Week #26 2018 – ‘ere we go, ‘ere we go, ‘ere we go !

Quote of the week from somewhere in the netverse :

Never engage recumbent cyclists in conversation about their outlandish machines. They’re referred to as ‘bents’ for good reason. They’ll extol the virtues of their bicycles until your eyes glaze over. You’ll wish that, like a muskrat, you could gnaw off a limb in order to escape.

Sorry dear readers, I will try to keep the evangelical recumbent nonsense to a minimum.

Only a bit of riding this week as we work to ready the caravan, car and kit for sailing on Sunday.

For the up-coming trip Oscar will remain in Longford so we will have more room !  It also means we can both go in Cafes, shops, Art Galleries and dog unfriendly caravan parks rather than one sitting outside in the cold with the dog.  A good solution all round.

Our house sitter will be visiting on Saturday to find out how everything works.  There is not much else to sort out!

I have been wondering for a while how the trike and I would fare on River Road.  It is a regular Friday ride using what we (tongue-in-cheek) ‘Bent’ riders term Diamond Frame bikes and I know how I go on them so .. how would the Anura go?  I decided to find out.

River Road on YouTube

Result.  Slower on hills (that’s a given) but it cruised well enough up slight hills and along the flats.  I will ride the road again on Friday on the DF and will compare the average speeds from both rides expecting the DF / Tony combo to be 2-3 ks faster.

Why does the chain come off the front ring?  Don’t know as yet.  It has happened 3 times now, all after a speedy descent during which I have pedalled like a washing machine on spin cycle in top gear.  The chain passes through poly tubing guides and maybe these move just enough to change the chain path.  Anyway chain resetting is clean and easy so it’s not a major issue.

Friday.  River Road again this time on Vivente.  Yes, it is quicker than the trike and the average speeds showed it.  Trike : 13.7 kph.  Vivente : 16.3 kph.  With both rides I rode comfortably not trying to produce the fastest time ever.  On Friday the drive to Deloraine was wet but, as I approached the town, the clouds started to lift.  For the return leg of River Road the sun lit up the trees which were showing plenty of colour as they were still wet.

Well, didn’t really get the colours but I think it gets the atmosphere.  The bike is at the middle bottom for scale.

I am ready for the Capital City Trail around Melbourne next week.  The route has been downloaded into the phone from Ride with GPS, the day is planned, let’s hope for good weather.

Total for week :   42 k            Total for year :  2,674 k       

Vivente :   22 k                     Brompton :    1 k                  Anura : 19 k

Author: antc1946

Born in 1946 I learnt to cycle about 10 years later. On a bike with rods connecting brake levers to the brakes - anyone remember those? I emigrated to Australia (from the UK) in 1974 and moved to Tasmania in 1984. Bicycles were in my life for most of that time although sometimes they were replaced by motorised two wheels for a bit more excitement. On reaching 70 I decided to stick to pedal power but in 2019 an electric recumbent made an appearance. it's now 2023 and I have 3 bikes. 2 e-recumbents and the Brompton. View all posts by antc1946