rbent Forum https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl General Category >> Ride Reports >> First Outings on the New Trike https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1220106869 Message started by Patti on Aug 30th, 2008, 9:34am

Title: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Aug 30th, 2008, 9:34am I had a bit of a slow start on my new trike. It arrived at RBM the day we were leaving to go on vacation. While on vacation, we got word of a death in the family so, although I picked it up, I didn't get to ride it due to funeral arrangements and traveling. Then we had to move my daughter back to college. When I finally got my big chance to take it out on my street for the first time, a neighbor almost hit me head-on with his Suburban. He was in a hurry to get home and when he turned onto the street, he decided to drive down the wrong side intending to park at the curb. He finally saw me and swerved back across the street and into the opposite curb, missing me by about 8 to 10 feet. Undeterred, I have continued to ride almost daily, but have discovered that there is a lot of hostility on the streets. One morning I had three different guys yelling variations of "get your (insert expletive of choice here)  out of the road". Ironically, none of them were even on my side of the road but they felt compelled to whine nonetheless. Last weekend, I went to White Rock and almost had a guy back over me at a stop sign. He got impatient with the driver in front of him and decided to go around. I realize a trike is harder to see but I could see this guy in both of his mirrors before he started backing up. He just didn't look. Guess I'll need to get a horn as that "reverse" on my trike is not responsive enough for my liking. :-) In spite of these little incidents, most of my rides have been great fun for me. I ride to work most days and find that it makes my whole day more enjoyable. Each time I ride, my safety checklist gets a bit longer as I try to anticipate common hazards as well as the dumb stuff people do while driving. The trike is way more fun than my bike ever was but does require more vigilance on my part.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 30th, 2008, 11:58am You're just getting the bad stuff out of the way first.... 1)  Get a couple flags, for better visibility to drivers; 2)  Ride defensively -- anticipate the worst, hope for the best 3)  Post some pictures!!!!!   :)

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Richard on Aug 30th, 2008, 12:25pm Patti, For me it is a given that the driving public, in general, are not watching out for you. That being said, you can ride quite safely if you just get into that defensive state of mind. In addition, there are enough people hanging out the window waving "cool bike" and kids jumping up and down screaming with delight at your approach, that it more than balances out. :D RichardC

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by irodguy on Aug 30th, 2008, 3:05pm Like I always told my sister growing up "your horn is your most valuable weapon" Get yourself and airzound. When in doubt "Zound the ... out of them"  While I am not as aggressive on the horn as my friends in Florida who go through an entire charge every ride,  I am not shy about giving somebody a good honk.  I have airzounds on every bike / trike and I move my dinotte tail flasher to whichever bike I am on.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Aug 30th, 2008, 8:47pm FlyingLaZBoy wrote: You're just getting the bad stuff out of the way first.... 1)  Get a couple flags, for better visibility to drivers; 2)  Ride defensively -- anticipate the worst, hope for the best 3)  Post some pictures!!!!!   :) I have a nice flag from Soundwinds in Seattle, but I'm considering a custom Catrike flag because they are slightly larger. Definitely riding defensively. If I hadn't been, I would already be squashed like a june bug! Its the crazy things that are hard to anticipate...   :o I'm afraid both my husband and I failed in our efforts to post pics. As soon as I figure that out, I'll post some.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Aug 30th, 2008, 8:55pm Richard wrote: Patti, For me it is a given that the driving public, in general, are not watching out for you. That being said, you can ride quite safely if you just get into that defensive state of mind. In addition, there are enough people hanging out the window waving "cool bike" and kids jumping up and down screaming with delight at your approach, that it more than balances out. :D RichardC So true. I've actually been quite careful, just had some interesting (and amusing) close calls in spite of my best efforts. On a positive note, I don't think my neighbor will ever drive down the wrong side of the street again. Riding around the area has been a blast and most people we see will smile, wave, say "Hi" or something genuinely pleasant. I have a lot of kids ask me about the trikes: how much they cost, where can you get one, etc. It more than makes up for any stupid moments.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Aug 30th, 2008, 9:22pm irodguy wrote: Like I always told my sister growing up "your horn is your most valuable weapon" Get yourself and airzound. When in doubt "Zound the ... out of them"  While I am not as aggressive on the horn as my friends in Florida who go through an entire charge every ride,  I am not shy about giving somebody a good honk.  I have airzounds on every bike / trike and I move my dinotte tail flasher to whichever bike I am on. Airzound is on my "to be purchased" list. As a temporary, I have one of those little air horns that will fit in my pocket. We bought it for a trip to Yellowstone (bears don't care for that sound very much) but never needed to use it. I was just about to throw it away but now it has a new purpose in life. How do you like the Dinotte lights? I got a inexpensive flashing tail light today but want to upgrade to something more substantial eventually. Dinotte and Cateye seem to be the most popular brands for bike/trike lights.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Lrodshy57 on Sep 7th, 2008, 8:08am Patti, Have you considered making a flag out of "sequience" fabric? It can be iridessence! Catches the Sun and just about any available light! Constantly changes color! It may also announce that you're a girl  ;). I have seen all kinds of patterns on the 'net'. Btw, can get it at Wal-Mart.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Sep 10th, 2008, 1:21pm Lrodshy57 wrote: Patti, Have you considered making a flag out of "sequience" fabric? It can be iridessence! Catches the Sun and just about any available light! Constantly changes color! It may also announce that you're a girl  ;). I have seen all kinds of patterns on the 'net'. Btw, can get it at Wal-Mart. True, I could make a flag but I really like the one I'm using as a temporary until my Catrike custom flag comes in. Jerry is making it for me and it will have reflective fabric as part of the design. Jerry's flags are really nice but he is just a little backed up with orders right now. Catrike has sold a lot of trikes this summer!

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by irodguy on Sep 10th, 2008, 4:36pm The Dinotte is so much brighter than anything else, there is simply no comparsion.  I actually showed my Dinotte and my Planet Bike to PCF this weekend.  The Superblinky could be kinda seen during the day, but the Dinootte was impossible to look at for any length of time without getitng a headache. Dinotte is having a sale at the moment for $99 without batteries or charger.  Since they are just AA it's nbd since pretty much everybody has an AA charger and batteries hanging around.   The only issue with the Dinotte is when riding with my wife it's painful if you are following eachother.  You either want to follow a ways  back or go side by side.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Sep 11th, 2008, 9:09am Thanks for the info. Looks like I need to check out the Dinotte site asap. Patti

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by evblazer on Sep 11th, 2008, 9:34am irodguy wrote: The only issue with the Dinotte is when riding with my wife it's painful if you are following eachother.  You either want tofollow a ways  back or go side by side.   +[ch8734] I was following my wife home earlier this week when she was riding her hurricane. Even though her dinottes are mounted way low on her 20" wheels they really were throbbing my head since I was stuck right behind her.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by bikerteam on Sep 12th, 2008, 6:34am Mark, that's how I feel when you're pulling me around our Wednesday Flower Mound club ride.  You have both Dinotte rear lights turned on, and I'm sucking your wheel.  The the next several days, I see red dots.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by irodguy on Sep 12th, 2008, 9:37am I actually got "pulled over" by a car last night.  He asked me what the heck kind of bike light that was.  What was even more funny was I actually got flashed by a car for having my 200L headlight up to far.  I was smiling all the way home.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by MrOverdressed on Sep 12th, 2008, 11:12am irodguy wrote: I actually got "pulled over" by a car last night.  He asked me what the heck kind of bike light that was.  What was even more funny was I actually got flashed by a car for having my 200L headlight up to far.  I was smiling all the way home.   Rodney I started a thread in the technical forum about lights.  I would like to hear about your findings.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by bent_eagle on Sep 16th, 2008, 9:51pm Ditto on the pics request.  Please? What model trike is it?

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Sep 17th, 2008, 9:50pm bent_eagle wrote: Ditto on the pics request.  Please? What model trike is it? I bought a red Catrike Road which has acquired the name "Red Ryder" Not sure why, exactly, but it just seemed to need a name. Pics can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30307459@N02/

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by bent_eagle on Sep 18th, 2008, 12:29pm Great pics!  You can't help but to smile when you're on one of those trikes, can you?

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Sep 18th, 2008, 2:02pm bent_eagle wrote: Great pics!  You can't help but to smile when you're on one of those trikes, can you? Yes, you really have to smile. First, there is something slightly comical about them when you first see one, then you sit on it for the first time and you start to feel like the "Joker" in Batman. The smile becomes a permanent fixture. I'm hoping to get "Red" back this afternoon. It had a sleepover at RBM last night. I've felt totally lost without my trike yesterday and today.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Richard on Sep 23rd, 2008, 10:28am Patti, Thats what this whole recumbent thing is all about.  :DI love the first ride pic. On my first recumbent ride I ran over a dog :P RichardC

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Sep 23rd, 2008, 8:44pm Patti --   Will you be making it to the DFW Airport ride get-together on Oct 5th?

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Sep 24th, 2008, 11:33am Sounds like fun but I'm not particularly fast and would hate to be lagging behind everyone else. :-)

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Bud_Bent on Sep 24th, 2008, 12:08pm Patti wrote: Sounds like fun but I'm not particularly fast and would hate to be lagging behind everyone else. :-) There will certainly be other riders who aren't speed demons at this ride too, Patti. My wife Rose has been off her bike almost three months due to a broken foot, so if she rides her bike, it will be at an easy pace.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by irodguy on Sep 24th, 2008, 12:51pm Patti wrote: Sounds like fun but I'm not particularly fast and would hate to be lagging behind everyone else. :-) Don't worry there are plenty of us who prefer to stop and smell the roses.  I am certainly not setting any speed records.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by evblazer on Sep 24th, 2008, 2:37pm If am able to make it I'll be riding pretty slow. I'll probably ride down there and will need energy to ride back. I wish I was riding a trike on my first recumbent commute. Just did a trackstand and scaned my badge at the gate at work like I do everyday on my road bike and it didn't go so well on the Giro26. Thankfully I learned how not to put my arm out to break a fall long ago.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Patti on Sep 24th, 2008, 10:46pm Sounds like this will be a good opportunity for my first group ride. I'll put it on the calendar.

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Action Lad on Oct 2nd, 2008, 12:31am Hello, All! I've just gotten a Catrike 700 about a week ago.  It's had its virgin cruise, but no group rides yet.  The folks I normally ride with are df'ers, so they're not feeling bents at all.  Time for a change.  Can't wait for the DFW ride to see other bent trikes and bikes rolling around in real life, instead of on YouTube!  ;D Key Catrike 700 "Thunder & Lightning"

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Oct 2nd, 2008, 9:55am Welcome, Key!  Do you know if you're up to a 20-mile ride on the Catrike, yet?  No matter, c'mon out!

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Action Lad on Oct 2nd, 2008, 12:48pm Boy, uma givit it a shot! I am a former DF commuter during the school year ~18 one way.  During the summer I was too busy to ride, so the fitness is off somewhat.  Since I got the trike, almost two weeks ago, I have been slowly, patiently getting the recumbent muscle groups online, so by ride time, we'll see.  I just can't wait to see everyone! Key Catrike 700 "Thunder & Lightning"

Title: Re: First Outings on the New Trike Post by Action Lad on Oct 5th, 2008, 2:18pm I may have slept on my stomach last night.  Big mistake.  All day pain in the back.  I won't be there today.  Y'all have fun, I'll catch another trip. Key

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