Recumbent ReCycler

In December of 2007 I started a journey into the world of recumbent cycling. My goals were to use less gasoline and to get back into shape.

I used to ride a bicycle almost everywhere I went. I started riding when I was 2 or 3 years old, on a wide tired little Russian bicycle with training wheels. I still remember my first header. I was riding down my parents' driveway, when I hit a rock and went over my handlebars. My chin struck the ground and became embedded with gravel and sand. My parents picked the rocks out of my chin and cleaned the wound with alcohol soaked gauze. Since them I have had many cuts and scrapes from cycling accidents.

After that first bike, I started getting my bicycles from the junk yard and fixing them up, taking parts from other unwanted bicycles that were left at the junk yard. I worked odd jobs like mowing lawns and when I was about 12, I was finally able to afford to buy a new bicycle. I bought a new road bike, which I think had 12 speeds, for about $100. I rode it a lot, including over 100 miles in one day to raise money for some charity, I think it was for a cancer hospital or something like that. One day I went into my back yard to get my bicycle to ride it to school, and it was gone. Someone had stolen it. Several months later, I got it back. The local police had found it abandoned in a ditch. I had to replace some parts, but I eventually got it working again. Some time later it was stolen again.

When I was 14, I went to Finland for a summer, and bought a fun bicycle that was easy to pull wheelies with and was fun to jump with. I brought it home with me on the airplane, and after many landings, I eventually bent the fork forward to the point that the tire started rubbing on the fork.

After joining the Army and completing my training in 1996, I was sent to Camp Stanley, in Uijongbu, South Korea, where I wasn't allowed to own a car. I bought a bicycle in Tongduchon, and rode it back to Camp Stanley. I found that the fastest way to get around Uijongbu was to grab onto the bed of a pickup truck, or even better yet, one of the handles on a larger truck, like a dump truck, and hang on until they slowed down for a traffic light, then I would let go and either ride to the truck in the front of the line waiting for the light to change or coast through the intersection if I thought I could do so safely, and pedal until I could grab onto another truck. I only got run off the road twice in nearly a year of doing it. Fortunately I never got hurt from it.

After I had been transferred to Fort Polk, LA, I didn't ride much for a while, but after I got shin splints and knee problems (turned out to be arthritis) from running so much, I was told that I could ride a bicycle instead, so for a while I was riding at least an hour a day 5 days a week. On September 25th, 2001, I was riding my bicycle in the wee hours of the morning, before dawn. I was going to the Squadron headquarters to sign out on leave. I had a headlight on my bike, but it wasn't terribly bright. I took a shortcut by the Regimental headquarters building, but unbeknownst to me, someone had strung triple strand concertina wire across the road. I didn't see it until I was about 2 feet from it. I hit my brakes, but since I was going down the hill around 30 mph, there was no way I could stop in time. The front of the bike and my hands hit the wire first, and I got launched over my handlebars. The barbs on the wire snagged my skin and shredded it as it ripped through. As I was flying through the air, my body rotated so that I was facing up when my helmet and left shoulder hit the ground. After I stopped sliding, I paused to think about what had just happened. When I looked at myself to survey the damage, I saw a large puddle of blood under each hand. One of my feet was still stuck in the wire, which had stretched from a straight line to an angle that was smaller than forty five degrees. My bike was suspended in the wire, with the front tire pointing down and hanging just inches from the ground. After getting over 40 stitches in my hands and having the road rash on my back bandaged up, I was released and went to the Squadron HQ to sign out on leave. I spent my leave resting and recovering from my injuries. I ended up repairing the bike and used it for a while, but riding just wasn't the same. My spine had been compressed by the head first impact with the blacktop, and cycling any descent distance caused back pain, as well as other aches and pains.

After moving to NH and enrolling in classes at UNH, I started riding a little Dahon folding bike around campus, but between the internally geared hub slipping and getting pulled over for riding on the sidewalk in the wrong direction near a one way street (despite the apparent absence of pedestrians in that area), I decided that it just wasn't worth the trouble, and gave up cycling for a while. In 2007 I decided that I was getting too fat and needed to lose weight. At the same time, the price of gasoline was costing me a significant portion of my income. I decided that it was time to start cycling again, but I didn't want to settle for another uncomfortable bike. I started looking around, then a friend of mine invited me to a human and electric powered vehicle event at an oval race track in Maine. While I was there, I tried some recumbent bikes and trikes. I was hooked. I decided that I had to have one. I did a bunch of research and took a trike for a test ride at Bicycle Bob's in Portsmouth, NH. I decided that I liked the recumbent trikes better than the bikes. After a great deal of searching for something that I might be able to afford, I finally found a new RecumbentUSA Trike II on ebay. I bid on it, and ended up paying a little under $1000 for it, including shipping. I called and asked if I could order some fenders for it and have them shipped with it. They ended up selling me fenders and a rack that goes over the rear wheel. When the box finally arrived, I was eager to assemble my new trike. There were no assembly instructions, so I looked at the pictures on their website. I soon realized that the pictures on their web site were of a trike that had not been fully or properly assembled. It took a couple tries to get the chain routed right and the chain tubes didn't want to stay where they belonged. Eventually I got it together, took it outside, and promptly broke the derailleur because I hadn't adjusted it and it went into the spokes. I bought another derailleur and adjusted it properly this time. Before long I was riding my trike to the bus stop 3.1 miles away and catching the bus in to work. Unfortunately that was about the time the snow started flying. I found that it was difficult to ride in the snow and ice. The main reason was that my trike was equipped with skinny road tires, so I got very little traction when the roads were icy and the snow made it difficult to move through it. I decided that I needed a snow tire for the back of my trike, so I bought a mountain bike style wheel and a Nokian studded tire for it. Once I got that on my trike, I got much better traction in the snow and ice. I found that even with the snow tire, it was nearly impossible to ride in heavy snow that was more than 6 inches deep. One minor issue that I found was that the front wheels' spokes were not tight until I tightened them myself. It didn't take me long to realize that it is very important to make sure that your front wheels are aligned. I had to replace one of my front tires after only a few months because I didn't realize that my wheels were out of alignment until about half the tread was gone. I wanted to be able to transport more than what I could carry on the rack and in my pockets, so I got the bicycle trailer from the basement and figured out a way to connect it securely to my trike. I used the trailer for hauling up to two children or for hauling my bag and/or groceries. After a few months of cycling, the plastic idler had deteriorated to the point that it was no longer usable. Months before the idler became completely unusable, there was a lot of friction in the drive line, which often caused the chain to droop after it came off the front sprocket when I would pedal hard, especially when it was on the largest sprocket. I replaced the plastic idler with a TerraCycle titanium idler and removed a lot of the chain tube. The amount of friction in the drive train was significantly reduced by that modification. My 3.1 mile ride to the bus stop went from taking about twenty minutes to taking about fifteen minutes. Another problem that I discovered was that the left disc brake assembly was not properly aligned and was off by about a millimeter, which caused the stationary brake pad to constantly rub, even after I made sure that the pad adjustment screw was as far out as it would go. I solved that problem by buying some stainless steel washers, grinding one to fit, and using them as spacers between the frame and the brake assembly. I was quite pleased with my work, so I decided that I would try to pedal up the steepest hill I could find. I found a little hill that was steeper than 45 degrees. Unfortunately the pressure was more than the idler bolt could handle, and it bent some, so my trike was out of commission for a couple days, until I could straighten it out again. My trike is currently running smoother than it has ever been. 26 May 2008

My commute time this morning was only 13 minutes long, and included 3.1 miles of varied terrain, including hills and a few traffic lights. 27 May 2008

Yesterday I rode 4.8 miles in 19 minutes. My return trip was at a more leisurely pace and included a stop at Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries. When I first started riding my trike, in late December, I weighed 230 lbs. A month later I was down to 220 lbs. This morning I weighed in at 216 lbs. I'm happy with my progress so far, but I still have a ways to go before I've reached my goal. I've noticed that my knees don't hurt as much as they did a few months ago. I no longer feel winded after riding over 3 miles. This morning it took me 13 minutes again to get to the bus stop, 3.1 miles from home. My headlight mount fell off while I was riding. It's a Minoura Space Grip with 4 LED headlights mounted on it. The diameter of the post that I mounted it on is larger than the diameter of tube that it was made to fit on, so when I first put it on my trike, the plastic cracked when I tightened the strap down. I think if I buy another one, I'll file the plastic mating surface to the same diameter as the tube it's mounting to. I think all of the potholes and other bumps finally shook it loose. Other than what's left of my cold, I'm feeling pretty good. 29 May 2008

Today I got out the door a little late, less than 13 minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave Shaws for UNH, so I had to hustle. I pedaled hard to make it there on time. I managed to make it the 3.1 miles in about 11 minutes and 15 seconds and got there before the bus. One of these days I should see how much faster I can get there when I'm not pulling the trailer. I've been pulling the trailer behind the trike for carrying my bag and tools and for picking up groceries on my way home. Saturday I found that I could fit an entire cart of groceries in the trailer. I used my cable lock to keep food from falling out the back of the trailer on my way home. 2 June 2008

Yesterday when I got back to my trike after work, I had a flat tire. I pumped it up and was able to ride a short distance, but then it went flat again. I removed the inner tube and found that it had a little cut at the base of the valve stem. I tried to repair it even though I didn't think it would work, but it just wouldn't hold air. I tried to get a spare tube a couple weeks ago, but Durham Bike didn't have any 20x1.25/1.5 tubes with a presta valve. I ended up pushing the trike most of the way home, then a gentleman with a pickup truck stopped and gave me a lift the rest of the way home. Since I knew that the battery in my car was too weak to start it because I hadn't run it for too long, I asked him if he would jump start my car, since I was going to have to use it in the morning to get to the bus stop, then to an appointment later. Within a few minutes, we had my car running and I was able to charge the battery. While on my way home, I didn't see a single pedestrian using the sidewalk. There were a few cyclists riding on the sidewalk, but in NH that is illegal. Apparently a majority of the state legislature thinks that cyclists should not be allowed to choose the safest option even when there aren't any pedestrians using the sidewalk. RSA 265:143 requires cyclists to follow all the rules that motorists have to follow. RSA 265:26-a prohibits driving on sidewalks, which because of RSA 265:143 applies to bicycles and tricycles. So if your child rides his or her bicycle or tricycle on the sidewalk, tell them that they are breaking the law and must ride in the street with other vehicles because the legislature and governor said so.
This morning I weighed in at 214 lbs. Since I started cycling around the beginning of the year, I've lost 16 lbs and saved over 100 gallons of gasoline by cycling instead of driving. 4 June 2008

Yesterday I bought an inner tube that was a little too large because I didn't find one that is the correct size. The one that I got was a 20x1.75/2.25 instead of the 20x1.25/1.5 that I wanted. I made it work, and it will do for now. Several weeks ago I ordered some custom airless tires from airfreetires.com, and I can't wait to get them and try them out. Back when my front tire and tube on my last mountain bike were punctured by concertina wire, I bought an airless tube and installed it in the old tire. I didn't notice any difference in performance or handling, and the weight difference was negligible. When I got home there was a box from ActionBent on my porch. It contained the front fender set that I had ordered and a mini bell. The fenders were pre-assembled and installed easily using a 5mm hex key. I mounted the mini bell just below the left brake lever, and I found that I could ring it with my left pinky finger without taking my hand off the grip. I ordered the fenders because I was tired of getting road spray all over me whenever riding on wet roads, and one of my jackets still has stains on it that don't want to come out from road spray. I had tried an electronic horn a few weeks ago, but it stopped working in a matter of days, so I decided a bell would be a more reliable low tech approach to announcing my presence to someone who may not be paying attention. 5 June 2008

Yesterday afternoon I rode my trike down to City Hall and filed to run for state rep. When I got back outside, there was a note on the seat of my trike. A woman had written that she didn't see my trike parked behind her vehicle and backed into it. The note said that she couldn't tell if there was any damage to the trike and that I should call her if there was. After I started riding it I noticed that the guard for the front sprocket cluster was slightly warped, but it didn't affect function any, so I decided that it wasn't even worth calling her over. Later I rode to Wal-Mart for some groceries then to Home Depot for a part to repair a leaky plumbing fixture in my bathroom. Since it was getting dark before my last trip to town, I mounted a couple of the headlights from my accessory mount that had fallen off the front of my trike onto the top of my trailer.
This morning it was raining out, so my ride was a little wet. It wasn't so bad though, since my fenders were keeping the road spray from getting all over me, and when I got to the bus stop I still had some dry spots. 6 June 2008

Saturday I did a lot of cycling, most of witch I did while pulling my son behind me in the trailer. I ended up getting a sunburn on my neck from spending so much time on the trike in the hot sun. I picked up a little bicycle for my youngest daughter for a dollar at a yard sale, and was able to strap it to the back of the trailer with a bungee cord.
This morning I left a little early and rode at a comfortable pace so that I wouldn't get too sweaty before work. When I got back to my trike after work it had been pulled away from where I had locked it up and the lock was pulled about as far as it could go. The mirror was knocked out of it's correct position, and one of the fenders had been bumped to where it was rubbing against the tire. I unlocked the trike, and noticed that a boy who looked to be around 8 years old was staring at the lock. He asked me why I could get it open and he couldn't. I told him that it was because I knew the combination. Then I noticed the grease on his leg. It looked like he had sat on the seat and brushed his leg against the chain. I asked him if he had messed with my trike, because I could see chain grease on his leg. A woman who I'm assuming is his mom told him that he had something to say to me. The boy jumped into my trailer, as if he thought I was going to give him a ride. He ripped one of the Velcro straps from the canvas body of the trailer when he landed in the trailer. His mom told him that he owed me an apology. Every time his mom talked to him, he either ignored her or talked back to her, and didn't obey her once. When I had first gotten off the bus, I heard her tell him "Don't ever slap me again". The boy was obviously spoiled and coddled, and had not been taught to respect the property of others. I was angry with him, but held my tongue and just left. I wanted to ask his mom to correct him, but I didn't feel like confronting her. It seems that too many parents don't seem to realize that if you tell a child not to do something and they do it anyway, there has to be a consequence for disobedience or the child will realize that they can disobey with impunity. The result will be a child who will do whatever they want until they get into more trouble than they can handle. On my way home, I realized that the boy had smeared chain grease all over the grips and shifters. After I got home, I emptied the trailer and went for a short ride to look for a replacement charger for my pocket computer. When I pulled into my driveway, I was going around the corner too fast for the trailer to handle, and it rolled upside down and I dragged it about 15-20 feet before I realized what had happened and stopped. Then I worked on modifying a basket I had bought on Saturday so that it would fit on my trike. I bought some stainless steel screws and some aluminum diamond plate which I am planning to cut to size then drill to make a bracket to hold the basket firmly in place so that I can carry some stuff without pulling the trailer behind me. 9 June 2008

Yesterday I wasn't feeling very well, so I took it easy. I think I may have been eating too much not very healthy food over the last couple days. On my way home I stopped at Wal-Mart, and was able to put a bag of groceries in the basket that wasn't occupied by my backpack, and I strapped a large package of Charmin Ultra on top of the basket with a bungee cord and a cargo net. This morning I woke up late, and ended up leaving the house at least 10 minutes later than I usually do, so I had to push myself to get to the bus stop on time. My legs weren't feeling as good as usual and my stomach was still feeling a little uneasy, but I still managed to make it to the bus stop in under 12 minutes, about a minute before the bus showed up. I'm going to have to try to eat healthier foods that won't bother my stomach so much. 11 June 2008

Yesterday after work I finished making the bracket for bolting down my basket. I drilled the holes with a hand powered drill. I cut the sheet to size with a sheet metal shear, but I wasn't heavy enough to cut it myself, so I got another guy to get on the lever, and together we were heavy enough to shear the diamond plate aluminum that I used to make the bracket. 12 June 2008

Yesterday evening I found out that Rocky's hardware in Dover, NH has stainless metric fasteners, so next week when I have some time I'm going to try to replace as many rusty carbon steel fasteners on my trike as I can with stainless steel. Last night I mounted a refillable air horn on my trike. This morning I rode all the way to campus, and made it the 11.3 miles here in under 50 minutes! Google maps says that the route I took this morning should take 30 minutes by car. I was carrying more weight than I usually do because I was planning to go camping right after work (but plans didn't work out, so I went home instead). I had two packs strapped to the back of my trike this morning, but they had too much stuff in them to fit in the basket. It took about as long as it usually does when I take the bus, and the ride this morning was a nice one. I have a new favorite route. Instead of taking Central Avenue in Dover, I went to 6th Street and took that instead. The road was smoother and there was less traffic. After work, while I was going down Route 108 in Durham someone who was driving a vehicle just ahead of me didn't turn on their turn signal until just before they pulled in front of me to enter a parking lot. I was moving at a pretty good pace, and had very little time to react. I squeezed my brakes hard and dragged my heels and was able to stop about a foot short of hitting their rear bumper. That goes to show how important it is for people to signal their intentions far enough in advance, because not warning others early enough could catch someone by surprise and cause serious problems. On my way home, I remembered that someone had told me that there was a mechanic nearby who doesn't use the vagueness of the state inspection law to take advantage of their customers by telling them that they need to replace parts that are functioning fine because the law could be interpreted to mean that a minor flaw (like a dented body panel, a missing fender bolt, rusty body mount, 0.0001" of play in a pitman arm, an oil stain on a steering stabilizer, or a little rust on a brake disc) had to be fixed in order to pass inspection, so I went looking for the shop, which I thought was on Tolend Road. I didn't find it, and ended up taking Tolend Road all the way into Barrington, then I took Route 125 into Rochester, then took back roads the rest of the way home. My total distance for the day was about 34 miles. I stopped a couple times for water during that ride. The first time was at a bike shop, and the second time I stopped at a house on Tolend Road that had Ron Paul signs out front and asked one of the occupants if he would kindly fill my water bottle with tap water. He filled my water bottle and gave me another bottle of cold water, which helped to cool me down some and quenched my thirst. I noticed that the extra weight over my rear wheel made it a little more difficult to control the trike when swerving to miss potholes. 13 June 2008

I recently figured out that it is possible to clear a pothole with one of the front wheels of a recumbent trike by quickly turning the wheels toward the side that is about to go over the pothole and pull up on the handle on that side just before going into the pothole, and you should be able to lift that side enough to clear most potholes. 14 June 2008

Yesterday I was running late and passed Shaws after the bus had already left. It was nowhere in sight, so I pedaled hard with the hope that I would catch up with it. A little over half a mile down the road, I saw the bus off in the distance, probably around a quarter mile down the road. I continued pedaling hard, and about 3/4 mile further down the road I passed the bus. When I got to the next bus stop, I locked my trike up and caught the bus the rest of the way to work. When I got back to my trike after work, it was raining out. When I got my trike unlocked, there was a little break in the rain, so I started riding home, but within a minute of leaving the bus stop, it started pouring out. By the time I got home, the front of my clothes were pretty much drenched.
This morning my leg muscles were pretty tight and a little sore. I think I haven't been stretching enough lately, so I'm going to make sure I stretch after every ride. I rode to the train station in Dover this morning, and caught the bus from there. I wanted to ride further, but my legs were cramping, I was cutting it close on time and I had heard that there was a chance of rain today, so the covered area at the train station seemed like a better location.
I'm planning to go on a long road trip over the Independence day weekend. I think I will try to ride to Keene. I figure I could leave that Thursday after work, and ride for 25 to 50 miles, then try to ride the rest of the way on Friday. Saturday I would spend some time in the Keene area, then start riding back either sometime on Saturday or really early Sunday morning. I want to get within 25 miles of Durham Sunday night so that I can get to work on time Monday morning. I think I may try a day trip this Saturday to get an idea of how far I can go in one day. I think 50 miles is quite reasonable, and 75 miles might be feasible. I'm not sure where I would go, so I need to figure out a good destination. 18 June 2008

Yesterday I rode to the train station, and just before i pulled into the parking lot, one of my fender bolts fell out, causing the fender to shift and rub on the tire. I found the bolt, which was rusty, and put it back in after I got back from work. On my way home I stopped at Rocky's Ace Hardware and bought a stainless steel bolt with a lower profile head for 65 cents to replace the rusty one that had fallen out that morning. On my way to the hardware store, as I was riding along the edge of the parking lot, a woman in an SUV drove out of one of the parking aisles without stopping or checking to make sure that nobody was coming, and she cut me off. I swerved to avoid her and blew my air horn at her, then she looked and saw me.
This morning I weighed in at 212 lbs. It looks like I am losing an average of three to four pounds per month. This morning it took me 12 minutes to get to Shaws. 20 June 2008

Friday evening I tested an electric trailer that effectively converted my trike to a human/electric hybrid, but I discovered that while it would provide a significant increase in speed for the average rider, it provided very little benefit for me, especially since I often exceed 30 mph and the system wasn't designed for more than 20 mph. The man who designed and built it told me that he is planning to sell it on craigslist.
Saturday I rode to UNH for an alternative energy conference, but ended up being kind of disappointed, because I didn't learn much new information and realized that some of the panel members knew significantly less about alternative energy than I do. One of the panel members, State Senator Martha Fuller Clark, responded to a question about using wood pellets to make electricity with an incorrect statement that "wood pellets can't be used to make electricity", and surprisingly nobody corrected her. By the end of the day, I had ridden over 25 miles, but it's impossible to determine the exact distance I rode because I don't have an odometer and I did a lot of exploring roads in dover that I had never been down. The last thing I did was picking up some leftover yard sale items that someone decided he wanted to just get rid of, inclusing a couple chairs that could be incorporated into a recumbent of some sort. This morning I rode to church and back. I mentioned to one of my friends there that I was thinking about starting a small business that would start out selling and assembling recumbent trikes and bikes and selling parts, then eventually expand to designing and building recumbents and accessories. On my way home a motorist pulled up next to me and asked if I could meet him in a parking lot ahead so that he could ask some questions. When we met up he told me that he measured my speed at 35 mph and that he was interested in buying a recumbent trike. I explained to him that I had bought mine online and it came in a bunch of pieces, which I had to assemble myself. I told him that I had been considering starting a business where I would initially sell and assemble recumbent trikes and bikes. He told me that he wanted to buy one from me because he was diabetic and needed to lose some weight and he saw that it was a viable transportation alternative. This morning my scale told me that I weigh 210 lbs, which means that I have lost 20 lbs in 6 months. 22 June 2008

Yesterday evening on my way home it was raining fairly heavily, so I got drenched. This morning I was running a little late and missed the bus. I had to stop for red lights at almost every lit intersection. After riding for a few miles, I saw the bus off in the distance, but it kept getting green lights and I kept getting red lights until eventually it was out of sight. Despite all of the red lights, I still managed to make it to work in 48 minutes, and right on time. As I was entering campus on a one way road, a motorist moved to the right side of the lane and slowed a little, so that instead of us traveling at the same speed, I was going faster, so I moved to the left side of the lane and started to pass. All of a sudden, the driver turned left without signaling. I was going too fast to stop and had to turn hard to keep from getting run over. The trike got up onto two wheels while I was leaning hard to the left to keep from rolling over. I managed to survive that encounter without any injuries, but later I noticed that my rear wheel was warped and the spokes looked like they had been stretched some as a result of the high side forces on the rim of the wheel. One of the spokes had broken. I managed to limp it back to Dover, but ended up paying someone $5 to give me and my trike a ride home in his pickup truck because I didn't want to risk further damage to the wheel. I can't stress the importance of using turn signals enough. I put my spare wheel on my trike after I got home, but I had to remove the rear fender to get it to fit. I put a piece of coroplast between the seat and rear wheel as an improvised fender. I have a pretty basic page up at RecumbentReCycler.com 24 June 2008

Yesterday I put my old sprocket cluster on the newer wheel and I adjusted my brakes. Now it's shifting much better and I can pretty much stop on a dime, although if I slow down very quickly the rear wheel comes up off the ground. Other than the high humidity, my ride this morning was nice, and lasted only 12 minutes, although I went a longer way than I usually do. 27 June 2008

Friday evening after work I rode through Dover to drop off a jacket that I had found. After returning it to its owner, I found a biking/walking path, part of which went under the turnpike. Unfortunately the tunnel under the turnpike had a lot of broken glass in it. On my way home, while riding up Chestnut Street, a woman in a minivan who was sitting in the left hand turn lane apparently decided that she wanted to go right instead, and without using her turn signal, turned right from the middle of the road, right into my path. I swerved to avoid her and yelled "whoa". She stopped quickly and I was able to continue on my way.

Saturday morning I attached the trailer and rode to Route 4 in Durham, near the Lee line, to help some friends clean up the roadside as part of the adopt-a-highway program, which was sponsored by NHLA, of which I'm a member. On my way there I picked up a jogging stroller for $7, which I'm planning to modify and build into a trailer that can be pulled behind my trike. After spending a few hours cleaning up the roadside, I went into Durham and picked up a used adult tricycle, then rode to Gonic for lunch with a friend, then went home. I rode a total of about 30 miles. I am converting the adult tricycle into a modular recumbent trike that can be attached to the back of my trike to make them into a tandem or which can be ridden on its own. I lowered the seat and moved it back. I also turned the handlebar stem around and flipped the handlebars so that they can be easily reached with the seat in the rearmost position. I am planning to lengthen the frame so that it will fit taller people. I'm also planning to make an adjustable seat mount that will allow me to lower the seat even more so that it will be more stable than it was originally designed to be and so that it can be fitted to more people easily. The modified jogging stroller will allow a smaller child to ride in comfort behind the trike, with a seat about 8" off the ground. It will also have a roll cage and a removable top for protection from the elements. When I first moved the seat back, I moved it too far back so when I sat down on it, the front of the trike came up and it dumped me onto the ground. Fortunately since the seat was so low, I didn't fall far and wasn't hurt. I need to get some square seamless steel tube and some brazing rods, and some chain so that I can lengthen the one on the trike when I lengthen the frame.

Sunday afternoon I rode to Wal-Mart twice because I forgot something the first time. I tried on several bicycle helmets, but the only one that was large enough was a Schwinn. I bought it for less than $20 and it fit perfectly. I was surprised how comfortable it was compared to the helmet that I had cracked when I did a header in 2001. It allowed air to flow past my head nicely, and only started feeling kind of hot when I left it on for a minute after stopping.

This morning I had a nice ride to Shaws. Someone in a car next to me at a traffic light asked me where he could buy a recumbent trike. I need to get a page up at my new site, NHRecumbentCycles.com If you have taken any photos of me on my trike, please send them to me. 30 June 2008

Yesterday evening I rode around Somersworth trying to collect signatures for a city ballot initiative that would require a 2/3 vote (as opposed to the current 1/2 vote requirement) of the city council to raise spending by more than the rate of inflation. I got to chat with several people about recumbent trikes. I talked to one gentleman who told me that he works for public works, and that their street sweeper is broken. I would like to build a human powered street sweeper so that I can pull it behind my trike and keep the breakdown lanes clean. I can't afford to buy everything I need on my own, so if you would like to pitch in and help pay for one, let me know. I figure I would need about $200 to buy the mechanism that would do the sweeping and collecting of debris and an attachment system, and another $50 or so for a magnetic sweeper that would pick up ferrous metal debris. 1July 2008

Yesterday on my way home from work, I was caught in a downpour and was completely drenched. I worked on building the tandem trike. I made a hitch mount from the spring steel part that connects the back of an office chair to the base. It placed the hitch too close to the rear wheel of my trike, so I heated the bend to a dull red color and pounded on it with a hammer until the angle was a little wider so that the hitch mount wouldn't rub against my rear wheel when it was compressed. After the angle was where I wanted it, I dunked it into a puddle, which started boiling from the heat it was absorbing from the hitch mount. I got a damaged wheel that someone had given me and disassembled it. I attached the hub to my hitch mount and attached the front fork of the tricycle to the hub. I needed to get some groceries, so I figured I would test it on the way to the store. I attached my trailer to the back of the tricycle for hauling the groceries home in, attached some more lights, and headed down the road. The tricycle didn't have a really good spot for mounting the trailer, so I attached it to one of the seat mounting poles, which is offset a bit. The trailer rode further to the right than the trikes, and when I passed a mattress that was sticking out a little from the curb, the trailer got caught on it and came disconnected, falling over a little bit into the street. I had forgotten to attach the safety strap. Someone came out of his house to make sure there weren't any kids in the trailer. I assured him that I was testing the setup and didn't think it would be ready for passengers for at least a few days. I reconnected the trailer, making sure that I attached the safety strap this time. I also made sure that I stayed far enough away from the curb so that the trailer wouldn't hit it. About a mile down the road, as I was bouncing down the breakdown lane, I heard a noise behind me, so I stopped, and watched as the tricycle rolled past me on the right. The connector that I had used to connect the hub to the hitch mount had come loose. I got up and grabbed the tricycle before it could roll much further. I studied the connector, and figured out what had happened. I flipped the connector over and figured out that it would work better that way, but decided that I would replace it with something better the next day when I could get to a hardware store. I made it to the store and back home with no other problems. I bought a tall bicycle flag for the trike and mounted it to the front fork of the rear trike. I put a motion activated light on top of the flag pole, and another one on my rear wheel. I later noticed that my cargo net was missing.
This morning I rode the trike with the tricycle attached, but without the trailer. I stopped at Home Depot first to pick up a stainless steel U-bolt and a couple fender washers. I replaced the original connector with the stronger U-bolt, which held it quite well. Unfortunately that made the connection a little too stiff, which made backing the trike up more difficult. I will have to figure something out. Perhaps I could fabricate a bracket for the hitch mount and attach a rod end bearing to the U-bolt. Then I could use a clevis pin to hold the rod end bearing to the bracket. That should allow plenty of flexion between the two halves and make the trike more stable. I was tinkering with the partly disassembled jogging stroller last night, and discovered that the child seat that I sometimes mount over my rear wheel fits perfectly on the lower tubes on the jogging stroller. Depending on how I angle it, the foot rests will have between one and three inches of clearance. I'll have to make a bracket so that I can mount it securely. The seat has a 5-point harness and provides pretty good protection as it pretty much wraps around the child. The jogging stroller frame will be modified to provide a roll cage for additional protection. I have also attached a couple bright red lights to the back of the child seat for improved visibility. I need some more metal before I can finish this project. Anybody have a good adjustable seat mounting system? I got an idea this morning. I would like to make a trailer that is lightweight and large enough to take a nap in. Kind of a small pop-up camper type setup that would be a little larger than a sleeping bag but with a height adjustable roof and either canvas or folding sides. That would be ideal for long multi-day trips. 2 July 2008

I finally got to test the tandem pentacycle with a passenger last night. First a friend of mine rode up front while I sat in the back. It turned out to be more stable than I expected. When turning hard with an empty seat, it would try to lean toward the inside of the turn, which is definitely better than if it tried to lean the other way, but with both seats occupied, all the wheels stayed on the ground. One downside was that my mounting bar had too much flex in it, so if the person up front braked hard and the person in the back was fairly heavy and didn't brake, the bolt in the mounting bar would bump the rear tire, so I will have to reinforce that. When I pedaled up front and there was a lightweight child sitting on the back seat, we didn't have that problem. When I would pump the pedals without a passenger, the hitch mounting bar would flex, causing just about everything to oscillate. Reinforcing the mounting bar should fix that problem as well. I was thinking that a 1/4x1" aluminum bar would probably work well, but when I saw the price, I was thinking that I should go to a scrap yard to find something that will work. I hope Harding Metals is open on the 4th, because they are normally only open when I'm at work or getting ready for work.
This morning I rode all the way to campus. Other than the heat and mugginess, it wasn't a bad ride. 3 July 2008

Yesterday after work, I rode to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for a cookout that turned into a cook-in because of the heavy rain. On my way there I missed a turn because one of the streets didn't have a street sign and all I had for directions were step-by-step directions with no map. I got there just before it started raining. After dinner and spending some time playing Cranium with friends, I started for home. The bridge leaving base is metal and has rails on it. On my way off the base, my rear wheel slipped part way into the groove next to one of the rails as I was at a small angle to the track, and my rear wheel slid a little way before I could get it to come out. I had to be really careful because if one of my front wheels had slipped into the groove, it probably would have caused some damage. On my way home, after I reached Newington, I was looking for my next turn, but missed it because of an apparent lack of a street sign, and I accidentally ended up on the Spaulding Turnpike. I pedaled hard and kept as far to the right of the breakdown lane as I could safely do, and got off at the next exit as quickly as I could. I ended up missing the entrance to the road that leads to the bike and pedestrian bridge that runs next to the Spaulding turnpike, and ended up at the Newington Fire Department, where I got directions back to the bridge. As I was cresting the bridge, I met three guys and we chatted for a few minutes. I let one of them take my trike for a little spin, and he commented that it was really comfortable. After I got to the end of Boston Harbor Rd., I went straight across the intersection and rode on that road until I got to the first right turn, which is a road with a tunnel that goes under the Spaulding Turnpike. As I was going through the tunnel, I hit what looked like just a puddle, but turned out to be a really bad pothole. The impact with the other side of the pothole was really uncomfortable, but fortunately there was no damage done. After I got to downtown Dover, my knees started to ache a little. I ended up getting home right around midnight. I figured out that I rode about 45 miles yesterday. This morning when I weighed myself, I was surprised to see that my scale said that I weighed 205 lbs. I double checked the calibration and weighed myself again. Yup, still 205 lbs. It seems that as my leg muscled are growing stronger and as I'm riding farther, I'm losing weight faster. I'm feeling pretty good this morning. I'm not sore like I thought I might be. I would really like to go for another ride and maybe a swim, but I have some things I need to work on. Maybe later I'll go for a swim at the Salmon Falls River and see if I can find any bikes at the bottom. A couple years ago, I pulled about a dozen bikes out of the river in one day, in about 15 feet of water. Some were still in good enough shape that some teenagers were able to ride off on them. 4 July 2008

Yesterday afternoon I rode to the Salmon Falls River and went for a swim. The water was too dark to see more than a few feet below the surface, so I didn't go diving for bikes because once I got down to about eight feet, I couldn't see any light. Some idiot(s) broke a bunch of glass bottles in the area where I swam from, so I ended up having to remove a couple pieces of glass from my feet. Later I attached the tricycle to the back of my trike and rode to Dover to see the fireworks. I ended up giving a few people rides on the back seat of the "tandem pentacycle". After I had given the last person a ride, I started riding up the hill toward one of my friends' house, and I heard a disconcerting noise behind me. One of the nuts on the frame of the tricycle had come off and the other bolts had snapped, so part of the tricycle was dragging on the ground. I looked closely at the bolt that had snapped, and it appeared to be made of really cheap steel. The other bolt was bent and wouldn't go all the way back in. I disconnected the tricycle from the trike and locked the tricycle to a sign post. That night I rode home pretty late after eating my friends' food and spending some time socializing with friends.
Today I rode to Rocky's Ace Hardware and picked up a couple stainless steel carriage bolts, stainless steel washers, and stainless steel nuts with nylon inserts to keep them from coming loose. I Then rode to Red's Shoe Barn to try to find a pair of shoes to replace the ones that I bought there almost four years ago. I found a pair of shoes that are lightweight, well ventilated, and comfortable for only $19.99. They are called Roc Socs, and are apparently designed to be worn both as a street shoe and as a water shoe. They look like running shoes, but are supposed to dry much more quickly. I then went back to the park and repaired the tricycle, then attached it to my trike. I rode to Handy Hardware, and found some 1 1/4" square steel tube that I can use to stretch the frame of the tricycle, and some 1"x1/4" aluminum bar which I can use to reinforce the towing hitch. On my way home, while riding on High Street, an old black woman stuck her head out of the passenger side of a green SUV and yelled "You better get on the sidewalk you dummy." I'm sure she didn't know that it is illegal to ride a "bicycle" on the sidewalk in NH, but that was just plain rude. 5 July 2008

Sunday I only rode to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries. I noticed that my rack is a little bent, so I'm thinking that I'll have to rebuild it and/or beef it up. I'm thinking about trying to fabricate a new one from metal that I have at home. I need to find my aluminum welding rods, which I think are somewhere in my basement.
Monday I rode all the way to campus, but my legs weren't feeling 100%. I still managed to make it there in about 50 minutes. On my way home, I had to make a detour for an appointment, so I think I rode about 24 miles.
This morning I rode all the way to campus again, but my legs were feeling tired. I think I may not have given them enough of a break after the long ride on Thursday. I don't think I'll ride all the way to campus tomorrow. I think my legs could really use a good massage. 8 July 2008

The ride home yesterday was very hot. The weatherman said it was in the high 90s. I tried putting a bottle of ice between the seat back and the head rest. I found I was able to keep it there for a while by resting my neck against it, but had to adjust it from time to time. I think that would be a good place for a soft water bottle carrier. As the ice melted, I drank it. I found that despite the heat and the 11+ mile ride home, my socks only got slightly damp from sweat while I was wearing the RockSocs that I bought from Red's Shoe Barn in Dover. This morning I rode to Shaws at a fairly easy pace. 9 July 2008

Wednesday evening I had to go to Portsmouth to sign for some of my medicine because I wasn't home when FedEx tried to deliver it, I didn't want to take time off from work to sign for a package and they wouldn't deliver during any time that I was going to be home.
Yesterday morning I got out the door late and missed the bus at Shaws, but was able to catch up with it after pedaling for about five miles. After work I rode about 11.6 miles to a meeting in Rochester, then about 8.2 miles home. I got a lot of passing comments on my way home, but couldn't understand most of them due in part to the doppler effect and in part to the road noise. After I got home there was another door tag saying that I needed to sign for another package.
This morning I rode to Shaws and caught the bus from there. 11 July 2008

Friday evening on my way home, the idler bolt bent again. I called the folks at Terracycle, and they said that they would ship one out to me first thing Monday morning, along with a couple other small parts that I asked for. The gentleman who I talked with asked if I had hit anything with the idler. I told him that I didn't think I did, but it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. He said that he didn't think that normal use could do that kind of damage, and that I probably hit something but didn't notice it, as the idler could just roll over many obstructions. I was able to straighten the bolt some, although it still had a little bend in it. I reassembled the idler and put it back on the trike. I rode about a mile before the chain started rubbing against the side of the idler pulleys, letting me know that the bolt was bent again, so I walked it home and took the idler off again. That time I worked on it until I had it about as straight as I thought I could get it. After reassembling everything, I rode about 5 miles. When I got back home, I noticed that it had a little bit of a bend in the bolt again, but it wasn't too bad yet. I didn't do any cycling on Saturday or Sunday.
This morning I rode to Shaws, and took it easy on my way there to try to minimize the amount of stress on the drivetrain. After I turned onto Central Avenue, I started hearing the chain rubbing a little on the idler pulley. Fortunately I only had a few hundred yards to go, about half downhill and the rest level, so I was able to coast most of the rest of the way. I suspect that the bolt may not have been properly hardened, although I don't think there is any way for me to really know for sure. I'm going to have to either walk my trike home tonight or leave it locked up at Shaws and take the early bus tomorrow morning. If I leave it locked up at Shaws, I will probably remove the idler and try to straighten the bolt tonight. I'll have to see if I can find any information on hardening stainless steel of an unknown alloy. 14 July 2008

Last night after I got back from taking the bus to Portsmouth to pick up a package from the FedEx office, I walked the trike to Rocky's Ace Hardware and looked through their bolt bins. They didn't have an exact replacement for the idler bolt, but they had some that looked to be pretty close. I took the idler off the trike, and found that the idler bolt had a crack in it at the top of the threaded portion. I brought the idler in to compare some of the bolts and found one bolt that had the same thread size and the same type of head. It was pretty close to the same length, but was threaded further up the bolt than the original. The replacement bolt was made from hardened steel and only cost $1.70. I was able to snap the threaded portion off the original bolt by holding it with my vice-grips and pulling on the other end with my hand. I reassembled the parts on the new bolt and installed it. It worked fine, so I think I will keep a spare in my bag just in case I have any more problems with the idler bolt. When I got home, I found an email in my inbox from TerraCycle indicating that my parts had been shipped.
This morning when I went out to my trike, I discovered that my left tire had lost some air overnight, so I got my floor pump and tried to fill the tire with a presta adapter, but it didn't work, so I think I may return that pump to Wal-Mart and get a better one from somewhere else. I ended up using my travel pump to fill the tire. By the time I was done, the extra five minutes I had to get to the bus stop had disappeared and I was running late. I managed to pull up to the bus stop just as the bus was leaving and followed it to the next bus stop. After it stopped, I passed it on the left and turned hard to the right to go around it. Much to my surprise, the trike drifted sideways and the trailer didn't roll over. I think the exposed cloth belt in the left tire reduced its coefficient of friction. 15 July 2008

Yesterday after work I rode home, dropped off some extra weight, then went to the store for some groceries. On my way home, when I was about 30 yards from my driveway, I heard a loud noise that sounded like a ricochet. I quickly pulled over and looked around to try to figure out what the noise was. I quickly realized that I had a flat tire, and that whatever caused it had put a hole through my tire and my tube. I didn't have a spare tire, so I took the early bus this morning, and plan to buy a new tire after work. 16 July 2008

After work on Wednesday, I bought a Primo Comet 20x1.35" tire, and after I got home, I replaced the blown tire and tube. One thing that I thought was really strange was that the 20" tube that I installed was labeled 20", but it looked to be about 3" too long. I folded over the extra length of tube and it seemed to work OK. The replacement parts that I had ordered from TerraCycle had arrived in the mail, so I put them in my bag with my tools and other spare parts. They only billed me $8.50, which I felt was reasonable. I rode to Dover, down Dover Point Road. On my way home that night, I stopped at Wal-Mart, and a gentleman told me that he had just seen me on Central Ave, and that I was "really fast".
Thursday morning I rode all the way to campus, then after work I rode to the farmers market in Lee. On my way home, I saw a bicycle on the side of the road on route 155. I took a look at it to try to determine if someone was tossing it, but it looked to be in too good of condition for someone to be throwing it away, so I left it alone.
This morning I left early for Shaws, which is a good thing, because a gentleman waved me down and asked me a few questions about the trike. I was able to have a friendly conversation with him, and still make it to the bus stop on time. After work, some of my friends picked me up and treated me to dinner. By the time we got back, the torrential rainfall had ended so I rode to Wal-Mart to get some fresh vegetables. When I got back out, I noticed right away that one of taillights on my trailer was gone. I looked closer, and saw that it looked like someone had snapped the mount to take the light off. I checked to make sure that the light wasn't on the ground in that area, but it wasn't. I went in and bought another tail light to replace the one that was gone. I then talked to a manager to see if I would be able to get someone to check their security tape, but she said that they can't do anything for me unless I file a police report. After I got home, I put away the lettuce and rode down to the old police station, then I realized that they had moved. On my way back it started to rain, so I stopped at home and dropped off my bag because I didn't want it to get wet. I then remembered that I had picked up a couple license plates over the last few days in the breakdown lane, so I grabbed them and headed out to the new police station. I explained what happened to the sergeant, and he called another officer who asked me a few questions. He said that he would investigate it and see if there is a video of someone taking my light. 18 July 2008

Saturday afternoon I rode to the Tri City Plaza to collect some signatures for the Somersworth tax cap ballot initiative. When I was done, I rode home, made a salad, then rode to a friend's home in Dover for a cookout. The fare included beef, lamb and buffalo (my favorite), as well as a good assortment of other foods. I had a nice ride home that night, although Henry Law Avenue was pretty bumpy. I didn't ride my trike at all on Sunday.
Monday morning when I left home, I figured that I had an extra four minutes, but I ended up waiting at the light to turn onto Weeks Lane for about five minutes because the inductive loop that detects vehicles didn't detect my trike, so I had to catch up with the bus at the truck rental place further down the road. My ride home that evening was uneventful.
This morning I left home about ten minutes early, just in case. I brought about half of a head of iceberg lettuce with me for lunch. 22 July 2008

Wednesday it rained a little in the morning as I was approaching Shaws, but on my way home it was pouring out. The heavy rain made it kind of difficult to see. Between all the rain on my glasses and in my eyes, it was difficult to detect potholes and other obstructions. I found that it was also very difficult to see the vehicles that were coming up behind me without their headlights on.
Thursday it rained heavily just about all day, so I was glad that I was wearing clothing that didn't absorb a lot of water and that could dry a lot quicker than cotton.
The weather was pretty nice today. I got out the door much later than usual, and didn't think I had a chance at catching up with the bus. I rode hard to try to get to work on time, and much to my surprise, I managed to get ahead of the bus and caught it after I crossed Silver Street in Dover. This evening it was fairly hot and humid. 25 July 2008

This morning and afternoon I walked around Somersworth with my friend Cliff Newton. He coached me as I went door to door collecting signatures to get the property tax cap on the ballot this November. This evening after we went our separate ways I attached a couple of signs to my trailer advertising the property tax cap petition in Somersworth. I rode down to Staples and back a couple of times because I thought I had forgotten my wallet the first time I went, but it turned out that it was just hidden in the corner of my bag. During the day it was kind of hot and humid, but after it had turned dark, the temperature went down to a more comfortable level. 26 July 2008

This morning when I weighed myself, I was pleased to discover that my weight is down to 200 pounds! I've lost at least 5 pounds this month, which I think can be attributed at least in part to my metabolism speeding up due to the additional muscle that I've built over the last few months. I think I've been cycling further than previous months as well. 27 July 2008

Yesterday afternoon I saw some other recumbent trikes as I was walking to lunch. It turned out that they were owned by Northeast Passage, which has an office on campus. Here are some pictures I took of their trikes.

Later that evening I rode at least 43 miles from Somersworth to Kittery, then up to York Beach, and back to Somersworth. I was hoping to ride on the wet packed sand, but the tide was up and the sand was under water. Here is the route that I took.
View Interactive Map


This morning I woke up late, so I skipped breakfast. I missed the bus, so I ended up cycling all the way to campus, which brought my total distance cycled in 16 hours to 55 miles, which beat my previous 24 hour distance by ten miles. 30 July 2008

Yesterday after work, I rode a little over 5 miles before I hit the 24 hour mark from the previous day's ride, bringing my 24 hour total to just over 60 miles. I rode an additional 12 miles after that time before I got home.
This morning my knees were sore and my legs muscles were a bit stiff and sore. I didn't want to ride any further than I had to, but even though I left relatively early, I sat at a couple lights for longer than usual before they switched to green, so I didn't make it to Shaws on time, and had to catch the bus at the train station. I've decided that I would like to participate in the Three Notch Century, a 100 mile ride through the mountains of NH to benefit Northeast Passage, which "delivers disability-related health promotion and adapted sports programs throughout New England." They have one, two and three day options. I don't think I'm ready to do that in a single day, but I think I could handle it if it were broken up into two or three days. I will have to raise some money to pay the entry fee. 31 July 2008

Yesterday on my way home I got rained on a little. When I got home, my new brake pads were in the mailbox. I waited until after the rain stopped, then went out and changed the brake pads. The new ones are from a company called "Disco Brakes". They have a larger contact area than the OEM pads. I found that they brake very well, probably better than the OEM pads. Because the pads were a little thicker, I had to adjust my brakes and make a spacer to move one of the stationary pads out a little from the disc so that it wouldn't touch when the brakes aren't applied.
This morning I rode all the way to campus. While cutting through campus, on the paths that go through the woods, I tried to turn right a little too late while moving at a pretty good clip, and lost traction. I slid off the path and went airborne because the ground dropped off into a stream bed. I pushed the trike down and back while I was still in mid-air, hoping to clear the pedals. The trike and trailer rolled and folded up against each other, and I somehow landed on my feet. I had some scrapes and bruises, but was otherwise unharmed. I had landed in some soft mud about seven or eight feet below the path that I had slid off. I managed to drag my trike and trailer most of the way back up the steep hill, when a few people showed up and helped me get it the rest of the way up. My stuff was scattered along the ground where I had landed, so I had to go back down and gather it all up. Once I had finished getting everything back in the trailer, I looked to see if there was any damage. The cheap headlight that I had initially installed on the steering arm had broken off its mounting bracket and the left front tire was a little warped, but still usable. The photos below show the spot where I went off the path and crashed.

I got off from work at noon, and cycled to Newcastle, NH. By the time I reached Newcastle, I had ridden over 100 miles in under 3 days. After eating lunch with some of my coworkers, I rode into Portsmouth. When I was near Market Square, I got a flat tire. I changed the tube, but after I inflated the new tube, I could hear air slowly escaping from it, so I patched the two holes in the old tube and swapped them out. I then rode up to South Berwick and went for a swim at one of my favorite swimming holes. When I first approached the spot I like to swim from, the bridge was closed, so I had to go back up to route 236 and ride around to the other side of the bridge. On my way up a hill after I had taken a wrong turn, a bulldog ran out into the street in front of me, stopped, and turned toward me. It stared at me for a few seconds, then started barking and growling, and charged toward me. I said "get away!" It came around to my right side and acted in a hostile manner, like it was planning to attack, so I tried to scare it by making a loud noise and thrusting my upper body toward it. It backed away a little, then started coming toward me again, when a woman, who was probably its owner, yelled for it to return to her. It returned to the yard from whence it came, and I continued on my way. When I got to the swimming hole, I found that someone had put gravel down on the shoreline and in the water so that it wouldn't be muddy, which was nice. I didn't bother taking my shirt or RocSocs off because my shirt was sweaty and my shoes were a little muddy. The water was really comfortable, warm on top, and cool about four feet down. After I was done swimming, I headed for home. When I was riding down a dark back road, a couple cars approached me from the opposite direction. At least one of them had their high beams on, which blinded me so that all I could see was their lights and blackness. As they passed me, I hit a pothole or something that shook my trike bad, and a short distance down the road I noticed that my left tire was getting low. It was leaking again. It was a slow leak, so I pumped some more air in it and rode to the convenience store just up the road. When I got there, I put my trike on its side and removed the tube. I filled it with air and looked for the leak, but I couldn't find it, so I went inside and asked if I could use their sink. The young lady at the register let me use the sink out back. First I filled the tube with air and ran water slowly over it, hoping to see the air escaping, but had no luck. Then I spotted some dish soap, so I put a drop of it in one of my hands and worked it into a lather. Then I rubbed the suds over the entire surface of the tube. It turned out that the air was escaping from one of the original holes, but because it was so close to the edge of the other patch, it was coming out at the edge of the patches where they overlapped. I removed both patches, scuffed up the area again, dried it, then put one patch over both holes. That seemed to work, so I started to put the tube back in the tire. At that time a friendly Mexican woman walked over and asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was repairing my tire. She said that she thought the trike was beautiful, and asked if she could take a photo. She took a photo of me inserting the last of the tube into the tire and showed it to me. I though it came out pretty well, especially considering the fact that I was in the picture. I gave her one of my business cards. I hope she will email the photo to me. I should have asked her to. She told me that she lives in Mexico, but likes visiting Northern New England because the people are so nice here. She asked me what I drink, some kind of energy drink or something else. I told her that I usually just drink water. She went into the store and came out a couple minutes later with a large bottle of cold water, which she gave to me. She talked to me for a couple more minutes, until I had finished filling the tire with air and turned the trike back upright, then she walked across the street to her friend's house. I rode from the convenience store across the border into Rollinsford, then to Somersworth. I stopped to chat with a couple of guys who were curious about the trike, then rode home. 1 August 2008

This morning I weighed myself, and found that I'm down to 198 pounds. It appears that I am burning off a pound of fat for every 50 to 60 miles I ride. I rode my trike to a meeting at the Gateway Restaurant this morning, then took the long way home. This coming Wednesday I have an appointment at the VA hospital in Manchester, so if I don't figure out another option, I think I will pedal there Tuesday after work. If I don't find a place I can spend the night, I might just bring my tent with me and find an isolated place to camp out nearby. 2 August 2008

A good friend of mine told me that he has to drive to Concord on Wednesday morning, and would be willing to drop me off in Manchester, so it looks like I won't have to pedal there after all. Today I rode a little over 24 miles. The weather was humid and I got rained on some, but over all, it was not a bad ride. These rides are getting to feel a little too easy. Sometime in the next couple of weeks I want to try to ride 100 miles in two days. I think I can do it, but I won't know until I try. Sometime this month I think I would like to try to ride 100 miles in three days with an extra 50+ pounds in my trailer (in addition to my tools, water and other things that I normally carry in the trailer). 3 August 2008

This morning I rode from home to campus in 50 minutes. The group ride I was planning to go on after work was canceled. I ended up riding to the Fox Run Mall in Newington, NH because I needed a tool that as far as I know is only carried by Sears. In Newington I saw these signs, and thought it was a funny combination.

On my way home, my knees and legs started to ache. I didn't have water (or any other liquids for that matter) with me while I was riding after work because when I got back to the MUB from working in the Dimond Library, someone had locked the doors at least ten minutes early, so I wasn't able to go in to get my water bottles or bike shorts. After I got home, I drank some water and ate some food, and the aching went down to a much more tolerable level. I should try to keep fluids with me when I'm cycling more than a couple miles, and I should try to eat a more balanced diet. 4 August 2008

Today I rode about 12.5 miles, to Dover and back a couple of times. Over the past couple of weeks, city crews have been patching some of the potholes on High St. That has made my ride a little smoother, and I don't have to swerve out of the breakdown lane quite as much because some of the potholes that I've been dodging for several months are now filled. There are still a bunch left to fill though, and it would be nice if the drains were close to level with the road so that I can ride over them without shaking the trike (and me) up badly. 5 August 2008

Yesterday I didn't ride my trike at all. This morning I rode to Shaws. I have a few errands to run after work, so I'm not sure how far I'll ride today. 7 August 2008

Yesterday after work, a young man told me that he saw somebody sitting on my trike. He said that the guy was messing with my lock. I ended up riding to a couple auto parts stores in the hope that I would find the right size bolts for my brake caliper bracket, which are M14x2.0 thread pitch with a 30mm long threaded section. By the time I got there, they were both closed, so it looks like I may have to wait until Saturday morning to check.
This morning it was raining out, and it wasn't a light rain. I decided to wear my PT pants and jacket over my shorts and T-shirt. They were pretty much soaked through by the time I got to Dover. I noticed that there were more cars driving in the rain without their headlights on than ones that were using their headlights. When they don't have their headlights on, it makes it harder to see them through my foggy/wet glasses and foggy/wet mirrors. If it's raining heavily this evening, I'm going to ride in the middle of the lane until I see headlights behind me, instead of rolling in usually puddle infested breakdown lane. 8 August 2008 Yesterday after work it was only raining lightly, so I rode as far to the right as I could like I usually do. After I passed Wal-Mart, I heard a ticking sound from my right front tire with each revolution of the tire, so once I got to a break in the awful vertical granite curb, I pulled into the parking lot and looked to see what was making the noise. A metal tack was stuck in my tire. I pulled it out, and could hear the sound of air leaking from my tube, so I walked it to a covered area to get out of the rain, and repaired the tube. I also put a patch on the inside of the tire to hopefully keep debris from working its way through the hole into the tire. After I finished repairing it, I continued on my way. A short distance later I heard a siren, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. A few seconds later I realized that it was coming from behind me, and I saw an ambulance coming down the road, so I looked for a place to pull over. The breakdown lane wasn't very wide at that point, and the awful granite curb would have destroyed my wheel if I tried to go over it, so I pedaled hard, and managed to pull into a parking lot (and through a large puddle) before it caught up with me.
This morning I rode to NAPA to buy a couple bolts for my car. Later, after I finished replacing my front brakes and some bolts and got a couple new tires, I went for a short ride with the trike. 9 August 2008

Saturday evening I realized that I was out of cold cereal, fruit and meat, so I rode the trike to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries. Sunday I didn't ride the trike at all.
This morning when I left for work, it was sprinkling a little, but as I got closer to the bus stop the rain started coming down harder. I ended up sitting at a light for several minutes because the inductive loop apparently didn't detect my trike. I wish they would paint green lines over the inductive loop wires so that I would know where to stop so that at least one wheel would be directly over the wire. I read that for an inductive loop sensor to detect a bike (or trike), at least one wheel has to be within an inch of the inductive loop. 11 August 2008

This morning it was raining out and I was late getting out the door. I rode down the road a ways, then remembered that I had forgotten something. I also wanted to get my car inspected today, so I went back to the house and got what I had forgotten and decided to drive to work. I was able to schedule an appointment to get my car inspected this afternoon at J A Prince & Sons Auto Sales and Service. A friend of mine suggested that I go there after I had bad experiences at a few other motor vehicle inspection stations in Somersworth. The mechanic at J A Prince confirmed my conclusion that the "mechanics" at Monro either lied to me to scam me out of money or were too incompetent to know what play in a pitman arm looks and feels like. The "mechanics" at Monro had told me that there was too much play in the pitman arm and that it would have been acceptable if it was a Chevy, but I couldn't detect any play in the pitman arm. In fact, when I tried to remove the pitman arm to replace it, it not only didn't have any play, but it was so tight that I couldn't get it to budge after I had removed the nuts that hold it on. I had gone over my car carefully yesterday evening to make sure that it was in compliance with the official motor vehicle inspection requirements so that I was sure that any honest mechanic would pass it, and issue a sticker. When I had gone to Monro, the "mechanic" made up an inspection requirement, claiming that you shouldn't be able to start the car without a key, but fortunately I was familiar with the requirements and called him on it. The mechanics at J A Prince were courteous, efficient and honest. They worked as a team to inspect my vehicle quicker than any other shop I've gone to in Somersworth so that I didn't have to wait around for a long time. 12 August 2008

Yesterday I rode about 6.2 miles, to the bus stop at Shaws and back. Last night I was under a lot of emotional stress, and was also dealing with severe upper back pain, so I didn't fall asleep until sometime after 02:30, resulting in me getting less than 3 hours of sleep. It took me about a half hour to wake up enough to drag myself out of bed, so I didn't have enough time to take the trike and still get to work on time, so I drove the car to work. 14 August 2008

I'm down to 196 lbs. Today I rode 6.2 miles. I want to go for a swim this evening. I would really like to get a kayak so that I can work my upper body more and have some fun on the water. I would be willing to trade my Jeep for a light but sturdy kayak that is over 12' long and has a rudder, or for two decent kayaks that are over 12' long, preferably tandems, or for a decent kayak and some cash. 15 August 2008

Today I went for a short ride and for a swim. I put a flag on my trike because a few people have asked me to. Unfortunately there aren't too many places where I could mount the flag. The only place that was secure was on the quick disconnect for the rear wheel. After I installed the flag, I discovered that my derailleur was not properly adjusted anymore, so I will have to readjust it. I'll do that tomorrow afternoon if it's not raining all day. 16 August 2008

Sunday afternoon I adjusted my derailleurs and rode a few miles, including a stop at Wal-Mart. When I was almost home I noticed that it looked like my front tires needed some more air in them, so after getting home I started adding air to my tires. As I was pumping one of them up, it all of a sudden developed a hole at the base of the valve stem, making it useless. I didn't have any tubes of the right size, so I just parked it in frustration.
Monday I drove my car, and stopped at Dover Cyclery after work. They had the right size tube out back for $6. Apparently they only keep the more common sizes out front. They told me that because there are now two recumbent riders in the area who use that size tube and are customers, they decided to start carrying them. After I got home I replaced the tube and went for a short ride.
Today I woke up too late to ride the trike and get to work on time, so I drove the car. After work I drove down to A&E Boards N Bicycles, at 76 Exeter St. Suite B, Newmarket, NH. The couple who run the shop were friendly. They have some really nice high end carbon fiber road bikes, including a couple that were under 16 lbs. They also have some pretty reasonable prices, especially compared to some of the shops in Southern NH. For most of this year I haven't really changed my diet much compared to how it was when I was gaining weight. Nearly a week ago I started eating less than before. I would still eat the same portion sizes for breakfast, but I have been eating less for lunch and dinner. I think I have reduced my lunch and dinner portions by around 50% compared to over a week ago. When I weighed myself today I found that I'm down to 194 lbs. It looks like by reducing caloric intake and exercising combined can have a greater impact than one of them on their own. I've lost at least 2 lbs this past week. 19 August 2008

This morning I was surprised to see that my scale was telling me that I weighed 192 lbs. I figured out that I have been eating around 2 lbs less of food per day. One easy explanation for the two pound drop is that yesterday when I weighed in at 194 lbs it was after I had eaten breakfast. This morning I weighed myself before breakfast. I rode my trike a little over 3 miles this morning, and will be riding at least 3 more miles this evening. When I was riding down High St. in Somersworth, I passed a yard that had sprinklers that were spraying into the road. There was traffic, so I kept to the right to avoid getting hit by a vehicle. When I passed the sprinklers, they sprayed me with what felt like an unusually large amount of water for a sprinkler system. If it was hot out I probably wouldn't have minded so much, but I had left early so that I could stop to get groceries before work and it was kind of chilly and we had gotten a lot of rain over the last few weeks. Tomorrow is my birthday, but I probably won't do anything to celebrate it. 20 August 2008

Today I rode to Shaws to catch the bus, then home after work. When I got home, I found the plate of chocolate chip cookies that a friend of mine had left on the porch for me. Unfortunately a chipmunk had found them first, and had chewed a hole through the bag and pilfered some cookie. It looked like it was coming back for some more when it saw me and retreated to its hole in the front yard. Later I rode my trike to a friend's house where I had dinner then soaked in the hot tub. My right calf is still kind of sore from the accident I had a couple weeks ago. I didn't get what I wanted for my birthday. All I wanted was to be able to spend some time with my family. When I left my friend's house, I noticed that my headlights were on. Someone must have turned them on when my trike was parked at Shaws. The batteries were nearly dead, as the lights were very dim. It's not the first time someone has turned on my lights during the day while it was parked somewhere and drained the batteries. I may have to remove the lights more often to reduce the risk of theft and vandalism (including draining my batteries). 21 August 2008

This morning while I was riding to Shaws, I started hearing some noise, like a chain rubbing against hard plastic, so I pulled over and checked my driveline. It turned out that the idler bolt had started to come loose, causing the chain guard to rub against the chain. I adjusted it so that it wouldn't rub and continued on my way. I will tighten it up more after work when I have more time. Now both a residence and a business on High St. have sprinklers that spray past the sidewalk and a few feet into the road. Why do people water the road? It makes no sense to me. 22 August 2008

This morning I pedaled to a friend's house and we carpooled to a CPR class. I got a perfect score on the test and got my certification card. After I got back to my friend's house, I rode around Somersworth for a while then went home. 23 August 2008

Yesterday I had a headache for most of the day and felt ill all evening, so I didn't leave the house except to go to church. This morning I woke up late despite the alarm going off on time, and by the time I got out the door there was no way I would be able to cycle and get to the bus stop or work on time, so I drove to the bus stop and took the bus from there. Also the weather forecast called for rain for a good part of the day. I may go for a ride this evening if the weather is OK. 25 August 2008

My commute today was uneventful. I rode a little over 6 miles today. I was thinking of riding all the way to campus, but I wasn't able to get myself motivated enough to do so. I forgot to mention before that after being knocked out of position numerous times by careless individuals, one of the parts of my Mirrycle rear view mirror broke so that it wouldn't stay in place anymore. I had bought both of my mirror assemblies at Durham Bike, so I stopped there first to see if they had any spare parts available. They happened to have what I needed and hooked me up. I'm thinking of putting reflectors on the front of my mirror bracket. 26 August 2008

Yesterday I pedaled 17 miles. This morning I pedaled all the way to campus. My ride in was interesting to say the least. As I was approaching an intersection, I slowed down because the light was red, and I was trying to time myself so that I would get to the intersection just after the light turned green. I didn't time it right, so when I got to the stop line, the light was still red. I hit the brakes hard so that I would stop before crossing the stop line. One brake applied a greater braking force than the other one, which caused the rear wheel to come off the ground and the left front wheel to come around the right front wheel. Then as I was coming to a stop, the right front wheel came off the ground, leaving only the left front wheel on the ground. I think that may have been the only time that has happened to me. Further down the road, I saw a pair of vice-grips in the breakdown lane, so I hit the brakes hard. Not only did the rear wheel come up off the ground, but all of the wheels came off the ground. It appears that when the rear wheel came up, one of my feet planted itself on the pavement while it was still on the pedal. Then the entire trike and trailer, except for the chain guard and one pedal, came up off the ground. I was standing upright and the seat of the trike was still against my back, with the trailer hanging under the trike, with the taillights barely scraping the ground. I had to readjust one of my mirrors because it had been knocked out of position. I managed to get to work early. After work I rode down to the FedEx office in Portsmouth to pick up a package from the VA that required an adult signature. On my way back, while I was in Newington, I hit the brakes hard to avoid a car that I hadn't seen because my view was obstructed by other vehicles. The rear wheel came up, causing a pedal to hit the ground again. When I started moving again, something didn't feel right, so I stopped and inspected my trike and trailer. The rubber insert inside the spring that provides for a flexible connection between the trike and trailer had snapped, causing the spring to stretch further than it was supposed to. I reinforced it with a bungee cord and was able to ride the rest of the way home. It's much more difficult to back up the trike/trailer with the damaged connection, so I'm planning to remove the trailer and reinstall the basket over the rear wheel. When I got home I weighed myself and found that I was down to 190 lbs. 28 August 2008

I rode to the bus stop at Shaws to go to work, and back home after work. 29 August 2008

This morning I removed the damaged trailer from my trike and attached the basket so that I would have a place to keep stuff while I'm riding. Today I rode to my pastor's house for lunch with friends, and back home, which is about 5 miles, then I rode from home to UNH to work for ResNet and to work on getting the McConnell Computer Cluster ready for Tuesday's opening. Then I rode back home again. 30 August 2008

Yesterday I didn't pedal anywhere, but I weighed in at 189 lbs.
Today I pedaled from home to UNH in 50 minutes, including a couple stops to make some minor adjustments. If I hadn't stopped to make adjustments, I think I would have made it in about 45 minutes, and if it weren't for all of the red traffic lights, I probably would have made it in about 40 minutes. I spent about 8 hours walking the dorms providing on site tech support, including hoofing it up and down a lot of stairs. I had a nice ride home from work. 1 September 2008

Tuesday I pedaled to work and worked a little over 16 hours before pedaling back home.
Yesterday I cycled to work, then to church, then home, which is about 27.4 miles total.
This morning I weighed in at 188 lbs. Later this morning I rode to city hall to renew the registration for my car, which I hardly drive at all. I rode my trike to work in the afternoon and encountered two friends who I used to work with, but who I hadn't seen in a while. They were both riding bicycles. It was really hot out during my ride in. 4 September 2008

Last night I got off work at midnight and pedaled home from there. On my way home, some guy in a car with Massachusetts plates stuck his head out the passenger window as he passed and yelled "Nice car, you f---in' Christmas tree!" Otherwise the ride was fairly uneventful. I didn't get much sleep last night. 5 September 2008

Friday I woke up late and didn't have enough time to ride my trike and still get to work on time, so I drove my car. On my way home the rear brake line sprung a leak, which caused the hydraulic brakes to lose much of their effectiveness. I won't be driving my car for a while now. Later I rode my trike to run errands.
Saturday when I left for work it was raining, so I chose to ride to Shaws and catch the bus from there. When I got back to my trike after work it was raining even harder.
This morning it was cool out and I rode my trike all the way to work, making it to campus in 45 minutes. I had a nice ride home, with a few stops on the way. I picked up some groceries after getting into Somersworth. I weighed myself this evening and found that I'm down to 185 pounds. 8 September 2008

This morning after I got out of the shower I noticed that I didn't have "love handles" anymore. That area was concave instead. After I got dressed I rode my trike to the old City Hall and voted. After I voted I checked around for prices on brake lines and talked with a trusted mechanic about replacing them. I think I will replace the old standard carbon steel brake lines with new powdercoated lines that are less prone to rusting. I took back roads for the first few miles then got onto Route 108 and took that the rest of the way in. It was really humid out, so I got pretty sweaty by the time I got to work. I have what looks like spider bites on my feet. There are two pairs of small holes in my skin that are close together. They are swollen and have been itching really bad. One of them is worse than the other though. I'll try to remember to put some medicine on them when I get home. 9 September 2008

Hmm, these shorts were snug last year.
Yesterday I didn't eat much. I had a smaller than usual bowl of cereal for breakfast, a burrito for lunch and a banana with peanut butter for dinner. I actually didn't feel hungry last night, but ate the banana with peanut butter because I have to take my medicine with food or I'll be hurting later. My ride home wasn't bad. I stopped at Dover Cyclery to buy a spare inner tube. I mentioned to them that since I wasn't pulling the trailer anymore, I didn't have a properly mounted taillight that conformed to Dover's city ordinances. I told them that I hadn't found a light that could be mounted in a way that would meet the city's requirements. They took a look at my trike, and one of them said that he could make a bracket that would allow me to attach one of their taillights to the back of the trike where it is required. He took a spare bracket that he had laying around and bent it to fit, then attached the light mount to it and attached the bracket to the back of my rack. He didn't charge me anything for the custom bracket. I bought the taillight and a reasonably priced helmet light to replace the headlight that I had jury-rigged onto my helmet, but pointed too high. The new headlight was smaller and attached to my helmet easily. It also pointed in the right direction. I was able to move the previous headlight to my mirror arm, which looked like a pretty good place for it. Afterwards I rode to Wal-Mart and picked up a half gallon of skim milk and a banana. After I put the food away I rode down to a local barber shop and got a haircut.
This morning I weighed myself and found that I was down to 183 pounds. It was a little chilly out when I left the house, so I put on my fluorescent yellow cycling jacket. Once I got to Dover, I wasn't feeling cold anymore, so I unzipped my jacket most of the way. As I was nearing the other end of Dover, I was starting to sweat a little, so I took the jacket off and put it in my basket. The rest of the ride was fairly comfortable, and I got to work early. 10 September 2008

Wednesday evening after work I rode out to Heritage Baptist Church on Dover Point Road. After I left there I went home. For breakfast I had a small bowl of cereal. I skipped lunch and had a sandwich for dinner.
Thursday I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, pedaled to campus, skipped lunch, pedaled home and had two small burritos for dinner.
This morning I weighed in at 181 pounds. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, cycled to campus, pedaled to the Durham Marketplace during my lunch break to buy a loaf of whole grain bread, made 2 PB&J sandwiches and had them for lunch. After work I'm going to ride back to Somersworth to pick up my car from the shop and I'm planning to spend the weekend visiting family, so I don't plan to do any riding for a few days. 12 September 2008

Yesterday after work when I got to my trike, I discovered that someone had stolen my flag and the light that I had put on top of it. On my way home traffic was kind of heavy. As I was riding down Central Ave between City Hall and Fosters' building, a woman driving a vehicle a short distance ahead of me suddenly moved to the right and stopped, apparently with the intent of parallel parking. She didn't use her signals and apparently she didn't look in her rear view mirror to see if a bike or trike was coming until after she had stopped. My path was blocked so there was no way that I could see of getting around her vehicle, so I hit my brakes hard, which caused the trike to flip. I landed on my hands and knees then the trike landed on top of me, forcing me down onto my belly. The chain guard struck me between the gluteal muscles hard enough that it felt like I had just gotten a mega-wedgie. I laid there for a few seconds before a few people showed up and lifted the trike off of me. I got up and looked myself over to evaluate my injuries. It looked like I didn't have any broken bones and it looked like my injuries were all on my arms and legs. I had some road rash as well as some cuts and scrapes. My chain guard had been bent into the largest ring on the crank, my right fender bracket bent so that it was rubbing against the tire and one of my mirrors broke off. Among the first responders was a nurse who treated the worst of the cuts and scrapes. I brought my trike to a nearby bike rack and locked it up, and the nurse who had treated me gave me a ride to the shop where my car had just been repaired. Later that night when I took my socks off, I discovered that something, probably one of the pedals, had struck just above my ankle hard enough to break the skin and leave the area really sore. When I woke up this morning I was really sore. My body just ached all over the place, especially my right shoulder and right leg. Later this morning I went to some clothing stores with my brother. I tried some clothes on, but didn't buy anything. I was surprised that I could comfortably wear pants that had a 32" waist, although I think given the choice I would probably opt for pants with a 33 or 34" waist because I like to have the extra room just in case I should have gas or eat a big meal. 13 September 2008

Dover Cyclery picked up my trike for me, as it was not far from their shop. I asked them to straighten my left front wheel, and I will evaluate the trike further the next time I am able to get to their shop during business hours to see if I want them to fix anything else or if I will fix the other damage myself. I think I'll be able to make it there tomorrow evening before they close. 17 September 2008

I went to Dover Cyclery today. They had gotten my left front wheel pretty close to straight, but not quite. He told me that the wheel was too bent to get it straight again. I was able to straighten the fender mount and chain guard. After straightening the fender and chain guard, I found that the large sprocket was bent, so I straightened it. I also discovered that the right front wheel is bent. 20 September 2008

I picked my trike up today after work. I was told that the right rim was warped so badly that I think he said that he had to use a pipe to try to bend it somewhat straight before he adjusted the spokes. He got the wheel pretty close to straight. It was good enough that it doesn't really have any noticeable effect on the ride. They charged me $20 for working on both front wheels and $5 for picking it up for me. That seemed reasonable to me. The replacement mirror cost me $15.99. 22 September 2008

I was planning to replace the broken mirror assembly last night or this morning, but I just couldn't get myself motivated enough to go out and do it. This morning I left home later than I had planned, then I noticed that my watch wasn't displaying the correct time, so I couldn't really pace myself properly. I got to the bus stop a few minutes late, so I pedaled the rest of the way to work. I was planning to ease my way back into cycling, but my first day back went fine, so I guess there's no need to work my way back up. After work I replaced the broken mirror assembly and adjusted and tightened the other one. My ride home went fine, although I was a bit more cautious in the area where I had flipped the trike a week and a half ago, which was good because I could tell that some of the motorists didn't notice me coming up behind them, and I had to pull in line behind a pickup truck because it was too close to the curb. I decided that I will wear my helmet a lot more often, just in case. I came up with an idea for an attachment that would significantly reduce the chance that a trike would flip or suffer damage when braking hard. I haven't decided on a manufacturing process or what to make it from yet, but it shouldn't be too hard or expensive to make. I think it might be best to make the frame from aluminum and use a rollerblade wheel for the contact point. 23 September 2008

This morning I weighed in at 180 pounds. I cycled all the way to work again. It was really cold when I left home, which made my hands hurt. I need to find my cycling gloves. It was nice to see the sun peeking through the trees after I had gone a little way. By the time I got to Durham my hands had warmed up enough that it didn't hurt any more. I worked from 8am to 10am, but didn't have any work from 10am to noon, so I went for a ride. 24 September 2008

It's rained every day this past week. I didn't feel like getting soaked, so I drove and took the bus instead. Today I had my annual physical and got my flu shot. My blood pressure was at 120/80 and I was told that my blood and urine tests came back good to very good. I found out that last year about this time I weighed in at 237 pounds. Even though the weather forecast says that there is a chance of rain tomorrow, I think I will probably ride my trike instead of driving. 2 October 2008

Yesterday I rode to the train station and took the bus in to work from there because there is covered parking for bikes (and trikes) and the weather forecast called for rain in the middle of the day. On my way home I stopped at a used clothing store and picked up a pair of pants and a leather belt that fit me because almost all of my pants are too large in the waist and my shortest leather belt is a little loose when it is pulled all the way to the shortest adjustment. My pant size is down to 32x30. After I got home I noticed that the flag that I had attached to a shorter pole which I had previously attached to my trailer was clipped on instead of glued on like the one that had been stolen, so I took it off the short pole and put it on the pole on my trike and installed a new light on top.
This morning and afternoon I spent a few hours cleaning, then cycled to campus to work a shift. Before leaving for work, I went out to my porch to bring a bag of trash out to the can, and was surprised to see a box on my porch. I brought it in and opened it, and was surprised to see two of the tires I had ordered from airfreetires.com five months ago, along with the installation tool. I wonder if the rear tire will show up soon. I'm planning to put my Jeep on eBay sometime in the next few days, so I need to finish cleaning stuff out of it and take some photos, so I'll probably work on that and the trike today and tomorrow afternoon. 4 October 2008

Yesterday I finished cleaning my Jeep out and listed it on eBay. When I tried to install one of the airless tires on my trike, I discovered that they were the wrong size. They are made for a wider rim. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with them yet. This morning it was really chilly out and one of my gloves got wet, so I decided to just ride to Shaws and catch the bus in from there. Today I listed a pair of cold weather boots on ebay because they are too small for me. 6 October 2008

Yesterday morning I spent a few hours cleaning my apartment, and lost track of time, so when I looked at the clock, I realized that I didn't have enough time to cycle to work and get there on time, so I drove my car to work. After work I bought gas in Durham for $2.959/gallon. When I got home there was a door tag from FedEx on my door.
This morning I almost forgot to put my recyclables out. By the time I got them out to the curb and finished picking up someone else's trash that was scattered on my lawn, I was behind schedule. Since I wasn't going to be home during the day when FedEx delivers, I decided that I will drive down to their office either during a break or after work to pick up my package because it requires an adult signature. I drove in to work so that I would get there on time and so that I could pick up my package at FedEx. Since I'm living by myself in my apartment, I've been keeping my thermostat set at 54 degrees F to conserve fuel. I know it's cold, but it's a lot better than living in a tent during the winter when the outside temperature is -20 degrees F, which is something I've done. I just keep enough clothes on to keep me warm and use a couple thick blankets at night. I'll have to order some more fuel soon so that I don't run out before winter ends. According to newhampshiregasprices.com diesel fuel is down to $3.69/gallon and the cheapest gas in the state is down to $1.99/gallon, although that's probably a fluke or a gimmick because the second cheapest gas in the state is at $2.79/gallon in Newmarket. 8 October 2008

This morning I had a nice ride in. It was only slightly chilly. I could see my breath for the first half of the ride, but it warmed up some by the time I got to work. It took me 49 minutes this morning to get from my driveway to campus. I'm thinking about sponsoring a design competition where entrants would try to design accessories for my recumbent trike. I haven't decided what I would give as prizes, but I think I may give tools as prizes because I have more than I need. I am planning to talk with someone in the Mechanical Engineering department at UNH about this idea because I think it could be incorporated as part of a class project or homework assignment. I remember when I took Manufacturing Engineering and Design, we had to design something and explain how we would manufacture it. I wanted to choose a tool, but the other guys in my group decided that we would design a bobble-head thing. I thought it was lame and useless, but I was outnumbered. I think this would give Freshman and Sophomore Mechanical Engineering students an opportunity to design a useful product that would solve a problem instead of just trying to come up with something at random. Of course I wouldn't limit the competition to just Freshmen and Sophomores or to just Mechanical Engineering students. 10 October 2008

Yesterday afternoon I went for a ride. I stopped at a yard sale and bought a trailer for my trike for $15. This one looks to be much sturdier than the one that I had been using before, and which had broken this summer. It also attaches more securely and doesn't appear to rub on my trike like the other one did. It bolts in place rather than clamping in place. I was able to mount a pair of taillights to it much easier than I could with the old one. The roll cage looks much more rugged and it doesn't wobble like the old one did. I attached it to my trike, and this morning on my way in to work, I noticed that it rolls straighter than the other one did at higher speeds. It took me 52 minutes to get to campus, which is about 3 minutes longer than it typically takes me to get to campus without pulling a trailer. It appeared to take more effort than usual, but my perception could be off. For the first few miles of my ride, my knees were aching. I was tempted to stop at the bus stop and ride the bus the rest of the way in, but I decided that I wanted to cycle all the way in. After my legs warmed up, my knees didn't bother me as much. This morning I noticed that gasoline is down to $2.77 in Durham. 13 October 2008

Yesterday I rode more than 25 miles while pulling the trailer. I was tired by the time I got home. It could be partly because I hadn't eaten anything since 6am. This morning I weighed in at 178 pounds. After breakfast and a shower, I was scanning photos and posting them in my online photo album and lost track of time, so I had to take my car to get to work on time. It's probably just as well since I brought a desktop computer to work to make sure it's clean of viruses, spyware etc, and to update the software. 14 October 2008

It's been a while since I last posted something. I haven't been riding much lately. I haven't felt very motivated lately, so when the weather has been bad, I have been less inclined to ride my trike. I've also been having some sleep problems. When I rode my trike about a week and a half ago, it was so cold that my hands were in a lot of pain after only about a mile. I wished that I had worn thicker gloves. I was planning to ride all the way to campus, but before I got to Shaws my shifter cables both froze up, so I decided to just lock my trike up at Shaws and take the bus in. Lately I have been waking up too late to ride my trike in, so I have been driving to work instead. The alarm has been going off when it was supposed to. It just hasn't been waking me up right away. One day I woke up so late that I didn't have enough time to eat breakfast and had to rush to get to work on time. I'm planning to start writing a personal journal that is separate from this one so that it doesn't clutter up this one with so many personal details. 30 October 2008

This morning I rode my trike down to the post office to ship a package. I brought some hot cocoa to a couple of Fenton Groen's sisters who were volunteering for him, and voted before cycling to work. Because someone on campus had ripped the orange flag off my flag pole, I replaced it with a Joe Kenney for Governor sign. Unfortunately at higher speeds the sign would sometimes cause the pole to oscillate back and forth enough that sometimes the top of the pole would hit the ground. It was surprisingly warm out today. I had put on two shirts and my cycling jacket, but found that after a mile or so I was getting really warm, and decided to take off my gloves, jacket, top shirt and helmet. I was still quite warm when I got to work. The bike rack was full, so I locked my trike to the railing next to the stairs. 4 November 2008

It's been a while since I last posted because I hadn't ridden much due to the weather, my schedule, lack of motivation, etc. I think the lower gas prices may have been a factor too. I had been feeling kind of depressed and lonely, which made it difficult to get motivated to do much of anything. Yesterday I rode my trike down to the post office to ship a package. After I got home I disconnected the trailer, packed a bag, and cycled down to Planet Fitness to work out for a couple hours. I started going a couple weeks ago because I decided that I had been neglecting my upper body too much and I wanted to keep my legs conditioned during the winter months when I wasn't cycling as much. The gym is only 3 miles from home, so it's an easy ride. This morning I cycled to the post office in the snow to mail some business paperwork off for a business venture that will allow me to work from home and that will give me a very flexible schedule. I'm still planning to keep my job at UNH because I enjoy it, but this new business opportunity will allow me to work more hours when I need them. I'll also be able to take this business with me if I move, which is very nice. 30 December 2008

I haven't posted in quite some time because I've been very busy with other stuff.  I lost my job at UNH nearly 2 months ago, and have been working part time from home (which isn't as profitable as expected), so I haven't been riding quite as much, although I've been cycling instead of driving whenever possible.   During the frozen months, I didn't ride much because of the problem of frozen shifter cables and the greater difficulty and discomfort of riding in the snow and ice, and my weight went back up to about 190 pounds.  I started riding again as soon as temperatures got above freezing, and started riding a lot more after the snow banks melted. Over the last couple days I've been out running errands and job hunting, and rode nearly 50 miles in those 2 days.  Earlier this year I added a Burley Alternative Hitch to my trike, and am quite happy with it.  I mounted an air horn on my left mirror arm, with a remote air tank mounted under my seat.  It can be refilled with a bicycle pump and seems to be quite effective at deterring some aggressive dogs and getting the attention of distracted motorists.   I also mounted headlights on both mirror arms, which seems to be among the best places to mount them.  I was also able to mount a headlight on the front of the trike just above the front derailleur.  I modified my trailer by replacing the flexible connector with a Burley connector.  Now with that setup, I can quickly connect and disconnect the trailer without tools.  The tires I had before wore out, so I had to replace them.  First I took the tires off my trailer and installed them on my trike, but as they are 1.75" wide and rated for a lower pressure, they felt squishy and didn't handle well.  I ended up ordering a pair of Schwalbe Kevlar Marathons that are 1.5" wide, rated for 100 psi and have a reflective stripe on both sides.  They have a much thicker tread than the Primo Comets I was using before, and handle nicely.  They should also last a lot longer than the Primo Comets, and only cost a few dollars more.   While replacing the front tires, I noticed that one of the fender mounting tabs had broken, so I switched the fenders to make use of the previously unused tabs on the other side.  I mounted the air-free tires on the trailer, and found that they work well for that application.  I designed, built and installed an anti-flip crank guard from mostly recycled parts, which came from a discarded office chair and a broken scooter.  The only things I had to buy for it were a couple stainless steel U-bolts.   Since state law requires all bicycles to have reflectors on the pedals, and the pedals that came with my trike didn't have reflectors, I bought a pair of pedals that have not only reflectors, but tiny generators inside them and LEDs that flash when I'm pedaling.  One works great, but the other one wasn't working properly, so I called the company, and they said they would send a replacement. During my last visit to my mom's house, I made a couple reflective glow-in-the-dark flags, one for my trike and the other for my son's bike.  An idea has been brewing in my head, for a tandem 3 wheel drive recumbent trike, where the rear passenger would power the rear wheels and the front passenger would power the front wheel.  I haven't settled on a design, but have figured out most of how it would work.  I'm not sure what the best way to steer it would be, although there are some great ideas on the web.  I've been having problems with my front shifter.  I replaced the cable over a month ago because it stopped working and it turned out that the cable had frayed inside the grip shifter.  It worked fine for a while, but now it's being problematic again.  For a few days it wouldn't shift into the lowest gear and didn't reliably shift into the highest gear, so I made some adjustments yesterday.  I got it to shift into the lowest gear easily, but now it isn't shifting into the highest gear.  I'll have to do some troubleshooting later today.  Below are some photos I took last month and earlier this month.  Some photos show the trike with the trailer tires mounted on it.  30 April 2009

Last night I rode only a short distance to deliver a gift to someone and to pick up something that I had loaned to someone else.  Today I didn't ride anywhere, but I got some ideas and got motivated to work on my 3 wheel drive modular tandem recumbent trike project.  I finished making the front drivetrain, using a junk bike and some parts I had laying around, and welded part of the frame together.  Once I get a piece of 1.5" 12 gauge square tubing, I'll be able to attach the front and back halves together which will give me a rolling chassis with a functional drivetrain.  After that's done, then I'll need to make the seats and the steering assembly to make it ridable.  I want to make it so that it can be disassembled and the back half can be attached to my recumbent trike and the front half can be attached to a modified trailer to make a front wheel drive recumbent trike.  I also want to make the seats adjustable so that it can be fitted to the rider, even if they are a child or a tall adult.  1 May 2009

I haven't been posting as much as I had planned to.  I ended up abandoning the front wheel drive portion of the modular tandem recumbent trike project because I didn't like the tourqe-steer effect.  I decided that one passenger will power the right rear wheel and the other passenger will power the left rear wheel.  I have both seats now, and figured out how both seats will be attached.  I got it to the point where I was able to ride the trike without the center section installed.  I attached the front and rear sections together to make it a single passenger recumbent trike.  I still need to work on the steering system, and I need to get one of those funny looking master links to make the chain one link shorter.  I can steer with the original handlebars, but it's uncomfortable from the rear seat.  When it's set up as a tandem, I can comfortably steer it from the front seat.

I am working on making a smaller tadpole style recumbent trike with an adjustable boom, that should fit children from around 5 years old to 150 pounds.  It's still a work in progress, but I've come up with some neat ideas that will probably be incorporated into the design.

I've been cycling more lately.  I've chosen to cycle instead of driving any time I need to get somewhere becaues I don't see how I can afford gasoline.  Today I cycled 38 miles and topped 38 mph.  A few weeks ago I bought and installed a speedometer that cost me less than $10.  I also replaced the rack over the rear wheel with an all metal one that I got off a junk bike.  7 June 2009

Yesterday I rode my trike 8.4 miles in the morning, then another 8.4 miles in the afternoon. Then that evening while I was riding my trike, a light turned yellow, and I was moving pretty quickly, and decided to stop for the light, even though I might have been able to make it through the intersection before it turned red. The rear of the trike swung around some and it rolled over, tossing me onto the pavement. One mirror assembly and a taillight broke off, and two other lights fell off. I was able to reattach two of the lights, but never found the one that broke off. I decided to keep going, and stopped at a donut shop to wash the sand out of the wound on my elbow, then continued on my way. After having ridden about 15 miles that evening, I heard a noise that made me uneasy, so I stopped to see what was causing it. My rear wheel was crooked and the dropout on the right side had broken, so I walked the trike to a nearby parking lot and made a call to some of my friends. A while later I got a ride home, then drove my car back to Portsmouth, strapped my trike to the top of the car, and brought it home. I had thought about buying some aluminum welding rods and trying to fix it myself, but decided that since it was such a critical part, I would be better off having a professional do it with professional grade equipment for the strongest weld possible. I dropped the trike off at a welding shop in Berwick, and was told that the guy who welds aluminum would probably be able to repair it in the morning, so I'm going to try to get up there in the morning before he does so that I can make sure he knows exactly how I want it done. I want him to weld it back together, then weld a reinforcing plate over the hole to make it stronger, so that hopefully it will not break again. 6 July 2009

Today I picked the trike up from Norm Faucher Welding, 136 Rochester St., Berwick, ME. The repair looked great. He welded it back together, then welded a plate inside the hole and a strip along the back edge where the dropout had snapped. Hopefully that'll keep it from snapping again. I took my spare mirror parts (from the last time I broke a mirror assembly) out of my spare parts box, and was able to use parts from both broken mirror assemblies to make a good mirror assembly, which I installed where the broken one was. 8 July 2009

On the morning of July 9th I hooked my trailer to my trike, loaded it with camping gear, clothes, water and enough food for about a week. Everything I loaded into the trailer weighed about 100 pounds. When I was finished packing, I started cycling West. I stopped at Airgas in Dover to get some dry ice, which I put in an insulated bag, which I then put in my cooler. I made the mistake of printing out directions from Google maps and not bringing a decent map with me, and got lost when I got near Manchester. The directions told me to turn left at a road that I never saw a sign for, and when I got to a T in the road, I turned left, which sent me several miles out of my way toward the SE. When I realized that I was not in the right place, I knocked on the door of a nearby home and got directions. On my way back toward Manchester part of the road was flooded. While crossing the water, my backside and some of the contents of my trailer got wet. After arriving in Manchester, I stopped at a ball field and bought a burger from the concession stand. The men at the concession stand gave me directions to get across the river and to Rt. 101. I eventually got to Rt. 101 and continued West. My directions told me to take the exit for a certain road, but I never saw a sign for it, and ended up riding to the far end of Milford before getting off. I stopped at a house and asked for directions to the road i was trying to get to. The person who answered the door told me that he saw me on the highway earlier, and told me that I needed to head back in the direction I had come from and turn left at the light, ride several miles through town to the traffic circle, where I turned onto the road where I spent the night. My ride that day was supposed to be 65 miles, but due to the wrong turns, became an 83 mile ride. The next morning my friend and I strapped the trike onto his car and put the trailer in the back with the rest of our gear. We then rode together to Tinmouth, VT for SolarFest. We unloaded a table for a vendor and took the trike and trailer down. I then tried to ride my trike with trailer attached, still containing some of my gear, up the hill to where we were going to camp, but found that I was only able to ride part way up because I couldn't get enough traction on the grass and the ground wasn't very smooth. I disconnected the trailer and walked it up to the spot where we were planning to set up the tent, then went back down to my trike and rode it up the hill. I found that riding back down the hill was much more fun than riding up. I went to several presentations and learned some new things over the weekend. I also talked with a number of people who expressed an interest in buying a recumbent trike. I figured out that I could deliver an assembled and properly adjusted trike for below retail, and still make a profit, so I handed out my business cards and told some of the folks who were interested that if they decide to buy a trike, that they should contact me and I should be able to deliver an assembled trike to them for a lower price than they will find anywhere else. On Saturday it rained and things got pretty muddy. I ended up having to push my trike a couple times because of a lack of traction, but was able to ride it most places. Sunday turned into a pretty nice day, although the ground was still fairly wet in a lot of places. My trike got really muddy, and I did a bit of slipping and sliding while riding down the hill, but it was a lot of fun. I think it helped a lot that I had a wider and stronger rear wheel and wider tires than the original factory tires. At the end of the day, we packed up, strapped the trike to the roof and headed back to NH. We got back to Milford, and I ended up sleeping in the car. The next day I rode with my friend to Nashua, and he dropped me off there with my trike, trailer and gear. He unstrapped the trike, and while I was assembling and packing the trailer, a wind gust came along and caused the trike to roll off the car. I had to make some readjustments because of the fall, and the mirrors got knocked out of position. I connected to the internet with my pocket computer and found that there was a bike shop nearby. I called Gooddale's Bike Shop and explained that I was far from home and that my chain was muddy and didn't appear to have any lubricant left in it. The guy I talked with told me that they would clean and lube my chain for free, so I rode there, and they cleaned the mud off my chain and lubed it up good. From there I headed home. I ended up having to stop several times to reattach mirrors and make some other adjustments. Since I hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night, I was really tired. I ended up dozing off quite a few times after midnight while pedaling up hills, and woke up whenever I heard a vehicle approach or bumped into the curb or hit a pothole or stopped and started rolling backwards. Before that night I did not believe that it was possible to sleep while pedaling, but found that I could fall asleep at the lower speeds that I traveled at while riding uphill. I did not fall asleep while riding downhill. I contemplated stopping to sleep, but decided to push on, and got home around 4am. The ride from Nashua to my home was close to 60 miles.

Recently, as i was riding down Central Ave. in Dover around 20 mph, a group of young men and women walked into the road from behind a vehicle instead of crossing at the cross walk (which was about 5 yards further down the road), where I would have seen them before they entered the road. I had to brake hard to stop in the few feet between where I was when I saw them to where I had to stop before crossing their path. When they saw me brake hard for them, one of the guys apologized, and I told them to just go ahead since traffic had already stopped for them. This Wednesday I weighed myself, and found that I had lost about 7 pounds over the past month, and was down to 183 pounds. I later rode 17 miles, with a stop at the gym and a stop at the grocery store, where I found some great deals, including grits for $0.25/pound, oats for $0.53/pound and spaghetti for $0.70/pound. 24 July 2009

On 25 July I helped some friends move by carrying furniture out of their old home and into their new home. I was glad that I had taken it easy the previous day. I haven' been tracking my mileage as much as I wanted, but here are some details that I recorded. On 1 August I cycled at least 16.8 miles. On 3 August I cycled at least 6 miles. On 9 August I cycled to Deerfield after church, and while cycling down Route 43 I reached 42.1 MPH in Northwood then at least 42.3 MPH in Deerfield. As my speed got over 42.3 MPH the speedometer went to 0, apparently because the sensor didn't detect the magnet when it was going past that fast. On that day I cycled at least 63 miles. On 10 August I cycled at least 9 miles. On 11 August I cycled over 6 miles. On 14 August I cycled at least 6.5 miles. On 16 August I weighed in at 175 pounds then cycled about 70 miles. Today I plan to cycle at least 9 miles. It's been over 2 weeks since I last started my car. I'm thinking about selling it, but should probably fix it up some so that I can get a better price for it. 18 August 2009

There has been a bit of roadwork in the Somersworth/Dover area lately. In Dover they've been grinding up the surface of the road, leaving sharp edges on the road about an inch high, then waiting an excessive amount of time before paving. Hitting them at speed has been jarring, to say the least. Wednesday evening my taillight fell apart after hitting one during the first half of a 17 mile ride. I was able to improvise by taking a taillight from my bag that has a broken mount and putting it in a clear trash bag, which I tied to the basket on my trike. Toward the end of that ride, my right mirror fell off and broke. Fortunately I have a spare one. The next day I saw shattered bits of plastic on Central Avenue that looked like they were once part of my taillight. Yesterday I attached a used aluminum handlebar stem to the protrusion that my front dérailleur is mounted on. Then I took a broken seat and cut part of the aluminum post off and clamped the section of post in the other end of the handlebar stem. Then I took 2 headlights I had in my parts bin and mounted them on the tube. It's a lot stronger than the 'Space Grip' I had bought, installed and quickly broke last year. After making that modification, I rode 17 miles. On my way home, while riding around the traffic circle on Central Avenue in Dover, NH, I went over a ridge where the pavement had been ground away, and my horn fell off its bracket, which I had previously thought was impossible to remove without breaking it because of the way it was attached. Since I needed to repair the air line anyway, I removed the rest of the air horn assembly. Since July 13th, I've cycled over 430 miles, which is an average of a little over 11 miles a day, so I've been riding about half as much as I did when I was cycling to UNH every day. 21 August 2009

The shirt I like wearing the most, especially for long rides, is my Champion C9 DUO DRY because it does the best job at wicking moisture away and is very comfortable. I prefer it in XXL (for a loose fit around my waist) with grey fabric (92% polyester, 8% spandex). My favorite shorts are also Champion C9. I think they are running shorts, and are black with reflective stripes on either side.