Month: December 2022

REVISTING THE GREAT AMERICAN RAIL TRAIL PROJECT

Some progress is being made on the Great American Rail-Trail. It is quite a project. I first wrote about it a couple of years ago . Click HERE to view it. From the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., to Seattle, Washington one will be able to ride the entire distance on paved trails. It is reported to be about 53 % completed at this time. That is not really much of an increase as it was just over 52 % two years ago when I first wrote about it.

And here are a couple on bicycles riding on some of the existing route …

David has a total of 11 videos of his Great American Rail-Trail ride in case you want to watch any more of them.

With so many of us having electric motors on our bikes and trikes that becomes a major concern and consideration as our batteries need to be recharged. I would say that we are pretty much on our own as far as having a means of accomplishing this. Buying some sort of generator or other power supply can be expensive and can be heavy weight to carry along with us. Yet it is a necessity. I know that there is solar power but personally I don’t think it is very practical.

I doubt if I will ever ride the Great American Rail-Trail. I consider myself as having done well to have ridden the trails I have in the past when I was younger. And some of those trails are part of this Great American Rail-Trail project as they are using as many of the existing trails as they can in the route planning.

Click HERE to visit their website.

Click HERE to visit the routing in each individual State.

 Since I live in Indiana I am featuring Indiana’s part in this.

Click HERE to check out the State of Indiana. The report shows great detail. All States involved are available to view.

As the legend indicates the blue lines are existing trails being used. The red lines indiate gaps requiring connecting trails to be constructed. Indiana does not have much needing to be done. Some States have a whole lot of trails needing to be built. I wonder how popular it will be. Do you think you might ride it someday?

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RIDING IN/ON/THRU SNOW

It’s that time of the year again … SNOW, that is. So if you are like me and try to keep riding thru the winter months … and you live in the north where you have winter with snow …  you have a choice. You can stay home or get out there and ride in the snow. I do what I can but I readily admit I am not the winter rider I used to be when I was younger. I learned quickly that there is a difference between riding ON SNOW as compared to riding IN or THRU SNOW. I learned that a standard tadpole trike is about worthless when it comes to riding thru much snow. 2 or 3 inches is about all standard tires will roll thru and that is only if it is a light dry snow. A heavy wet snow is quite a challenge.

Snow is not as slippery as ice but it can be fairly slippery. Traction can be a problem. The resistance of the tires rolling thru the snow determines the traction. Some riders like studded tires for riding on snow. I am fine with them on ice, but to me they are not practical on snow. I don’t think they provide much traction on snow. All these studded tires shown above are knobby tires and it is the knowbby tire tread pattern which provides most of the traction … not the studs. The studs are for riding on ice.

I much prefer an aggressive knobby tire. I have one (pictured above) but haven’t used it for several years now as I have not been riding in snow deep enough to need it. I get by with my normal tires just fine. When I did use it it provided amazing traction.

That is me plowing snow with my trike in the picture above. Now if you believed that I would like to talk to you about some prime property in southern Florida. Actually that v-plow is being pushed along by a diesel powered train locomotive. At least it was until I got ahold of it.

Here where I live and ride the city is suppose to plow the snow off of the trails when there is a minimum of 3 inches depth. That helps immensely, of course. I used to remove leaves off of one of our local trails. I made up an “angled plow” to do it and it worked great. I did it for about 3 years before it broke and I never repaired it so that ended my leaf removal efforts. I thought about making up a snow plow to pull behind my trike but I never did. I don’t really want to get involved in snow removal. BTW, I could never do it or the leaf removal without having a powerful e-motor to use.

I suppose if I was really serious about winter riding I would use tire chains. However most winters anymore we don’t have the kind of weather that requires them. I would no more than install them when I would have to remove them.

I am not a fan of using plastic cable ties as they break and “litter” the earth as they fall off.

Yes, riding in the winter on snow can be fun. There is no reason to wimp out and stay home … not unless you have some really serious winter weather which is just too nasty to get out in..

This was our driveway in 2012. Needless to say, I did not go out riding at that time. I did go out riding when I took the picture below.

And I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was able to ride thru this snow as it was not deep enough to offer too much resistence to where I lost traction. Most people who talk about going out riding in winter with snow on the ground are riding “ON the SNOW” and not “IN IT” or “THRU IT”. There is a lot of difference. It is easy to ride on the snow but it can be hard to ride in it or thru it.

The velomobile video below demonstrates this. Riding on snow was not at all challenging but when he got to virgin snow and was riding in it he had to give up as he could not make any progress. He totally lost traction.

 

Here is a video I made back in 2008 when I had my homemade trike. I apologize for the poor quality of the video. Unfortunately it is a copy of a copy of a copy several times over and with each copy it lost quality and became blurred.

If you can do so I encourage you to make the effort to get out there and ride thru the winter. Even if you have to make it a shorter ride than you usually do. 

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– 38 DEGREES FAREINHEIT … I’M STAYING HOME

– 38 degrees … Hey, that will wake you up … or if exposed to it too long might put you to sleep … permanently. It is Dec. 24th as I sit here in comfort typing this. It is warmer today than it was yesterday but the wind is still blowing hard resulting in blizzard conditions (white out). It is nasty out there! And it is not just here in the northern states. Atlanta, GA has nearly identical weather. It is below freezing in Floral City, Florida. I need to explain — the – 38 was the “feels like” temperature yeasterday morning … not the actual temperature. The actual temperature was about -8 degrees.

The wind was blowing hard all night Thursday, all day Friday, all night again Friday … and still blowing hard this morning (Saturday). It is my understanding that much of the United States is experiencing this same weather. It is amazing to me how this can happen. We went from temperatures in the 40s and 50s to this frigid weather.

Next Thursday the temperature is forecasted to be back up into the low 50s for 3 days. Crazy man, crazy! I will take it though. Of course, it is also suppose to rain or snow nearly everyday for more than a week. So it doesn’t look like I will be going out riding when it warms back up. It seems it almost always happens this way in northern Indiana.

This has long been one of my favorite trike videos …

I can remember as a kid growing up I would be sitting in the classroom at school looking out the window at the great weather we were having and really looking forward to the weekend so I could enjoy the nice weather. And almost every weekend it would rain. Such is life! But I still want to …

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IT’S CHRISTMAS!

No Ho Ho Ho for me. I say Humbug to that. Christmas is not about some jolly old fat man with the attributes of God being able to know everything about us and able to travel almost instantaneously. He is Satan’s substitute for the real meaning of Christmas.

We have the Holy Bible to teach us and help us know the truth. In it we find the truth of Who God is and learn of His great love for all of us. There is one main theme thruout the Bible. The Old Testament tells us that “Someone is coming!” and the New Testament tells us that “Someone has come”. Beyond the main theme is another very important theme and that is man has sinned (that includes you and I) which created a very serious problem for us. That problem is ‘our sin separates us from God’. As much as God loves us and desires us to be with Him He is holy and therefore can not allow sin in His presence. We have a problem. God in His Word tells us that the wages or consequences of sin is eternal damnation apart from Him. We are eternal beings as our soul will live forever. This flesh will die but “we” won’t. We all have eternal life although most of us will experience what the Bible calls a second death where we will be judged and cast into eternal hell because of our sin. That is not the perfect will of God. It was not what He originally planned. Most of us have heard the word “Gospel”. It literally means “Good News” and that is exactly what it is. To understand and appreciate the good news one must first understand and grasp the bad news. The bad news is what I just talked about … the fact that we are all sinners and hell bound because of our sin. All God asks (actually demands) of us is that we agree with Him … that we are guilty as charged and have this problem we can’t do anything about. In His love He has provided the help we need so desperately. He provided salvation for us. Innocent blood had to be shed. There was only one source of innocent blood God would accept. That “Someone Who came” was very special. That Someone was none other than God Himself. In His great love He humbled Himself and was born as a human baby Who lived among us and showed us Who God is. He was special in that He had no earthly father which would have resulted in Him being born a sinner just like you and I were. He was without sin and therefore qualified to shed His innocent blood for us. Long long ago all of this was planned out and then carried out over 2000 years ago on a hill far away where an old rugged cross stood. Yes, He made the very tree that that old rugged cross originated from. There on that cross He willingly underwent horrific suffering and great pain to carry out that plan. But the story did not end on that cross. From the cross He went to the grave just like all other men do. The Good News is He did not stay in that grave. He came back to life and conquered death so that we also can live beyond the grave. Thru Jesus and what He did for us we too can have victory over the grave and experience the best news yet … we can spend eternity with the God Who loves us. It is indeed Good News! It is not complicated although man tries to make it complicated.It is as simple as ABC. Do you know the ABCs? If you have never accepted what God did for you that would be the very best Christmas gift you could receive. It is a limited time offer however. It expires upon your last heart beat. Jesus is alive today and forever. He has His arms extended to you to welcome you into His embrace. He loves you. He proved His great love in what He did for you and I. Today, if you hear His voice hearkening to you, do not harden your heart turning away from Him. You many never have another oportunity as none of us know what a day will bring forth. Our last breath could be seconds away.

Below is a video I made awhile back. I hope you enjoy it.

And may you and your family have a very blessed and Merry Christmas.

 

 

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DEKERS ELECTRIC TRIKES … PRODUCT OF POLAND

I came across this brand of electric trike as the result of the owner of the company requesting to join the Facebook Tadpole Rider Group.

Unfortunately their website does not offer English. However, the Google Chrome browser will translate it. I don’t normally use Google nor do I recommend it as they are just too big for their britches and are up to no good with all their power and money.

To the best of my understanding Dekers presently produces 3 models and they custom build trikes to meet their customer’s personal needs. They cater to those with disabilities.

Website

Facebook

YouTube videos 

 

ZADZWOŃ
Tel.: 791 628 486

NAPISZ
E-mail: kontakt@dekers.pl

ODWIEDŹ (physical address)
ul. Konecka 28a
26-333 Paradyż

They offer a two year warranty. As you can see in their videos the hub motors offer plenty of power spinning the rear wheel at speed easily.

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MULTI-USE TRAILS

Although we often call them bike trails most are multi-use trails intended for walkers, runners, skateboarders, roller skaters, and bicyclists. Some trails also allow horses. I have never had a discussion with anyone about this but I bet if we were honest we would say that we as cyclists would prefer they were strictly bike trails. And walkers would say they would prefer if no bicycles were allowed. I can understand why as many cyclists display bad discourteous  manners and give cyclists a bad name. Of course, most walkers do the same. And watching videos of various trails I have noticed that people are the same all over the world. Then I recall the famous words … “Can’t we all just get along?” I would be the first to admit that it is quite challenging. People aren’t going to change.

Multi-use trails don’t include sharing the pavement with airplanes, right? Or does it? This cyclist definitely has a front row seat. I am pretty sure that is closer than I would care to be.

Some animals I am thrilled to share the trail with …

And some I want no part of. I am glad I don’t have to share the trail with this guy …

And another …

And another …

And another …

 

Unfortunately there are too many vicious acting dogs out there and many of them are not on a leash like the law requires.

And another …

I don’t mind small harmless snakes but this fella (or gal) I find intimidating.

And some more …

Even our fellow cyclists can be a royal pain …

Cars are not allowed on trails, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t encounter them …

A friend of mine told me about a car passing him on a trail. He estimated the car was doing about 30 mph. I have only seen motorscooters and motorcycles which, of course, are not allowed either.

And hopefully we won’t be party to a police chase while riding along the trail …

That could have some really bad results.

So I guess one could say that there is good and bad in multi-use trails. I reckon that is true of just about everything in life. Dirty Harry said it … “go ahead, make my day” … only I would alter it … “help me to make your day”. Since we all have to share the trails together may we make the effort to make each other’s day. It is not easy dealing with others but we really need to make the effort. And may God add His blessing!

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E-TRIKE PAS VS TORQUE SENSING

There is no doubt about it. Torque sensing is best and preferable over PAS (pedal assist sensor)(cadence sensing). That being said, not all e-motor system kits have torque sensing as part of their offering. I wish this were not so but alas it is what it is. My current e-motor came with both a hand throttle and a PAS sensor. I hooked up the hand throttle but I never messed with the PAS sensor. Just now I got it out of the box looking at it to see what would be involved in installing it. Of course, winter weather is upon us now so I don’t know if I will be messing with it before Spring when it warms up. I do need to get it installed for sure so that I will have “pedal assist”.

 

I paid big bucks for a torque sensor years ago.I had to buy a new crankset as the one from Catrike would not work with the torque sensor. I paid big bucks to install it. It didn’t work. A few months later I was having my trike worked on so I cautioned the mechanic that he needed to be very careful not to allow the torque sensor spindle in the bottom bracket to rotate as it has very delicate wires which will readily break.

He didn’t listen to me and he broke every one of the wires. It didn’t work before so it would not have mattered but I was getting ready to return it for a different type. I was very concerned about all the broken wires so my late brother in law who was a senior electronics technician repaired all of them for me. He did an excellent job on it but, of course, it was all for nothing since it didn’t work. Anyway, I got the other bottom bracket torque sensor but never installed it.  It would have required me to purchase another crankset as the one I had bought for the first torque sensor would not work with the newest torque sensor. And the local bike shop could not locate a crankset that would work so I never installed it. Now I don’t have that e-motor installed anymore so it doesn’t look like I will ever use the new torque sensor. I don’t think much of that type of sensor. They are just too delicate and too difficult to install and set up properly. Now they have a different type which is not mounted in the bottom bracket. I like that concept much better.

Here is a DIY hack some might want to consider.

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QUAD MS … ANOTHER UPSTARTER

I just learned of another trike builder from Mexico who is attempting to start up production and sales of his trikes and quads. His name is Marcelo Hector  Sadaba.

He has been fabricating bicycles for some time as I understand and has come up with interesting creations.

And then I read this which totally has me confused: 

“My name is Enrique Grajeda founder of Quad – MS.
(https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057616331014)
We are a small shop that has 3 years developing 3 platforms of Recumbents, 1 trike and 2 Quads, one of them later for fun/sport and the other for cargo.
We invite you to visit our Facebook page to follow what we are doing, and WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS.
The one you see in the Picture is the Baja Xplorer Recumbent Tadpole Trike, the Version 5 prototype and on final testing.
This Trike is our proposal for those looking and affordable yet robust recumbent trike for transportation and fun.
Comes wit 21 gears, 3×7, with the possibility to add pedal assist.
Since our natural market, once we start selling is Mexico and South America our goal has been to produce vehicles that have a price at the reach of people in our country and the developing countries; we know that for people in Nort American or EU that would be low and we are happy for that as it will allow folks to do a lot of customization.
If you are interested in what we are doing and think that can help us get started, send us a Message, we will appreciate the KickStart.
Cheers from Suny Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico”

QUAD MS Facebook page  

So I guess there are at least two guys involved in this start up company.

 

  • Antonio Mijares No. 16 Ote, Loreto, Mexico, 23880
    Address (located about 2/3 down the eastern coast of the penisula known as Baja California Sur Mexico)

    +52 613 128 4791
    Mobile

    grago.serv@yahoo.com.mx
    Email

    Marcelo’s Facebook page

     

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RESTRICTED VS UNRESTRICTED E-MOTOR SYSTEMS

By law many e-motors are restricted to certain speeds … usually 20 mph here in the United States. Some of us don’t agree to such laws. I readily admit I am among those who don’t think e-motors should have such restrictions. It makes no sense to restrict a motorized bike or trike to 20 mph when riders on non-motorized cycles can ride 30 plus mph.  There are ways to get around these built in restrictions but keep in mind modifying the system is against the  law. And it will void warranties. And it is harder on the bike/trike, especially the drive train. Things will wear out quicker and may even break.

Here is a simple DIY hack which should work on other systems which use a magnet on a wheel to sense the speed of the bike/trike.

The next video covers Tongsheng systems …

The next two videos covers Bafang …

The next video deals with Xplor Odyssey …

Many controllers simply have a wire for the speed limiter which is plugged together. Unplugging it shuts off the speed limiter.

 

Lastly Bosch is a popular e-motor system. The following deals with a hack for it.

For those who want more from their Bosch e-motor system there is a DIY hack using a $200 product which is very simple to install. It just plugs in using existing  wiring and connectors. It simply gets around the built in speed limiter. My understanding is it can be shut off and turned on so that the system can still operate as it did originally.

Installing the Speedbox involves removing the left side pedal, removing the left side cover of the Bosch emotor, unplugging two wire harness connections, plugging in two Speedbox connectors into those two unplugged Bosch connections, plugging the remaining two Speedbox connectors into the Bosch connectors you first unplugged. Test it to make sure it is working before putting things back together. It is all explained and illustrated in this next video.

Purchase a Speedbox version 3 on Amazon. Currently it is selling for $199. You can find it on Ebay and other websites as well. The price is all over the place.

I personally know very little about this gadget so I can’t advise anyone. I do know that they have had at least 3 versions of it thus far and the 3rd version shows it is for 2014 to 2020 Bosch systems. If you have an older or newer system you will need to research this for yourself if you are interested. Be aware that installing this for road use is against the law. Also be aware that installing it will void Bosch warranties.

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“THE LOOP” … 130 plus MILES OF RIDING IN THE DESSERT

Several times others have recommended snowbirding to Tucson, Arizona rather than Florida. Quite honestly there is nothing about most of the western states that appeal to me. When I look at the western half of Texas I can’t help but wonder why we fought Mexico for it. It is just miles and miles of nothing but wasteland in my opinion. Mexico ended up more less possessing it anyway and without firing a shot. The states of Arizona and New Mexico also have no appeal to me … just more wasteland. Tucson as a city has no appeal to me. But then I don’t like cities at all. I am a “small town boy”. That being said I am somewhat impressed with The Loop. At 130 or more miles long that is a lot of trail to ride. Of course, it is riding in the dessert … something which probably would not appeal to some of us, including me.  I just looked at their weather forecast. It is a little cooler than I thought it would be and their daily highs are different than what I expected for December. Here in Indiana where I live it gets colder as the winter months pass. December can be a mixed bag of offerings … from the 60s down into the teens. January is usually the coldest month and by March it is usually starting to warm up a little bit with the emphasis on a little bit. In Tucson December is in the 60s for highs and starting in January each month it gets a little bit warmer. By the end of March it is up into the low 80s so for me that would be my cut off point for snowbirding. I don’t like heat and low 80s is as warm as I care for. I could handle all those temperatures from Dec thru Mar. I doubt very much if I will ever get to travel to Tucson and ride The Loop but maybe you might. They have expanded it some already and have plans to expand it more.

PLEASE NOTE — I JUST HEARD THAT E-BIKES ARE NOT ALLOWED ON THE LOOP. THAT IS RIDICULOUS!

This next video discusses the use of motorized cycles on The Loop …

Click HERE to order the book about The Loop mentioned in the video above.

The sound is lousy in this next video but it shows e-bikes riding on The Loop. At 3 min. 40 seconds into the video there is something I always like to see …

Online maps are available with various information about the trail system.

Here are more videos …

And here is a very long video of a bike ride on the loop where a bicyclists rides about 16 miles or so one way to get to Flowing Wells.

After watching the video above I can see that The Loop is not as appealing to me as I thought it would be. It looks to be very boring to ride. There is very little shade and the scenery really sucks in my opinion. And there looks to be a lot of it which runs right next to busy roads and trail users have to cross these roads. I would not care for that. They do have the trail considerably closed off to any unwanted traffic being able to get onto it. It is fenced in. I would feel quite trapped if I were on the trail as there are very few places where one could get off of the trail. I don’t know what they have for restroom facilities but I didn’t see any in the video. According to THIS there are lots of restrooms available all along the trail.

Floral City, Florida and the Withlacoochee State Trail is looking more appealing all the time. It is partly cloudy and 79 there right now and only 56 in Tucson. And it is raining in Tucson. I would expect that in Florida but not Arizona. But alas, I am stuck here in Indiana with little hope of going anywhere to escape winter. I am hoping we will have an unusually mild winter with above average temperatures and very little precipitation … rain or snow. Now I could handle that. It would help me to …

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E-BIKE CERTIFIED HELMETS

I personally don’t wear a helmet while riding my trike. I always wear one if I ride a bicycle. That being said helmets are not something I give much thought to. It never dawned on me that a standard bicycle helmet is said to be effective as far as protection only up to 17 mph. That makes no sense to me. It is like telling a football player his helmet won’t protect him if he runs faster than 10 mph. It really makes no sense since there are bicyclists who reach speeds of 30+ mph without the aid of an electric motor. Anyway, this video is saying that one needs a different helmet offering more protection when riding an e-bike which obtain speeds up to 28 mph. Of course, some e-bikes go much faster than 28 mph. So then what do you do? I don’t know anything about any of it, but I have long thought that a standard bicycle helmet offers minimal protection … especially compared to a motorcycle helmet.

Ebike certified helmets are more costly than many standard bicycle helmets. All of them I looked at were over $100. One was $465. Ouch!  HERE is an article on them.

One person commented that you should bypass this ebike helmet and go with what downhill mountain bikers use. … which is a full face protection helmet. They are not cheap … $200 to $300 dollars on Amazon … but they definitely do offer more protection.

 

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GOAT HEAD? … WHAT’D YOU CALL ME?

In the 3rd chapter of Genesis we read that because of sin (disobedient rebellion against God) the earth was cursed. God did not originally create the earth with all the bad elements man deals with.  Thorns were unheard of prior to this curse. Where I live we don’t have goat heads so I have never had to deal with them. I sure have heard and read others talk about them. They definitely are a real menace. Here is a picture of the plant that these rascals are found on.

We have other kinds of thorns where I live but rarely are they found on a bike trail.

Those who walk where these thorns exist also deal with them.

Unfortunately there are a lot of cyclists who do have to deal with these thorns.

Without proper and adaquate protection the result is lots of flats. That is never a welcome thing. So what is a person to do? It would be nice if this threat were simply removed but I am sure that is not practical. That means that the cyclist must do whatever it takes to prevent getting flats. There are options available. There are tires which are flat resistant. There are tire liners. And there are sealants that can be used. Some claim that flat resistant tires alone suffice for them while others say they still get flats with them and need something more. Since I have never had to deal with goat head thorns I am not in a position to advise anyone.

From what I have seen and heard these goat head thorns not only are a threat to the bottom of a tire but they also are found sticking into the sidewalls. Sidewalls of tires don’t offer hardly any protection in comparison to the bottoms. In the picture above the longest most threatening part of the thorn  is not what is sticking into the tire’s sidewall. Some sidewalls are more vulnerable than others. Some are quite soft and thin making them easy to penetrate.

In all the years and hundreds of posts on this blog I have never done one about goat head thorns. I know I have mentioned them in past articles but that is all. Probably because I don’t have to deal with them I have never written much about them.  It is sort of “out of sight, out of mind”. Here in the United States they are found mostly in the southwest as I understand. I am in northeastern Indiana so I am far away from anyplace they are found … for which I am thankful.

From what I have read this plant was not native to the U.S. but was “unintentionally introduced here”. I am not sure what that means. I wonder how one would unintentionally turn loose this menace.

Reading about this plant is rather interesting. Man has used it for various purposes.

Here is a video illustraing how to get rid of these plants.

There are lots of videos on YouTube about goat head thorns and cycling.

The next time I hear someone call me a goat head I won’t take it as a compliment.

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OUTRIDER HORIZON OFF ROAD E-TRIKE

If you have the money they have the trike. And it is a beauty! It has some really nice features. Of course, they don’t come cheap. Although it is designed for off road riding it is quite at home on road as well.

Here is a video presentation of it including a test ride …

Only 21,500 U S Dollars and a 14 month wait to have one built for you. Personally I would much rather have a quad. They don’t tip over as easily and can go places a trike can’t.

One thing I noticed from watching the video above is that the electric motor is fairly noisy. I like a nice quiet operating motor like the hub motor I have now. I can sneak up on people with it. 😉

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TRIKE TOURING IN KRABI, THAILAND

Matt Galat tours Krabi, Thailand with a friend on tadpole trikes. This video features some spectacular drone footage.

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