Catching up: Eco Trip 2008 - Day 1

I can't begin to tell you about recent events without first bringing you up to date with where I left off. The first thing I should comment on is the Eco Trip I participated in.

For the first time (hopefully not the last!) I participated in the annual cyclists' Eco Trip (nowadays known as Lowride). The plan was to meet in Hämeenlinna on the Thursday morning and then ride to our base at Pappilanniemi, Sääksmäki (N61° 11.250 E024° 03.813). From there we would do day trips to various places.

I decided to take the train to H'linna, and went to book my seat a week before the trip.

I knew I would have to book a place for the trike too, but I didn't expect I would have to reserve 2 places for it! They thought it was so wide that it would be too tight if there were three cycles in the bike space!

When I arrived at the station in good time for my train, there was the same lady in the ticket office, so I popped in to say hello and that "now it begins". She was able to check and see that the remaining bicycle space was reserved! I might have guessed it would be another recumbent rider heading for the Eco Trip (but I didn't!). It turned out to be Markku, who was sitting immediately behind me on the journey, so we were able to chat a bit!

When we arrived at the meeting point (a big roomy car park not far from the station) there were already a lot of participants getting their cycles ready and more were arriving. Many were just standing around chatting and comparing machines. Five Russians arrived by car with their upright bikes on the roof, which they unloaded and started putting together. Theirs were the only uprights in the whole group of around 30 participants.

Eventually on no prearranged signal some riders just took off, and were on their way, while the rest of us hurried to follow them, with the result that from the word go (which nobody gave!) we were a very stretched out bunch. I particularly wanted to keep the guy in front of me in my sights, as I was unsure of the route. I soon found myself riding with another trike enthusiast, Mårten, whose machine was also made in England, but by a different manufacturer from mine. We found ourselves on the east side of the lake, with a good view of Hämeenlinna castle on the other side. Passing through Aulanko we continued via Hattula to Iittala, where we were scheduled to stop for refreshments. On the way I was able to find 2 railway station caches and one 0 km cache.

A beer and a sandwich (or was it coffee?) did wonders, and again the fast riders took off without as much as a 'See you there'! After some time (not many hours!) we rolled into Pappilanniemi and found our rooms. I ended up sharing with Mårten which was good because we had more in common than I would have had with many of the others on two wheels. I've no idea how many kilometres we did that first day, nor do I remember how long it took us to do the ride, but it was nothing too tiring.

Disaster strikes!

Well, not so drastically, but bad enough in one way. To explain: in the spring my employer was looking for smaller premises. After shortlisting three, one was chosen, and we were due to move there in early August. I was on holiday in July, so my first day back at work happened to be the same day we moved into the new premises.

It turned out that the new place is only 5 minutes' walk from my home - saves me a lot of travelling time, but now I can't trike to work! I no longer have a reason to get Beaatrice out daily! There's certainly no point getting her out, just to go 300 metres to the office!

Trike descent on film!

Wednesday afternoon after work I went to the park, and despite the heat wave we're having, I triked up the hill to prepare for the exciting downhill ride that I've been planning to video. At last I've done it - did it twice in fact: after doing the ride and filming it, I went back up and did it again!

Here's the result.



Pity the camera can't handle the change of light, from the darker part under the trees to the bright sun by the road. The bend before leaving the park was tricky, one-handed and at speed!

The weakest link?

I went for a ride this afternoon. I was taking a bend to join another path in the park, when the cogs jammed, and I couldn't turn the pedals. At first I didn't know what had happened. Then I noticed the black upper chain tube jammed up on the front chain ring. I could pull it back a bit, but it took a while before I noticed what was stopping it: one of the chain link plates had come off at one end, and it was sticking through the tube!

I immediately had visions of me pushing it all the way home, but I got out my toolkit, tipped her on her side and managed to get the chain free from the tube. I was wishing I'd taken the chain link tool with me! Luckily I had a pair of pliers, and with some effort I managed to get the plate back in place sufficiently to enable me to ride. I decided it'd be safer to head for home than continue to where I'd planned to ride, in case it happened again with worse consequences.

When I got back I found the same link, and put the link tool on it and tightened it up, or made sure it was securely in place. Now I think I'm ready for a longer ride tomorrow (taking a winter holiday day off, if the weather is favourable), but I'll certainly be taking the link tool with me!

Advantages in being close to the ground

I was coming up the hill on my way home the other day, in my right place, the cycle part of the pavement, next to a row of bushes. At that slow speed and being close to the ground (compared to an upright bike) you're able to see all sorts, but I didn't expect to see a little Finnkino cinema ticket holder lying in the undergrowth. I pulled it out, and sure enough, there were two so-called company tickets inside, valid until the end of May! These can be traded in for real tickets for any Finnkino film. So last night my dear lady and I had an evening out at the movies. Nice!

Taking the long way home

Tuesday was such a nice day that after work I decided to make a detour instead of going home by the shortest route. Heading roughly northeast, I reached the park, and turned in a more northerly direction, arriving at the same destination as on my No day off.

Most of the snow has gone, but there was still a ski track circuit passing close to the café there, obviously maintained by the local authorities, and quite a number of skiers still making the most of it (I'd already hung my skis up long ago!).

The paths in the park on my way home were mostly snow-free, if a bit soft in places where there was run-off from snow melting beside the path, and once or twice a patch of rough snow to plough through. Apart from that it was a very enjoyable ride!

Missed a day - but made up for it the next!

I had a day of rest on Saturday (10th), but when during Sunday morning the weather brightened up and the clouds cleared away, I couldn't resist the thought of a ride with Beaatrice.

I thought I'd head northeast first, on the same route as to the airport for light aircraft, where I've triked a couple of times in the autumn. Then I'd take the road east, to a suburb where my friends M and K live (names changed to protect identity).

The going was good in places, but there's still some grit on some pavements from when we had ice and snow, and they haven't got round to clearing it all away. Where it had been cleared, it was a refreshing change from the constant noise it makes as it rattles round with the tyres, under the mudguards. It even flies in all directions, so it's a good thing I've got goggles!

When I reached my destination, M and K weren't home! M was visiting friends just up the road, and K was on afternoon shift. Some other time, then. I could have rung first before I left home, but it made a nice round trip anyway, as I made my way home on the main eastern artery leading into town. Well, not literally on it, as bikes aren't allowed (unless they have a motor!) but on smaller roads and streets, however I could find my way in the general direction of the centre.

It was quite a long trip, almost all in one go (without a decent break for a rest and regain some energy, which I would have got if M and K had been home), and by the time I got home my legs felt like they'd had enough!

It just ain't natural!

Thursday evening, being well recovered from my flu, I decided to resume visits to the local gym. With the gym being only half a km away, it was too short a ride to do on the trike (and anyway I wouldn't want to risk leaving it parked outside the place for any length of time), I decided to go on my old DF (diamond frame) bike. I hadn't ridden it for over 3 months, and as I set off, it felt really awkward, sitting so high up in that upright position, leaning over to the handlebars and trying to steer in a straight line. I wasn't used to having to keep my balance. I almost felt clumsy!

I did my stuff in the gym, keeping it short for this first time after almost 3 weeks' break, mounted my rusty steed and headed for home. I feel I could never go back full time to what feels like such an unnatural riding position.

Hola hombre!

I think it was Tuesday afternoon, I'd just started down the street from work when I passed a somewhat familiar-looking pedestrian heading for the train. He thought I looked familiar too, as he stopped and turned, just as I had. (I don't know how he recognised me in my disguise, goggles and all!) Sure enough it was J, whom I hadn't seen for going on for 3 years! We had a brief chat, and I invited him to try the trike, which he found fun, and he took my picture with his mobile (must have been a good one, as the picture turned out quite good).

As you can see, we still have some snow about, but it's unlikely to stay for much longer. I'm just looking forward to when the temperature no longer drops below freezing, so I can switch back to 'summer tyres', and hopefully by then all the grit will have been swept up off the pavements. (Yes, that's an old dish-washing brush on the back, handy for removing excess snow in rougher weather!)

No day off for Triker!

Saturday 3rd brought temperatures hovering just above freezing, and it being so mild compared to earler, I was very tempted to get out on the trike for pleasure, for a change (as opposed to using it for commuting to work). (So much for taking a break from it!)

I decided to avoid the paths in the park, as the snow on them would probably be softening, and would make the going very heavy. Instead I took to the pavements of our local streets, past the ice rink and headed north. I took a diagonal left turn, thinking I'd that way do one side of a triangle instead of two. I didn't exactly get lost, but probably ended up doing more than three sides of a triangle after all, as I tried to find my way through to the road I needed to be on!

Despite a gentle snowfall, I kept going and eventually made it to my destination, a well-known sports centre on the edge of the park about 6 kilometres from home. I like that trip because there's a café where I can rest and have something to eat with tea or coffee, and watch the skiers making the best of a bad job on the wet ski tracks.

The next day I again couldn't resist going out for a ride, although a day's rest might have done me good! In the afternoon I rode over to T's place, about three kilometres away. Again it was trying to snow, but it was wet stuff, and didn't amount to anything of any consequence. He asked me in for a cup of tea, after he and his daughter had a short test ride and he took a couple of pictures.

Cobbles!

The snowfall we had earlier in the week didn't amount to much, but it was enough to create the effect of cobblestones on the pavements where hundreds of pedestrians had walked, so riding the trike over that was a bit rough, to say the least. Where suitable, I switched to the road/street, and let the traffic sort itself out around me.

The zero Celsius temperatures we had later in the week meant that the going was rather wet, and I had to make detours of large puddles, or slow down enough not to splash when going through them if I couldn't go round them.

The great thing is that at last when I leave home in the mornings it's daylight, and it's still daylight when I leave work! Great that the days are getting longer!

At one point on my way home there's a busy intersection, and after crossing it there's a gentle uphill. As I make my way up it, there's often a queue of traffic waiting at those lights, and I get curious looks and smiles from drivers and passengers, and even bus drivers wave to me! Trikes are still such a rare sight here. It's amazing how traffic will stop for me at pedestrian crossings, most likely because of their curiosity (if I were on a DF bike they wouldn't, they'd make me wait!).

Extreme cold (and flu!) stopped Triker (but only temporarily!)

A couple of weeks ago the temperature here dropped below minus 20 Celsius, too cold for any sane cyclist (or trike cyclist) to get on the pedals and out into the (very) fresh air! A bout of flu also knocked Triker out of his recumbent seat and into bed for a few days. But today dawned milder than for a long time, and with the flu shaken off, he got back in the driving seat and made it to work like he'd never missed a day!

I'm still catching up with past events (as it's still a bit cold for pleasure rides), but I'm hoping to add more stories here soon!

More background - first impressions

When I ordered my trike, I thought at first it’s a lot of money to spend on a bike/trike. After putting it together I soon realised it’s not just a tricycle! It’s a much nicer ride than a diamond frame (DF) or upright bike, and much better for many reasons. Although the type of bike one rides is always the individual's choice, unless you've tried a recumbent, you can't know what you are missing!

As I mentioned earlier, I first tried a short ride on a 2-wheeler recumbent over two years ago. I was on my way home on my DF, and caught up with a guy on a recumbent on his way to work, got talking to him about his bent, when he said 'Wanna try it?' So I did, for about 300 yards of pavement to his works entrance. I was hooked from that first moment! Since then the idea of one day owning one myself had remained dormant, until the summer of 2006. I don't remember what caused it to resurface. I somehow found my way to lots of websites of manufacturers, riders' archives and blogs, and eventually decided I'd get a recumbent trike. I remember deciding on three wheels, because of the icy conditions here in autumn and spring (not to mention winter, because I hadn't seriously considered riding in winter before - now I know that I'm much safer on 3 wheels than on 2). Another criterion was that it had to be foldable, so that I could get it in the car and take with me.

That's what I did a couple of weeks after building it. I took the trike to my brother-in-law's, where they all tried it and liked it. The three daughters enjoyed riding it too - almost couldn't stop the youngest! My mother-in-law even tried it, and she's in her 80s!

I’ve been riding my trike to work since it was ready to ride (early October). The only time I've used my old bike was when I went on a ride with my son, so that we could swap machines for him to enjoy the recumbent ride too!

Lunch used to be the highlight of the day (at work). Not any more! My two daily rides put lunch in third place!

Three wheels on my wagon

Yes, that's right, I've got three wheels under me, and it doesn't matter how slippery it is here in winter, on a three-wheeled recumbent tricycle you can't fall off (or over) unless you take a bend too fast (which I haven't yet)! It's what they call an HPV (human-powered vehicle).

Drop by here any time, to see how I'm getting on with Beaatrice, as I christened my new Trice QNT, shortly after she was delivered. I intend this blog to reflect the fun and adventures that my new hobby rewards me with. Cycling had never been as much fun before! (I may from time to time describe other events, or discuss other topics I feel strongly about, anything I feel I'd like to share with others.)

To put things into perspective:
It was maybe a little over 2 years ago that I tried a recumbent (bent) bike when I met a guy on his way to work in our neighbourhood. I was surprised how easy it was to ride (e.g. balance was no problem) and I found it to be a most enjoyable and satisfying way to ride a bike. One feels very 'laid back' in the seat of a bent!

Beaatrice was given production number 6344. She was the 344th trike to be manufactured in 2006. She gets her name from those numbers, which look like letters in certain fonts (similar to car registration numbers), with the word 'TRICE' added on, appropriately, that being the name of this model.

She arrived at the beginning of October, 2006, and after a couple of evenings putting her together, I've ridden her to work almost daily ever since.