Song (Cover): Fantasy
Original Group: Earth Wind and Fire
Performing Group: Leonid & Friends
The reason I will be duplicating some of my articles from my other blog:
The Three Wheeled Philosopher...
what I say there has much bearing on aging and living well.
I am preparing and testing my equipment in preparation
to towing my mother on longer and steeper terrain
in her wheeled palanquin with my recumbent trike.
Plus...
the recumbent trike is the perfect on and off road pedal vehicle
for the elderly.
It provides great exercise...
and as it is so much fun...
you will exercise far more often.
Many elderly people are now triking...
and I highly recommend it.
_________________________________
On this night...
it was hovering just above freezing...
about 33 degrees F (just above 0 degrees C)...
and so...
it was a perfect night to test out my cold weather gear.
I also wanted to test out the handling characteristics of my trike at higher speeds...
as well as the battery drain, as I not only used power assist...
but pure throttle without even pedaling uphill...
on a much longer and much steeper incline.
I went much farther down the mountain than I had gone so far.
In total...
it was well over two miles (about 4 kilometers)...
and all of it downhill and then back up.
Everything worked perfectly.
I felt as if I were riding into a night that was pure fantasy.
The only things that were even remotely cold were my eyeballs.
I even had to pull down the balaclava at one point on the way up
to cool my face some.
I wore sweat clothes under a snow bib and then a snow parka...
a balaclava, beanie, and warm insulated suede gloves.
The total cost for all of my cold weather gear was just over $100...
as I bought them during their Black Friday sales on Amazon.
They are also all water resistant...
and toasty warm, even in sub zero conditions.
I just set my headlight to the medium setting as it is plenty good at that setting.
Just getting ready to start my trip down the mountain.
You can see my 30 AH battery just in front of the rear wheel.
I specifically got a much larger battery to ensure I would not
run out of power, as I knew I would be towing my mother on long
bike paths in the future.
The typical battery is 17 AH.
Plus...
I got the largest wattage motor one may use while still remaining in class 2...
it supplies much more torque.
My elder sister followed behind in her car as I rode.
I went over 30 MPH (over 48 KPH) on the long stretch down hill...
and even with that speed of wind in my face...
I wasn't the slightest bit cold anywhere other than my eyeballs :)
My brakes worked perfectly...
without undue grabbing or fading...
and although my steering is indirect...
and so...
much more sensitive to input than is direct steering...
it handled well, as it takes just a slight nudge to initiate a turn.
And, yes...
the little boy in me felt as if I were a fighter pilot racing earthward
as I zoomed down the mountain :)
The turnaround point at a park well down the mountain.
I put on an underside light to give a more full picture of my trike at night for drivers on the road.
I am thinking of adding turn signals to my trike in the future...
and perhaps a lighted wand protruding up a few feet from the rear of the seat.
I was getting ready for my trip back up the mountain in the above picture.
You can just see my elder sister in the background.
On the way back up...
I tried different levels of power assist...
as well as going up the mountain with just the power of the motor using the throttle.
I had modified the power profile of the throttle to 19 MPH...
so as to keep my trike as a class two e bike, so I may ride regular bike trails.
Just by using the options on the bike computer...
the modification is easy.
On the way up hill...
I could stay at 15 MPH on just throttle...
but I could go faster on level ground...
or if I used level 5 power assist with pedaling.
I only had to pull down my balaclava after a while going uphill...
to allow my face to cool down some while pedaling.
Had the trip been longer...
I probably would have unzipped my parka
to allow my body to cool some...
but I was perfectly fine on this trip.
The uphill portion was rather steep...
so my battery drain in total was about 10 percent...
and I used pure throttle for a lot of it...
as I wanted to see the total power drain percentage
at the highest rate of drain.
It was a beautiful ride...
and from the info gathered here...
I won't need to test the uphill portion at Lake Tahoe.
We may just all go as I may tow my mother in her wheeled palanquin
without worry...
as not only is the gradient a much lower percentage...
but we will be going at a much slower speed...
and I will just use pedal assist for the inclined portion...
and not pure throttle.
I am having a blast triking...
what a ride.
I know on the many nearby forested trails...
it will be even more of a fantasy ride.
I can hardly wait.
To get exercise while riding among the trees, lakes, and rivers...
and with distant mountain views...
and all in perfect comfort...
is the best of all worlds.
And to be able to give my mother a great view from her palanquin...
and in great comfort as I tow her...
and with the rest of us going on these fantasy rides together...
is to share memories...
and so...
to truly live life.
For senior citizens...
a recumbent trike with e drive...
is the perfect combination to get exercise
while enjoying the great outdoors.
It doesn't matter if you have balance issues...
have arthritis...
or any of the many maladies which slows us down.
With a power assist trike...
it gives you much needed exercise with the freedom
of the trails.
You may keep up with anyone else on the trails...
while staying in the appropriate exercise zone for your fitness level...
as you constantly improve that level by not using power assist
until you get enough exercise.
I cannot express enough...
the value for fitness and wellbeing that
an e drive recumbent trike will give you.
You won't fear long grinding rides uphill...
or long distances...
and so...
you will regain the freedom you feared had been long lost.
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