Living Car Free - Out on my tricycle today.....

Petrol here in NZ has gone over $2.00 a litre which is no surprise really since the writings been on the wall for ages. At the same time I've been getting an increasing number of folk I know around town saying to me, 'That trike of yours is just so perfect for getting around on Annie.'
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa276/Sianelleofavelorn/AnniesHerculesTrike-1.jpg?t=1209519407
This morning one of my friends from church was telling me that her very environmentally conscious daughters have been in her ear about my tricycle and how they're always delighted when they see me out and about on it up the township. I do have access to a car as my elderly Mum kept her car once she gave up driving, but on those times I do take it out it just gets soooooooooo annoying with having to park it and get in and out of the thing (I have a disability) that I end up wishing that I left it at home :mad:
Later on the same morning I was walking alongside my tricycle on the footpath because I just like to sometimes, when a group of kids went by on bicycles and enquired of me, 'What do you want to walk for if you got a tricycle?' Funny really, - I suppose I would've wondered the same thing when I was their age, - but the fact is I do just like to walk sometimes and if I get tired I can get back on my tricycle and ride again. People do sometimes offer me lifts in their cars (people I know that is) because they think it would be easier for me than walking or bicycling/tricycling, but I nearly always refuse because it's just nicer and more peaceful getting around under my own steam. Getting in and out of a car is too uncomfortable for me and passive sitting makes my joints and muscles hurt. Besides when sitting in a car I'm sure I can feel the calcium leaching out of my bones and fat cells trying to start new colonies under the skin on my tummy. As for sitting in a car in treacle-like traffic it's just sooooooo boring. I wonder how may folk wish they could have all those stationary car sitting hours back when they're on their death bed.
I've had a bad patch with my health, but I'm looking forward to building another tricycle this Winter once the rainy season gets here and working in the garden is impossible. Far too many amazing ideas are whizzing around inside my head distracting me from working up a proper design yet, but despite that I'm sure that I'll be able to come up with something useful ;):rolleyes::)

http://www.steamtraction.com/issues/1977/issues/1977-05-01/images/IMA_V32_I3_May_1977_19-5.jpg

Your trike looks absolutely wonderful: stable and very comfortable. I have a question for you, though: Since it's a trike, it takes up a bit more lane than a regular two-wheeled bike would. How do motorists respond to a vehicle that's both slower than theirs, yet still wide enough to take up most of a lane? I ask this question because, where I live, there's a bit of traffic, and the only reason car drivers can handle the ever-larger number of bikes is because they're narrow and fairly easy to maneuver around.

Also, what's the hub on the right wheel for? Lights?

People do sometimes offer me lifts in their cars (people I know that is) because they think it would be easier for me than walking or bicycling/tricycling, but I nearly always refuse because it's just nicer and more peaceful getting around under my own steam. Getting in and out of a car is too uncomfortable for me and passive sitting makes my joints and muscles hurt. Besides when sitting in a car I'm sure I can feel the calcium leaching out of my bones and fat cells trying to start new colonies under the skin on my tummy. As for sitting in a car in treacle-like traffic it's just sooooooo boring.

I've experienced something like this when I get in a car... you feel suddenly claustrophobic, like your feet are trapped. When it starts moving, you wonder why there's no wind in your face and I start kind of gasping for air. When I think of possibly having to travel for an hour or more in this position, I get a little panicky.

Your trike looks absolutely wonderful: stable and very comfortable. I have a question for you, though: Since it's a trike, it takes up a bit more lane than a regular two-wheeled bike would. How do motorists respond to a vehicle that's both slower than theirs, yet still wide enough to take up most of a lane? I ask this question because, where I live, there's a bit of traffic, and the only reason car drivers can handle the ever-larger number of bikes is because they're narrow and fairly easy to maneuver around.

Also, what's the hub on the right wheel for? Lights?

Although the question wasn't directed toward me, I feel I can answer as I have a (non-electric) trike as well and have ridden it for about four years now when I am doing shopping, hauling stuff, etc. One of my first observations when riding it was how much more space motorists gave me. Due to the width (and really, it's not even twice the width a single rider takes up as the rear wheels are only marginally wider than one's legs), they seem to see me as bigger than I really am and avoid sharing the lane with me (which is illegal anyway). By far, it's the safest bike I own and I use it especially in poor weather both because of its' stability and the comfort zone it affords me.

Yes exactly TOCyclist :) Because it's a tricycle drivers tend to treat it far more like a vehicle than they would a bicycle and as a result are much more respectful about not trying to share the lane. I think the other thing is too that most folk associate tricycles with being a disability vehicle, - which in my case it is, - and are much more patient as a result. Stability is a major factor in my choosing to ride a tricycle and the other reason is that I'm able to carry surprisingly large loads with it as well.
In case anybody is wondering I've set things up so I can mount either a wire mesh highsided body or a wickerwork hamper over the rear wheels.

Bragi, - the large alloy hub is a 250watt electric hub motor which I find to be ideal for my purpose as I use it to provide pedal assistance, not stand alone propulsion. However in high gear (two speed Sachs hub) with me pedalling hard and with the throttle wide open my tricycle does have a good rate of acceleration should I need it.

Gerv, - you hit the nail on the head :) On my tricycle I feel free, - in a car it's nasty, passive and claustrophobic.