have just made me one, these folks in colorado are taking to long to get that thing in a ups truck hehe
 
I did drive around on our roads today to see what routs would be good for me to start out on, i found 3 ways i can start.
 
A 1 mile trip with a mild hill at the end = 2 miles round trip
 
A 3 mile trip with 2 decent hills in it that might be hard for me (Not sure till i try) = 6 miles
 
A 5 mile block that is fairly level except One Monster hill that is maybe a quarte rmile to the top = 10 miles
 
I am thinking those will be my first routes taking the easiest ones first till i understand the gears of the bike and have gotten my legs and Lungs built up.
 
I think that i can make a 20+ mile trip around the block on all black top road with not to much traffic, that ride has lots very hilly area some i am certain i would have to walk the bike up for a while, but i eally dont understand the gearing of these type bikes so maybe i am wrong about that. Time and practice will tell : )
 
Thanks for reading,
Don

19.09  and your hand name is slowpoke! WoW! I welcome you to thr RBENT Club.

I will have to wait until spring I don't ride on sundays