Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Against the wind

Having been inspired by TrumpetMurph I went out and lashed the front wheel of Eagle to the hitch platform on the back of my van and gingerly drove the unlikely combo down to the street.

It was a windy day, but I had no idea!

Cody, the 70lb little guy who's staying with us stepped up on back and off we went, the same route and distance as last time but with the headwind on the way there it was really a struggle. At one point I couldn't keep moving fast enough to shift down and had to do a u-turn to get moving, shift, then loop back and keep on fighting the wind and the slight hill.

The return trip was MUCH faster.

That was a half mile, so I sat in my van and rested a while so I could go again and as I watched, the wind demonstrated it's strength by picking up Eagle in spite of the locked brakes and dragging it a foot and a half!

I was shocked and amazed.

Then I had my second go, and it was slow and tough. Cody stepped down and it went a little quicker.

I got to my turnaround spot and rested, and Cody suggested we race back to the van.

Heheheheheh.

That little fella is pretty funny. I snapped a pic of the van from where I was sitting and said 'ready, set, GO!'

I gave him a little headstart, and then with the wind at my back, downhill, with the advantage of gearing on my side I took a pic of him from the van.

As for the ride itself, I think I might need to adjust the gearing a tad, possibly cable stretch, but it wasn't acting very well. Oh well, I'll give the barrel adjuster a twist if it seems loose when I check it.

Burning calves and ankles again, it burns up the outside of my calves and my feet are hard to keep positioned correctly on the pedals. My heels hit the crank a time or two.

I will definitely have to get kneesavers.

So there it is, my ride for the day.

RD

Hey Rollerdave, it is nice to see a new post from you. Those winds can make it difficult at times but congrats on pushing on!

Brother I know winds. Did 32 miles in 20 mph winds on Saturday and 90F deg heat. It was a tough day.

Good for you! I'm glad to see that you got out and did something fun for yourself. You are also being an inspiration for Cody :) .

East Hill

Uh.....I did not have fun. :D, although I did finish, it was touch and go for a short while. When I finished, I was slightly heat stressed. I really had no idea it was suppose to get that hot or I would have waited until later in the day. Sunday, it was 62 and overcast. It would have been fun then. :p

Awesome work dave! Those winds in the midwest are brutal today, I had to fight them for about 3 miles - straight into a headwind - and it was literally painful. The 5 miles of tailwind, however, was AWESOME. Crosswind was worse, severalpoints I thought I was literally going to get blown over.

Glad to hear you are back on the bike! Keep it up man, it only gets better.

Bob Seger tune.......................

I was definitely humming that to myself, and thinking about the song when I titled this thread. lol.

Now Cody, who we have been trying to interest in bikes for yeas, is all hot and bothered to have a recumbent trike.

He's a real little guy who's 13 but easily passes for 10. Skin and bones.

I told him we could build him a little tadpole trike, but only if he learns enough about them that he can help build it. Now that he's welded, he's hooked. Once you make sparks and fuse metal, there's no going back. Ever.

Heheheheh,

RD

Having been inspired by TrumpetMurph I went out and lashed the front wheel of Eagle to the hitch platform on the back of my van and gingerly drove the unlikely combo down to the street.

It was a windy day, but I had no idea!

Cody, the 70lb little guy who's staying with us stepped up on back and off we went, the same route and distance as last time but with the headwind on the way there it was really a struggle. At one point I couldn't keep moving fast enough to shift down and had to do a u-turn to get moving, shift, then loop back and keep on fighting the wind and the slight hill.

The return trip was MUCH faster.

That was a half mile, so I sat in my van and rested a while so I could go again and as I watched, the wind demonstrated it's strength by picking up Eagle in spite of the locked brakes and dragging it a foot and a half!

I was shocked and amazed.

Then I had my second go, and it was slow and tough. Cody stepped down and it went a little quicker.

I got to my turnaround spot and rested, and Cody suggested we race back to the van.

Heheheheheh.

That little fella is pretty funny. I snapped a pic of the van from where I was sitting and said 'ready, set, GO!'

I gave him a little headstart, and then with the wind at my back, downhill, with the advantage of gearing on my side I took a pic of him from the van.

As for the ride itself, I think I might need to adjust the gearing a tad, possibly cable stretch, but it wasn't acting very well. Oh well, I'll give the barrel adjuster a twist if it seems loose when I check it.

Burning calves and ankles again, it burns up the outside of my calves and my feet are hard to keep positioned correctly on the pedals. My heels hit the crank a time or two.

I will definitely have to get kneesavers.

So there it is, my ride for the day.

RD

Wind can be FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN, no seriously, Yesterday I headed out the door, straight into a 25km/h head wind, dropped down a few gears, and fought it, barely hit 15km/h, turned at the end of the loop, cranked it up, and saw 35km/h on the 'puter before I had to slow down for a 4-way stop:D

As a relatively new rider, don't be afraid of the granny ring, especially on a trike, who cares if you go 1MPH, you might want to attach a slow moving vehicle sign to the back, and a flashing rear light.

Was 30+ sustained with gusts up to 55 last night. Rode 5 miles into it and 5 miles with it then 20miles across it. The cross wind was worse I think. Nothing like fighting just to stay upright and then getting blasted by a double speed gust.

Was 30+ sustained with gusts up to 55 last night. Rode 5 miles into it and 5 miles with it then 20miles across it. The cross wind was worse I think. Nothing like fighting just to stay upright and then getting blasted by a double speed gust.

I'll agree, riding into the wind, you just gear down, and put up with it, riding with the wind, you watch your speedo set records, cross winds are worse, they seem to try to blow you into traffic. Although the worst are angled winds, for example you ride South, East, North and West and the wind is North East, because you seem to be battling a head wind no matter which way you go....

I was an inspiration to someone? COOL! :D