Introduction to Recumbents

[kmehrzad]

Kathy,

Do you ever have problems with "recumbent butt"? Years ago, I had a Tour Easy (with a fairing!) and really enjoyed it, but I got wicked recumbent butt (really a fatigued feeling that is hard to define) on longer rides. It was also heavy (38 lbs, I believe!) and tough on hills for a small gal, so I ultimately traded it in and went back to an upright. Sometimes I do think of giving a recumbent a try again, though; they sure are fun, especially on the flats!

Emily,

I believe the Tour Easy did give me recumbent butt as well as numb hands/fingers. It's all in the positioning of the handlebars and seat, really. I don't like to be too reclined on my bents yet when you're too upright that's when you have the pressure on the butt. Gotta find the fine line that works best for you. I really LOVED the underseat steering position where my hands were relaxed by my side. On my current bent, the TWIG's steering tube pulls back to a rather comfortable position so that I'm not reaching, however, I haven't tried riding long distances with this bike yet. I need to find a nice, paved trail where I feel safe riding. The feeling of safe riding isn't what I've experienced on Charleston, SC roads or I just haven't found them yet.

Find a nice bike shop that specializes in bents them give them a try. I like Bikes at Vienna in Vienna, VA; Tim, the owner, knows his stuff and they have so many options to try.

Where are you living now? I remember years ago you were in NC then you moved to Costa Rica(?), I think?

Kathy

[emily_in_nc]

Emily,

I believe the Tour Easy did give me recumbent butt as well as numb hands/fingers. It's all in the positioning of the handlebars and seat, really. I don't like to be too reclined on my bents yet when you're too upright that's when you have the pressure on the butt. Gotta find the fine line that works best for you. I really LOVED the underseat steering position where my hands were relaxed by my side. On my current bent, the TWIG's steering tube pulls back to a rather comfortable position so that I'm not reaching, however, I haven't tried riding long distances with this bike yet. I need to find a nice, paved trail where I feel safe riding. The feeling of safe riding isn't what I've experienced on Charleston, SC roads or I just haven't found them yet.

Find a nice bike shop that specializes in bents them give them a try. I like Bikes at Vienna in Vienna, VA; Tim, the owner, knows his stuff and they have so many options to try.

Where are you living now? I remember years ago you were in NC then you moved to Costa Rica(?), I think?

Kathy

Hi Kathy,

We are in Florida at the moment but are living full-time in an RV now, so we have no fixed home base but are following warm weather. :-) We did live in NC, my home state, for many years, moved to Belize, moved back, traveled all over the US, spent a year in Mexico, and have just moved back to the US as of January. We get around.

A 'bent is not currently in the plan for financial reasons (we just bought the RV and lots of stuff to outfit it). I have three bikes I love and am really just musing since sometimes I think I'd like to try a 'bent again. But it probably won't be until we settle down somewhere for a longer time. Right now we are limited in how many bikes we can carry along.

We bought our Tour Easies and a Ryan recumbent tandem we owned years ago, in Mt. Airy, MD (Larry Black). Great selection of "alternative" bikes and good place to test ride!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and info. Perhaps one day I will join you in bent riding again!

[kmehrzad]

Hi Kathy,

We are in Florida at the moment but are living full-time in an RV now, so we have no fixed home base but are following warm weather. :-) We did live in NC, my home state, for many years, moved to Belize, moved back, traveled all over the US, spent a year in Mexico, and have just moved back to the US as of January. We get around.

A 'bent is not currently in the plan for financial reasons (we just bought the RV and lots of stuff to outfit it). I have three bikes I love and am really just musing since sometimes I think I'd like to try a 'bent again. But it probably won't be until we settle down somewhere for a longer time. Right now we are limited in how many bikes we can carry along.

We bought our Tour Easies and a Ryan recumbent tandem we owned years ago, in Mt. Airy, MD (Larry Black). Great selection of "alternative" bikes and good place to test ride!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and info. Perhaps one day I will join you in bent riding again!

Emily,

You're living the good life, so it seems. I'd love to travel around in an RV and when my DH retires, I hope that'll be on our bucket list. I almost made it to FL a couple wks ago to meet up with my photography forum for a photo shoot in the Everglades, however, I caught a cold right before the trip and decided to postpone the trip for when I felt better. I love the Everglades for birding, gator watching and photography in general. Also like to ride the Shark Valley Trail and take pics along the way. If you get down to the glades do consider riding that trail, it's amazing. http://bikeflorida.net/sharkvalley_everglades_trail.htm

Do you own folding bikes for the convenience of transport? I have three folders at the moment (2 Dahons and one Citizen) and used to own a Bike Friday New World Tourist and a Brompton, both which have been sold. My go-to bikes are the Dahons since they're well made, in my opinion, lightweight and very affordable.

I'm familiar with Mt. Airy Bikes, having lived in MD and No VA. In fact I took one of Larry's Tour Easy's out for a test ride along the country roads of Mt. Airy before buying my TE. I'd also done a group ride or two that Larry hosted in Washington, DC -- the Moonlight Monument Ride. It was a fun time as we rode along DC streets on a weeknight, so the streets were fairly quiet, going from monument to monument.

Kathy

[emily_in_nc]

You're living the good life, so it seems. I'd love to travel around in an RV and when my DH retires, I hope that'll be on our bucket list. I almost made it to FL a couple wks ago to meet up with my photography forum for a photo shoot in the Everglades, however, I caught a cold right before the tripand decided to postpone the trip for when I felt better. I love the Everglades for birding, gator watching and photography in general. Also like to ride the Shark Valley Trail and take pics along the way. If you get down to the glades do consider riding that trail, it's amazing. http://bikeflorida.net/sharkvalley_everglades_trail.htm

That sounds nice (well, except for the gators!) We aren't planning on heading south, though. We are parked in a campground in Winter Garden, west of Orlando, and will eventually be heading north from here in a general path towards my mother's home in western NC, to pick up our other bikes and more of our stuff (tools, etc.) that we need in the RV. We will not head that way until it warms up, though; it's been cold for us here! There are great bike trails here: the West Orange Trail and the Lake trail in Lake County (we're very close to the county line so can go in either direction). Lake County even has hills, which was a surprise. Both trails are just gorgeous, well-maintained, wide, and not crowded during the week.

Yes, we are living the good life (OUR good life, wouldn't work for everyone). We get restless if we settle down anywhere for too long, so this works for us for now. We are amazed how many other folks are living nomadically these days, not only in RVs. During our year of travel in the US, we rented condos and homes through VRBO and Airbnb, but that was a bit more difficult as we had to find pet friendly accommodations for our dog AND within our budget, which limited our selection and places we could go quite a bit. Now we have more options.

Do you own folding bikes for the convenience of transport? I have three folders at the moment (2 Dahons and one Citizen) and used to own a Bike Friday New World Tourist and a Brompton, both which have been sold. My go-to bikes are the Dahons since they're well made, in my opinion, lightweight and very affordable.

You have a lot of bikes! We originally bought the Bike Fridays in 2004 to do a self-supported tour in upstate NY, and yes, we wanted them for ease of transport. Since then we've mostly used them as our utility bikes, to haul groceries, etc. And we took them to Mexico and back in their suitcases on the plane. Love them for that! But that was actually the first time we'd flown with them. Before we'd folded them into their soft-sided bag and carried them in our various cars.

I'm familiar with Mt. Airy Bikes, having lived in MD and No VA. In fact I took one of Larry's Tour Easy's out for a test ride along the country roads of Mt. Airy before buying my TE. I'd also done a group ride or two that Larry hosted in Washington, DC -- the Moonlight Monument Ride. It was a fun time as we rode along DC streets on a weeknight, so the streets were fairly quiet, going from monument to monument.

That sounds like a blast!

[kmehrzad]

Actually the gators weren't so bad, they stayed where they were yet it was amazing to see them up close and personal. Ah, so you're in Winter Garden, it's lovely there as well. Really, I don't think you could go wrong with staying anywhere in FL.

So you'll be going back north eventually to pick up some of your things? Good idea to wait til the weather warms up. Nice that you weren't there when they had their recent ice storm. I was following the temps in south FL and at the time I was supposed to go in January the temps weren't looking all that great. I'm considering mid March now and the temperature should be somewhat warmer by then. Glad that you're enjoying the bike trails there in Central FL.

I oftentimes ride my bike through the local park's campground, James Island County Park, and view the various camper/RV set ups. I've gotten some good ideas for hopefully when time comes my DH and I can rent an RV and do some touring. I like using VRBO and AirBnB as well and have always had good experiences with both. My daughter uses Airbnb on her trips to Europe and has also had good experiences. Yes, with an RV you can almost pick up and go from place to place and stay as long as you like ... having a little more flexibility with your house on wheels.

My husband says I own TOO Many bikes, but I continue reminding him that each one has their own purpose.

Yes, riding the Moonlight rides through DC or just along the W&OD trail, which I used to live off of in VA, is a lot of fun. I'd never go alone but with a group, and we always had a good time.

Enjoy the warmer temps of FL, Emily, and safe travels ahead.

Kathy