I felt a little weak over the weekend, but Monday I felt good enough to ride. Tuesday I felt worse. I was a little loopy, like one gets sometimes from antihistamines. My neck was a little stiff as well, and I had some sensation in my sinuses...not quite pain. I was hoping it was allergies. My wife thought it might be high blood pressure...my BP has been creeping up a little lately. wdnesday I woke up feeling just fine, but I usually drive on Wednesdays so I can drive up north for improv practice after work.

So I was determined to ride today. I woke feeling fine and fit. It was supposed to rain al day so I rode the main commuter and brought the big bag with my rain cape/poncho. The ride in was 37F and slightly misty and damp, but no falling rain. The trails were practically empty and it it felt great to ride. I was a little worried about the 60 yards of gravel on the trail to trail route because of all the recent rain. The first underpass by my home was flooded as usual. The drain has never worked right since they built it 20 years ago. But in our dry climate it's usually noit an issue. The gravel section had enough dry area to squeek past the surprisingly few puddles.

It rained all day and was still raining when I left. It was 42F and the underpasses by the office were full of homeless people, which under the rainy circumstances is understandable. The gravel sections were not too bad either. There was a slight wind coming against me and the rain cape, draped over the handlebars in front of me magnified the force of the breeze. Eventually the rain stopped and I removed the cape and tucked it away. But a mile from the house the rain picked up and I donned the cape once more. My pants had gotten a little damp in the few minutes before I put the cape back on, but by the time I got home, my pants were dry again. One of the benefits of living in a dry climate...and it also shows how having the cape up and off my lower body helps keep me cool and dry in the rain out here.

The bike computer showed a total ride time of 42 minutes which is a few minutes longer than I expected, but it's not a GPS unit and perhaps it was slow to kick-off during my stops at the two traffic lights and when I changed out of and back into the cape...or maybe I justled the bike enough to keep it running.

It's a Lectric XP Trike 2.

The folding is mostly to facilitate shipping, though it does get shorter in length when folded. For the front to fold inside the rear wheel, the front wheel & fender need to be removed. The front wheel comes off with a through axle and the front fender comes off with (4) allen bolts that are pretty easy to get to. It should fit in the back of my CR-V and maybe my wife's HR-V.

I'm happy with it so far. My wife is getting used to it. Compared to a bike, it feels like it wants to throw me off of it on the outside of the turns at first, because our centripetal force is not directed diagonally down into the ground, but straight sideways. She's learning to lean into the turns.

I started an ongoing review thread on it here, if you want to keep an eye on things:
https://ebikesforum.com/threads/lect...16/#post-75047

The thing they don't talk much about in the advertising is that it's a single speed, in exchange for being RWD with differential. It's geared for a comfortable cadence at 10-12 mph. For getting up to that speed, the electric assistance is appreciated. Going beyond that speed has the rider ghost pedaling or being a throttle jockey. 10-12 mph is a comfortable speed on this, and it will do it forEVER.

I have a rear wheel wobble I'm looking into. It might be as simple as an axle not being pushed in far enough or something might've been bent in shipping. We'll see.

An unpowered commute on the Vektron. The forecast showed low 40s all day, but it felt warmer.

I'm going to pamper my legs on the way home by using the electric boost; I want to keep the legs fresh for the Seeds & Stones Roubaix gravel race I'm doing tomorrow.

I lost three days of riding this week to rain, but I'm not willing yet to carry rain gear like Bobby.

48F, bright but hazy - nice mountain if you squint - work lunch at golf club so leaving at 11:30 to ride there, then home afterwards, should be in the 70s by then yay



ps our annual countywide May Bike Commuter Contest was years and years and years ago renamed Bike Commuter Challenge to make it less competitive and more inclusive which I am AOK with but after covid (when there was a big plunge in biking to work due to teleworking taking off) it changed to Bike Community Challenge and they tally all miles ridden, and bike-to-work-day is rebranded bike anywhere day, which I don't love as much

I had a big, multi-location video shoot today with an early start, and no lunch break until after 2 pm so I played it safe and drove. I'm sorry I did, because it had snowed above 7000ft last night here in Colorado Springs and the foothills and front range were spectacular and sharp in the morning sun! Here is the Olympic and Paralympic Museum, which isn't on any regular bike commute route I take, but on my usual car commute route.



Pikes Peak is in the shadows and partially obscured up above the center of the museum. From this angle it is about even in height with the peak in the forefront directly to the left of Pikes Peak. The streets (and I assume trails) were wet, but snow free as was most of the city below 7000 ft.

For shoots that span the lunch hours I take oatmeal bars, nuts and a thermos of Yerba Mate for caffeine, although the medical offices we visited had a incredible Ethiopian light roast coffee that I couldn't resist...and I managed to avoid heartburn!

BTW, the red and white radio tower just to the right of the lamp post on the left is the one the one that sits 20 yards outside my office door. It's about a mile and a quarter from where I took this photo.