Hello - we are Gary (age 65) and Gay (age 62) Bradford. We are both retired from US Immigration Service in Dallas, Texas, and live in Iowa Park, Texas, which is near Wichita Falls. We got involved in cycling about 4 years ago, when we decided we needed a form of exercise that was less stressful than volleyball, softball and other sports, and easier on the joints! We bought hybrid DFs and rode in the Hotter'N Hell Hundred for the last 4 years. In researching bicycles, Gary decided that there was a more comfortable and efficient way to go, so we purchased two Scarab recumbent trikes, which were very comfortable and fun to ride. However, the competitive nature of my husband "came out" when recumbent bike rider Mark Leuck flew by his trike during a ride in Humble, Texas last February. Gary then decided that we needed recumbent bikes, and he quickly purchased the Optima Baron for himself, and a Bacchetta Strada for me. We have only been able to make a couple of training runs, and are still learning about and getting comfortable with the recumbents. We look forward to testing them (and ourselves) in future rides. We also look forward to meeting fellow Rbent members in rides this summer.
Mark -- I don't believe Gary will be seriously challenging you for some time to come.