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03-22-03, 09:18 PM
I'm putting in several pictures from the Chicago Bike Show. Hopefully, it will inspire more people to come next year???
Bill, it was definitely more upbeat later in the evening on Friday, and Saturday was crowded and a blast! Everyone was really nice, and people were really friendly. I got to ride lots of different recumbent bikes and I am about 50% sold on the idea of getting one- this guy I met who is a recumbent bike freak taught me how to properly ride one in about 5 minutes. Until I learned how to ride the two wheeled recumbents, I fell so many times I lost count! The people working the booths were very enthusiastic and great sports (considering they let people ride their bikes and fall and wipe out constantly), and I got maps of all the great trails we have in Illinois. There's a nice map of some great rides down in Southern Illinois, but they didn't have the new ones, so they had me fill out a form, and they'll get me the new map in the next 6- 8 weeks. I am hoping that I will be able to do a whole lot of rides in different parts of the state and build up my spinning technique.
The most interesting part of the entire bike show was the Heart Zones booth. I went over to the booth to say hi to Kathy Kent, the president of HZ, and she had these things called power cranks. Apparently, the idea of these power cranks teach you to increase your efficiency and power and train your hip flexors so you can increase your pedal stroke power in the recovery part of the pedal stroke, which will give you more power= faster and more efficient pedaling. I rode with those pedals, and the first time I did it, my pedal stroke was so uneven and it was so tiring that when I got off the bike, I fell down! :roflmao: (again!) After that, I came back a few hours later and rode again... this time, I was much more determined to do a better job. I rode for about 3 minutes with better results, but at the end of 3 minutes, there was no way I could keep my energy levels any higher. I am seriously considering getting a pair of them and getting an old bike and hooking it up to a trainer and riding indoors seriously for a couple of months. I was really impressed.
I also went to the close-out sale and got some great deals on some necessary gear- grips for 3 bucks, a handlebar mirror for 3 bucks, a nice Giro helmet for 20 bucks that fit just right, and a seat wedge for 4 bucks. I just wished I'd went on Friday and not Saturday!
All in all, I had a great time.... I was there today for 9 hours walking around, chatting with people I'd met, taking pictures, and just meeting up with people and laughing my butt off- what a great day! I don't think I'll go on Sunday- I'm beat, and I need some time to de-stress from the weekend. Definitely, I'm going back next year!
Koffee
Bill, it was definitely more upbeat later in the evening on Friday, and Saturday was crowded and a blast! Everyone was really nice, and people were really friendly. I got to ride lots of different recumbent bikes and I am about 50% sold on the idea of getting one- this guy I met who is a recumbent bike freak taught me how to properly ride one in about 5 minutes. Until I learned how to ride the two wheeled recumbents, I fell so many times I lost count! The people working the booths were very enthusiastic and great sports (considering they let people ride their bikes and fall and wipe out constantly), and I got maps of all the great trails we have in Illinois. There's a nice map of some great rides down in Southern Illinois, but they didn't have the new ones, so they had me fill out a form, and they'll get me the new map in the next 6- 8 weeks. I am hoping that I will be able to do a whole lot of rides in different parts of the state and build up my spinning technique.
The most interesting part of the entire bike show was the Heart Zones booth. I went over to the booth to say hi to Kathy Kent, the president of HZ, and she had these things called power cranks. Apparently, the idea of these power cranks teach you to increase your efficiency and power and train your hip flexors so you can increase your pedal stroke power in the recovery part of the pedal stroke, which will give you more power= faster and more efficient pedaling. I rode with those pedals, and the first time I did it, my pedal stroke was so uneven and it was so tiring that when I got off the bike, I fell down! :roflmao: (again!) After that, I came back a few hours later and rode again... this time, I was much more determined to do a better job. I rode for about 3 minutes with better results, but at the end of 3 minutes, there was no way I could keep my energy levels any higher. I am seriously considering getting a pair of them and getting an old bike and hooking it up to a trainer and riding indoors seriously for a couple of months. I was really impressed.
I also went to the close-out sale and got some great deals on some necessary gear- grips for 3 bucks, a handlebar mirror for 3 bucks, a nice Giro helmet for 20 bucks that fit just right, and a seat wedge for 4 bucks. I just wished I'd went on Friday and not Saturday!
All in all, I had a great time.... I was there today for 9 hours walking around, chatting with people I'd met, taking pictures, and just meeting up with people and laughing my butt off- what a great day! I don't think I'll go on Sunday- I'm beat, and I need some time to de-stress from the weekend. Definitely, I'm going back next year!
Koffee