When you're too busy to Trikke...

The month of August came and I was waist-deep in three projects that all had deadlines that needed to be met by the end of summer vacation. I bet I didn't get on the Trikke more than 8 or 10 hours the whole month and the early part of September has been packed with trying to finish my classroom. I am a teacher and moved my program over the summer to a different part of the school. It was a tremendous task and I am still getting things right. Consequently, I am going in early and staying late, thereby cutting into my Trikke time even more.

I have gotten out two out of the last three days so I am feeling less slug-like. I can really tell that I have slacked off my routine as I am feeling thicker and slower. That's going to change. I am going to commit to getting back out there at least every day or two. I'm looking forward to Trikking in the fall foliage.

When it's too wet to Trikke...

It rained most of the day. No Trikking today. Tomorrow, I have obligations until evening. But, by then the chance of rain should be minimal and I will be out on my Trikke again. Night Trikking! It's always cooler and if there are no clouds, I will be able to stargaze as I ride. I love the feel of the wind in my face as I roll down the road and enjoy the evening sky. I wonder what the moon will be like tomorrow night. Today I spent time cleaning my house and working out on my favorite inside exercise machine, the Gazelle. I've had it for years and it's my machine of choice for inside. I have yet to do a winter of Trikking but I imagine that the Trikke can be used in the cold weather unless it is raining or snowing. (I know, there is a Trikke for snow but I think I will stick to pavement for now). In the colder weather it's just going to be a matter of dressing for the weather and I would think that dressing in layers would be the best method. One certainly would not have to worry much about getting cold. The Trikke is such a good workout that I should be able to generate all the heat that I need. I think winter Trikking could be very exhilarating!

I'm back...

I've been away. First I was travelling and then when I did get back home I had deadlines on two projects that I had to attend to before anything else. Yesterday and today were the first times in August that I have been on my Trikke. When I had a broken rear wheel and I couldn't ride until I got the new air tire from Trikke, I was going crazy. I had the time and the inclination, but not a working Trikke. In this case, I was just too busy meeting deadlines to make time for Trikking. Now that I have the time to Trikke again, I decided that I also had the time to blog about Trikking.

The first part of my travels included a visit to Buellton, California to meet with the people at Trikke Tech. I spent part of a morning talking with John Simpson (Trikke's CEO) and Rachael Morehouse (Managing Director of Operations and the person in charge of School Programs). I even got to meet Gildo Beleski (inventor of the Trikke and holder of 2 patents on the Trikke). I rode a T-8, a T-12 and tried out a tribred. While I was there I picked up a brake cable (which was covered under Trikke's 12 month warrenty) and bought a spare tire, tube and the paddles for changing the tire. All in all it was a very informative and productive meeting. I look forward to working with Trikke.

What a beautiful night...

I love Night Trikking. I was out for an hour and a half this morning, but by 12:30 pm it was getting hot outside. I went out again from 10 to 11 pm this evening and it was absolutely beautiful. It was much cooler and I could stargaze if I wanted to. There were a few white clouds passing overhead which were very pretty to look at in the moonlight. As usual, there were very few moving cars to think about and the couple I did share the road with had their headlights on so were very easy to spot and accomodate for long before they were anywhere near me.

Trikking with the air wheels on the rear is quite different than the poly wheels. With the polys, I always could hear a swoosh swoosh and rattle rattle as I went down the street. With the air wheels on, it is so quiet. It's like having a stealth Trikke. The air wheels of course go right over the surface imperfections like rocks and sticks and cracks that caused the poly wheels trouble. That is very nice. I can also get more momentum going so that I can go uphill easier. I think that I was just being cheap by running the poly wheels down to the nub. In retrospect, I think the front wheel should be replaced as soon as there is cord showing and the poly wheels should be replaced when they are about half worn (you could rotate them to get a little extra usage). Of course you might do what Pete did and just replace the poly wheels when you realize that the terrain you are rolling over is too rough to not have the air wheels. One thing about riding on the road in Trikke Heaven, it is pretty flat and has few significant imperfections in it's surface. Now the new path in the park (which will probably be finished this week) is smooth and wide and much nicer to ride on so I ride less on the road (except for Night Trikking because of the street lights on the road).

Brake issue...

It turned out that while adjusting the brake cable after I moved the brake mechanism to accomodate the 8 " wheels, two of the wire strands in the cable broke which was followed by more breaking. This resulted in wires rubbing on the tire (which I couldn't have) so I had to remove the brake assembly on that side. What a pain. I don't feel that I did anything wrong when I was adjusting the cable tension and the cable was lying in the channel like it was supposed to. Two of the strands just broke which started the breakdown of the cable. I've only had my Trikke for about 5 months so I am unhappy with this. I wonder if it's under warrenty. I'll have to check. Anyway, perhaps this is another reason to go for the T-8 rather than the T-78cs as you wouldn't have to change the brake setup and risk a cable breaking.

Be that as it may, I am back on my Trikke and having a great time. I met another Trikker named Pete. Hi Pete. He got his Trikke last Thanksgiving and apparently has a number of regular paths that he likes to go to (including my neighborhood). It's nice to see another Trikker out there.

Changing from 7" poly wheels to air tires...

The tires finally came today and I switched the new wheels onto my Trikke. When I was putting the new 8 1/2 " wheels on, I thought the hardest part was moving the brake setup. Before you start, you should loosen the brake cable to take the tension off of the brake. You have to move the springs to the last little hole and then thread the bolt through the springs and through the last big holes in the frame. The bolt goes through the big hole and the end of the spring goes through the little hole next to it. After I got the wheels on, I went out and had them inflated to 80 psi as recommended. I then came home and went Trikking. By this time I had gone into Trikke withdrawal. After checking out the new path in the park, I have to report that I am very happy with the new paved path. It is about 60% finished to Duke St. I imagine that the work will be finished soon and then I'll have more than 1/2 mile to ride on with a lot of ups and downs which I have to say makes it a little more interesting and challenging.

I am having trouble with the brake adjustment though. I get it set and the wheels are spinning freely but if I apply the brakes a couple of times, it isn't adjusted properly anymore and the brakes drag. I'll readjust it in the morning and tighten them down really well. The brake cable must be slipping a little.

The waiting is killing me...

After my last post I went out Trikking and soon felt a bump bump under my right foot. I stopped and looked and found that the right rear tire had worn completely out and separated. I haven't been able to get on my Trikke since monday morning and it is driving me crazy! The new air wheels are supposed to come tomorrow. In the meantime, they are continuing to make a new, wide path across the street in the park that I am just itching to try out.

As far as the T-78cs and how it has worked out for me, I am very happy. I wonder if Trikke recommends the T-78 as the model to learn on just as a marketing strategy to keep the price at $250 rather than $300. It probably worked with me. Once you are hooked on Trikking to the point that you miss being on the Trikke, you are very willing to pony up the additional $50. After you have upgraded to the air wheels, replacing those wheels is less than $9 each. I'll probably go through a set of wheels several times a year. What fun I'll have in the process! And I will have gotten the Trikke body I want to create.