A bit of introspection, if I may... and a request for opinions:
Back before discovering recumbents, I used to pedal your typical $150 Target MTB around the neighborhood and WRLake, but never doing "road" or "club" riding for any significant distances... and never crashed or broke anything. Then I took the plunge into 'bents with an EZ-1 in early 2005, joined GDB, helped resurrect RBENT, and did over 3000 miles that first year, and ride 3000-5000 miles per year ever since, creating some GREAT cycling memories... not the least of which was getting to know the folks at RANS, thanks mostly to Greg Gross.
However, over those years, I've also "hit the concrete" several times on rides -- usually with the 'help' of wet/slick surfaces, and a couple of times due to tire-swallowing cracks -- but have never been significantly injured or broken anything, and none of them was at high speed or involved any other riders. We've also toppled the Seavo tandem a couple of times at 0mph, while we learned what NOT to do while turning it around... which made me feel bad, because my job as Captain is to not let the stoker get hurt. Terrie jammed her shoulder a bit, but again, nothing broken. But, it's let her participate in rides she wouldn't otherwise have been able to do.
And of course, I've come to enjoy riding at 20-30mph, pushing my physical limits, participating in the TTTT, fast club rides, the GDB time trial, etc., and am honestly proud to be considered a "strong rider" among my friends -- and love my Xstream.
HOWEVER, we have all had the occasional "close call" where we barely avoid a crack, or catch the front/back wheel slipping out and correct for it quickly, narrowly avoiding going down. And we all know DF riders who crash and break collarbones, faces, etc. from falling from a greater height... and I've heard tales of broken collarbones resulting in a $30,000+ hospital bill, albeit mostly covered by insurance (or NOT).
And this past weekend, I read Dennis Tresenreiter's post about he and his wife crashing on their tandem, due to HITTING A CAT WITH THE BACK WHEEL, with both of them in the hospital with broken ribs, pelvis, and more... jeez....
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So, being in my upper 50s, I'm admittedly starting to think to myself,
" I don't need the hassle and expense of a crash that breaks something, even if it's my fault"
" Is it time to switch to a trike, to make a significant dent in the probability of breaking something in a future 2-wheel crash?"
" Do we sell the Seavo, so Terrie doesn't lose 3-6 months of choral conducting work due to a broken arm/collarbone, because of a crash that is out of my control?"
" Will I be able to do the club/social rides I'm used to doing? Will I be "ostracized'?" Additionally, tracking 3 wheels through road surface cracks is 3X the challenge... I've ridden the Tour II on the Sunday Roll a few times, and it's kind of like playing a video game.
Then I think, "Will selling the other bikes bring enough to buy the trike I would want?" "Am I 'wimping out'??" "How the hell can I keep up with SquareCorners if I switch?"
, and "Yes, I'll probably tip the darned thing, anyway...."
SO -- what do the great washed/unwashed of RBENT say? Give me some feedback, positive or negative, pro-2-wheel or against, or even why you switched to 3 wheels (or didn't!)...
Best,
Paul