Month: March 2023

RAIN NEARLY EVERYDAY

Looking ahead at the ten day weather forecast 7 out of 10 days shows rain or snow. It is that time of year … Spring … when rain is all too common. Of course, with rain comes river flooding and closed trails. Some of our trails are still closed from rain a few weeks ago. And we keep getting more rain so the river silt (mud) on the trails can’t dry out so it can be removed off of the trails. So the trails stay closed with no hope of opening back up anytime soon. Winter brings quite a bit of precipitation  causing all of this and then Spring comes along . I sure with the city of Fort Wayne, Indian never would have built so much of our trails along the rivers. What trails we have which were not built along rivers don’t have this flooding problem. At least I have those to ride on when the other trails are closed. Even some of them get flooded over by nearby creeks and ditches but they don’t flood nearly as often and when they do they don’t stay flooded very long compared to the traills along the rivers.

If ever any of you are considering riding the Fort Wayne Trails it would be advisable to check on the status of trail closures by going to THIS webpage. It is usually kept up to date. You are also welcome to CONTACT ME as I usually know what is going on with our trails.

Today (as I compose this) has been a warm rainy day so I took advantage of it and spent several hours working on my trike. Tomorrow is not suppose to rain so hopefully I will be able to ride and test out all that I did to my trike today. The following day some nasty weather is forecast so I won’t be venturing out. But whenever I can my plan is to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the three membership vetting questions.

NO SENSE CRYING OVER A LOST TAIL LIGHT

I had two of these BV taillights mounted on the rear of my trike. Yesterday at some point during my ride one of them fell off (unlees someone stole one while I was eating lunch). I didn’t discover it until half way thru my ride. I watched carefully for it as I backtracked my route but someone must have found it and got a nice taillight out of the deal. These are only sold along with their headlight as a set so I can’t just order the taillight. I don’t need another of their headlights as I already have three. It sickens me when I lose a headlight or taillight. Actually I hate losing anything off of my trike. I think I will just stay home and stay in bed. No, that won’t work either. Actually I have extra taillights I can use and already am. This one I lost is only rated at 35 lumen although it seems much brighter than that … closer to 100. This morning I replaced it with a set of 150 lumen  lights I had. The battery charge lasts a lot longer in them anyway so they are probably what I should have been using all along.

Mounted in between these two I have a 350 lumen version of this taillight I can use. It is almost blinding so I rarely use it.

One thing I have noticed is that taking still pictures or videoing bike lights doesn’t do them justice. I videod both of the head lights and the tail lights earlier today and  neither one appear like they do to my eyes. This video of my headlights illustrates my point quite well. I have two BV 300 lumen headlights on flash mode and right below them is a BV tail light. With my eyes this combination is very noticeable. The red really catches one’s attention. However in the video you can barely see the red tail light flashing.

And the tail lights  are very bright, especially the center one. But in the video they don’t appear anything at all the same. One would not even think that they are the same lights.

It is like when I was in the navy out at sea. I used to see some of the most beautiful sun rises and sun sets but when I would take pictures of them they didn’t look anything like what I saw with my eyes. I was always so disappointed in the pictures.

I just bought a taillight with an automatic brake light. I will install it tomorrow and see how that works. Hopefully it is not a waste of money. My biggest concern is the automatic brake light will be too sensitive coming on all the time when I don’t want it to.

I got the brake light mounted today ready to try out. I also mounted my new battery mount. My previous one broke in two and my battery spilled out onto the roadway as I was riding along. So now I have one of my two batteries mounted down low under the seat moving its weight forward. Previously I had both of my batteries mounted on my rear rack which is a lot of weight back there. Now when I lift up my trike to load and unload it from my truck it is much heavier toward the front and noticeably lighter toward the back. It makes it considerably harder to load and unload.

I bought a tail light with turn signals awhile back. They work but the control switch is too dim to see out in daylight so I was never able to use it. The tail light itself along with the turn signals is also too dim to be much good. It would be fine at night but I ride in the day light.

While working on my trike today I discovered that one of my two bike alarms is missing. They were attached to the bottom of the frame (out of sight) using plastic zip ties. I have only been using one of them and so I have not been carrying the other remote control with me. Since I haven’t been using it I haven’t heard the other alarm chirping letting me know it is still there. Oh well, what’s money?

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the three membership vetting questions.

MYRTLE’S BEEN UNDERWAY FOR 2 WEEKS NOW

I readily admit that I don’t keep up with the adventures of Sylvia on her 9000 mile journey she started two weeks ago. That being said, I just checked out the latest she has posted and watched the YouTube video.  HERE is a handy web page to do this.

Sylvia reports that it has been considerably cooler than she anticipated it would be. She has had to dress in several layers of clothing to stay warm. At least she has a warm comfortable place to sleep each night. Even Myrtle takes advantage of it.

On her most recent stopover she was met by a pastor who along with his wife are hosting her for a few days in their home.

Turtles are known to move along rather slowly but sometimes ol’ Myrtle will surprise us … 23 mph. I think she is going downhill.

I see that Sylvia’s YouTube  videos are not keeping up. She only has day 5 posted as I compose this. The current videos are available via links on the web page I mentioned earlier.

I would love to be able to ride a ways with her when she comes thru Indiana, however her route is too far south for me to be able to do so. I was just reading Sylvia’s testimony of traveling about 75,000 miles on her tadpole trikes since 2007. She has travelled in over 20 countries. I can’t make that claim but over the same period of time I have ridden my tadpole trikes over 108,000 miles. Most of that is on the local trails here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is highly unlikely I will ever travel by trike like Sylvia is doing but thru her and a few others I can share their experiences vicariously. She is several years younger than I am so she may eventually bypass my miles ridden. She will have to work hard at it though as my intention is to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

as long as I am able adding to my accumulated mileage.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

MIXED BAG OF WEATHER

I reckon it’s that time of year. I am talking about when one day it is 60 degrees and the next day it is 30 degrees with a feels like temperature of 20. Strong winds are also common which, of course, cause the “feels like” temperature. Along with that it goes from bright sunshine with cloud free skies to totally overcast and that can happen all in one day. Usually however when it goes from 60 to 30 it is a much slower process to get back to warmer temperatures. Rarely does it go from 30 to 60 in one day. It usually takes a few days of slowly warming to get back to 60 and oftentimes the weather forecast is inaccurate. They may show 60 for a high but it may never get past 57 or so. And just when it gets back up to 60 or so another cold spell hits repeating the cycle. I tell ya it would not be like this if I was in charge. As I compose this I think it is 3 more days until Spring starts. Of course, that is only a date on the calendar. It doesn’t really mean much. Some of the worst winter weatherI have lived thru occurred in late March. Hopefully that won’t happen again anytime soon.

Anyway, this change in the weather plays havoc with my riding my trike. I can handle riding in 40 mph winds but not when the temperature is already too low for comfort. No, I stay home remembering that “this too shall pass”.

There are those who say that there is  no such thing as “chem-trails” … that all we see in the skies are con-trails. I say hog wash! If they are all con-trails why do lots of them look a lot different and have a different effect up in the sky? I believe that man is manipulating the weather by releasing chemicals from high flying aircraft, but it doesn’t stop with the weather. I believe some very evil things are going on high up into our atmosphere. The people behind this have let it be known that their goal and agenda is to eliminate 90 % of the world population. They want to greatly decrease the number of people to a “manageaable” number as they strive to gain total control thus fulfilling end time bible prophecy.

 

If airplanes are not spraying chemicals in the sky then will somebody please explain all the pictures and videos that are available showing it.

Recently “they” used a so-called vaccine containing harmful ingredients which do great damage to those foolish enough to allow it to be injected into their bodies. Already tens of thousands of those who received the injection have died. Of course, the corrupt Fake News media is keeping pretty much silent about this. Even if the recipients of these injections have not yet died many of them are dealing with lots of sickness in their bodies that they never had before.  Some do not believe man is capable of such evil but I remind you of what God has said to us … “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Jeremiah  17:9 NASB

If the future of mankind was not foretold in God’s Word then I would not so readily believe what many call conspiracy theories. But hey, that is exactly what is going on.  By the very definition of the word conspiracy … “conspiracy — a secret plan or agreement to carry out an illegal or harmful act, esp with political motivation; plot the act of making such plans in secret.” For a very long time these evil hearted people tried their best to keep what they were up to unknown as much as possible. But after some time had passed they had become so powerful and so much in control that they no longer concerned themselves with hiding what is going on. Then United States President George H. Bush openly declared that they are working to establish  a “New World Order” in which the super rich and powerful players will control all of the world. They had come a long way toward accomplishing their agenda when something happened they did not expect. Someone other than one of their own was elected President of the U.S. and right away started to reverse everything they had worked so hard to put into place. They had counted on Hillary Clinton to win the election and continue on with their plan but that did not happen. Donald Trump knows what is going on and unlike these evil hearted people he loves this country and does not want to see it destroyed. He truly made America great again. The elitists need to get rid of him. They cheated big time in the 2020 election in order to keep him out of the White House and put their people back in power. They have tried numerous ways to attack him and deal with him … mostly making all kinds of false charges against him but nothing has worked. Now they plan on arresting him on false charges to take him out of the picture. I don’t think they will succeed as Trump and many patriotic people have out smarted and out manuevered these elitists every step of the way. The Deep State people are desperate as they know they are being exposed and defeated. Time is quickly running out for them.

The truth is slowly coming out and people will know just how evil their fellowman has been. It will be a real eye opener for the majority of the people.

Well, a mixed bag of weather is what we have regardless of how we are getting it. I learned long ago just to take one day at a time. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow will have it’s own problems and concerns. Today is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. And if I get to go for a trike ride … well, that is just icing on the cake.

BTW, as I type this the actual temperature is 21 degrees F. with a 19 mph wind resulting in a feels like temperature of 5 degrees.   BRRRRRRRRR! I am thankful for a warm home to take shelter in. Tomorrow will be a little warmer … but come next week when this gets published “happy days are here again” with temps back into the 50s and maybe even 60. That is all good news, but the bad news is many days in the 10 day forecast show rain.  BOOOOOO  WHOOOO!!!

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

REPLACEABLE BATTERIES VS RECHARGEABLE LIGHTS

We have a choice between lights which use throwaway batteries or rechargeable batteries. Of course, most lights have “built in” rechargeable batteries. But even if our lights use AA or AAA alkaline batteries we can use rechargeable cells like pictured above. Just be sure you don’t throw the rechargeable batteries away as they are a bit more expensive than those made to throw away. I use to use rechargeable cells but now my lights are all built in rechargeable batteries. I like the rechargeable lights with one exception … they don’t last long enough. That being said … some last longer than others. If you ride several hours a day you might run into trouble with your rechargeable lights not lasting long enough for the entire ride.

My headlights and tail lights are the same brand but the headlights’ charge lasts a lot longer than the tail lights do. So I have additional tail lights I can use if this happens. The problem is I don’t have any way of knowing if and when the tail lights shut off while I am riding. I don’t like that but that is just the way it is. Since I can’t see my tail lights without stopping, getting off and walking around behind my trike I sometimes ask someone if my tail lights are still on and flashing. My headlights’ charge lasts me 2 to 3  days. I have had rechargeable headlights that don’t last long enough for one day of riding. That problem resolved itself as the lights themselves did not last. I ended up throwing them away. I am well pleased with the headlights I have now. The price has come up since I bought mine, but it is still a relatively inexpensive light set to buy at $15.99 thru Amazon.com. The shipping is free for Prime customers. I highly recommend this headlight. It is extremely bright on flash mode and definitely gets attention.  https://tinyurl.com/2cndfvts

The tail lights in the video above are not the ones use daily that I have written about here. The ones I use daily I write of can be seen in the video below. They are the middle set.

I have changed my lighting around several times over the years. The setup I have now is much different than what is shown in this video. I don’t have the top ones at all anymore.

All my tail lights are mounted on the same bar. I have my BV tail lights on the outside ends. A 350 lumen rechargeable tail light is in the center and a AA alkaline battery powered tail light is mounted beside of it. I keep it there just in case my rechargeable tail lights fail me.

I have a free source of AA alkaline batteries from my wife’s employer but I had her stop bringing them home as I had way too many … far beyond what I could possibly use.  I still have quite a few of them left. And I still have rechargeable AA and AAA cells but I haven’t used them for years. When I still used them they lasted longer than the throwaway alkaline cells. So I am saying that I do recommend the rechargeable cells to anyone using removable AA and AAA batteries. They outperform regular alkaline cells.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

DIGGING IN THE ARCHIVES

I have shared postings about various things in the archives. Here is one that isn’t even part of this website. It is from another one of my blogs I shared various topics on including tadpole trikes. The blog is entitled “Steve’s Mixed Bag”. Here is an article on Catrikes … which happens to be my favorite trike manufacturer. This was first posted April 15, 2015.

CATRIKES IN FLORIDA

I discovered that I had first posted this on this website almost a year earlier … https://tadpolerider.com/2014/05/10/catrikes-in-florida/

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

CELEBRITIES ON TRIKES but mostly bikes

Curly remains my favorite stooge.

Above – they may not be on tadpole trikes but these guys are definitely celebrities. But there have been celebrities on tadpole trikes.

I had to laugh when I did an online search for FAMOUS celebrities on bicycles. I looked thru the first results listing and can honestly say I never heard of most of them. That’s today’s world for ya. They would not know talent if it hit them square in the face.

Batman

Evel Knievel (not really)

Again, it is no tadpole trike but it is definitely the Duke. He said that he never did like riding horses  … but in my opinion he looks better on a horse … like he belongs on one.

There is HOPE for all of us …

Definitely one of the world’s favorites … and without his trademark bow tie …

Same fella … a little bit older …

Kurt Russell on e-bike …

No tadpole trikes again, but big time celebs …

V.P. Mike Pence seated on a Catrike tadpole trike …

He said he’s be back …

I am sure these guys or gals are celebrities somewhere.

Goldie Hawn …

I am sure we have all heard of “Willie Makeit” …

And, of course, Simon Cowell keeps making the news …

The so-called HUNK … Brad Pitt …

 

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

A WONDROUS TIME MACHINE

To the best of my knowledge time machines don’t really exist. They are only found in science fiction stories and movies such as the infamous H.G. Wells “The Time Machine” produced in movie format in 1960. That being said I read this on the Catrike Owners Group on FB and really like it as it is ‘right on’. Of course, it is true of any brand of tadpole trike …

“So we concluded that Catrike is actually a time machine. You sit in it and it transports you back in time and gives you the feeling you had as a 12 year old boy.”
I don’t know about the 12 year old part as I think it could be even younger. And it certainly is not limited to boys (males). Never the less, it does seem to really work like that. I am now 76 years old and I can truthfully say riding my Catrike really does transport me back in time to where I feel like a young kid again. And I love it. It is a great feeling and it seems as though it does help dealing with aging.
Of course, a true time machine would be capable of going ahead in time as well as going back. I am not so sure I would want to go forward knowing from God’s Word what the future holds.  I am so elated that I am not going to be here to go thru it. For God has warned us that He will pour His wrath out on this Christ rejecting world. It’s going to get ugly folks! … real ugly!!
Here is another version of The Time Machine … https://tinyurl.com/yck6ebbv
I was involved in a Bible Study back in 1977 which was fascinating. It explained how God can be everywhere at the same time and that with God all time is now.. He is an awesome God indeed!

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

MYRTLE’S UNDERWAY ON THE USA TOUR

Sylvia Halpern has started her latest trike journey here in the U.S. She has planned a 9000 mile long journey on her tadpole trike. Here are videos of day one and day two.  I would love to take such a journey, but alas it ain’t happening.

I have several articles on Sylvia I have posted previously.

Sylvia’s YouTube channel

Sylvia’s Facebook page

Details and Maps of my 9,000 mile USA Tour

Sylvia’s Tour Progress

Make a Donation

Banking While Cycle Touring

What is Patreon? Please consider joining

Concerns, Worries and Fears

Contact Sylvia …  not working as number of allowed emails has been exceeded for March

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the three membership vetting questions.

RIDICULOUSLY TOO BIG

I have been wanting to get a 72 volt battery for my current e-motor as that is what it is rated at. I only have 48 volt batteries. After quite a long period of time using the lower voltage I ordered a 72 volt 40 aH battery which they showed as being just slightly smaller that my 48 volt batteries. I questioned how this could be, but I took their word for it and ordered it. It only took 3 or 4 days to get it. When I saw the size of the box I got concerned. When I opened the box and saw the battery my thought was OH NO! This thing is NOT AS ADVERTISED. It is about 4 times as large as the dimensions they gave. None of their dimensions are right. I would have loved to be able to use it but there is just no way to mount it on my trike. It is just too big. It would probably be fine in a velocar or a custom made quad or something such built with using it in mind. Anyway, I am returning it for a refund and start over in my quest for a 72 volt battery. For sure I won’t be looking for a high aH rating … probably 20 aH at the most.

If I were a much younger man and still had my welding shop I would probably keep the monstrous battery and build a quad around it. I would use larger wheels and tires making it able to be used off road like an ATV. I am sure it would be a great battery to use if there were just a way to haul it. With the power of my motor the thing would probably be a blast to ride.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

 

IT PAYS TO BUY QUALITY UPFRONT

Having a frame failure or some other component failure leaving you broken down while out on a ride would be quite frustrating. I knew a guy who bought a low cost Taiwanese made tadpole trike which I won’t name. (It no longer exists.) He rode it until the frame broke and left him with a pile of chrome-moly tubing. The manufacturer had gone out of business so he could not get any help from them. He probably could have taken it to a good weldor to have it repair welded, but he didn’t. Finding someone who is qualified and capable of repair welding it would be challenging. If he had bought a better quality trike to begin with it would probably still be serving him today.

I understand that money is an issue for many. It was for me. However, I learned long ago in life that it is best to buy quality … even if you have to delay to save up more money or buy used to get more for your money. It is well worth it. There are lots of really nice used trikes for sale which you could take advantage of. If fact, I would have to say that the majority of used trikes I see are still in very good condition. And sometimes you can get a really good bargain.

I waited for awhile until I had saved the money needed to make my purchase. I am not a rich man so I knew I would probably only have this one opportunity to buy a trike. I chose Catrike. It is American made which meant a lot to me. That was 2009. I now have over 106,000 miles on it and am well pleased with it’s quality with the exception of the stock wheels which I have replaced with heavier duty BMX wheels. I have all of the confidence in the world that it will keep on serving me as it has thus far. Without doing one thing to it I would not be afraid to take off on a cross country journey.

I have a webpage with trikes listed according to their price. It is a very handy resource. However, be aware that it has not been updated since I first published it in 2014 with the exception of just a few brands which I updated in 2019..      TRIKE PRICES

There is an old saying that rings true …

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” ― Benjamin Franklin

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

SURF’S UP AGAIN meaning TRAILS ARE FLOODED

Flooded over trails is something that happens all too often. All it takes is one day of rain and some of our local trails close for weeks sometimes. This is something I have written about several times before so I won’t repeat myself here. I will simply provide a link to a past article I wrote about it.

SURF’S UP! = CLOSED TRAILS

 

I am amazed that one of our local rivers rarely ever rises up under a major highway flooding over the trail which goes under the highway. Looking at the river here one would think it would readily flood over. Yet I have only seen it flooded over a couple of times. And this river has flooded over elsewhere at other locations and doesn’t even rise any here oftentimes.

 

It is a mystery to me, but I am glad about it as I can still ride this trail when others are closed due to flooding. I may have to take alternate detours elsewhere but most of the trail is rideable when others are not.

Dealing with all too frequent flooding and trail closures gets old quick. Never the less, I am thankful I still have other trails to ride that usually don’t flood. And if worse comes to worse there are always streets and roads to ride … as hellacious as they are. I am talking about pot holes. I don’t know how many thousands of dollars I have spent repairing my trike from damage Fort Wayne streets have caused. The heavier duty BMX wheels I have now are holding up much better than the stock Catrike wheels did. Still I hate hitting pot holes and there are lots of them and I can’t usually avoid them. With the Catrike wheels I was constantly breaking spokes … I mean dozens of them. I think I have had only one broken spoke since I got the BMX wheels. I have put a lot of money into my trike over the years, but it is serving me well and holding up well with the components I now have on it. I just wish I had made the changes sooner rather than keeping it stock for so long.

In addition to the trail closures due to flooding there are also several utility, construction, tree removal, and bridge closures all going on at the same time in many different locations. As they say “when it rains it pours”. And as they say … “you’ll have that!” And I can vouch for it … we got it.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.