Category: electric motorized trikes

I know that there is a modern movie by that title … one which I have never seen … one I expect I never will see. I know it is about cars. This post is not about cars however. It is about tadpole trikes. I have heard others claim they have ridden their trikes at speeds up to 60 mph and even faster. I think the fastest I have ever ridden my trike is about 37 mph. That is plenty fast for me. There are no hills near me that I could go down and obtain much speed. I think 28 mph is the fastest I have ever obtained on a hill.

Even when I was younger my experience with speed was the same as it is now. Upon slowing up I start thinking about the danger … how things could go terribly wrong. 37 mph is not terribly fast. I mean I have gone faster than that on navy destroyers. I have gone over 140 mph on a motorcycle. I have gone over 157 mph in a 68 Dodge Charger R/T with a 426 Hemi engine. I was much much younger at those times. Now at nearly 77 years old 37 mph seems plenty fast. And truly I do think about what could go wrong travelling at that speed.

DANGER … DANGER … DANGER … to quote the late Steve Irwin. While in the navy I had a 327 fuel injected 365 hp Corvette . While stationed in San Diego, CA I use to drive south toward the Mexican border where there were roads which wound around and had cliffs along the sides. I use to go fast and slide around the curves with those cliffs oh so close. I could have easily slid off the pavement and plummeted below … probably to my death. There were no guard rails to help keep a vehicle from going over off of the road. In youth many of us take foolish chances.

I once rode a 650 cc BSA Super Rocket motorcycle down a gravel road at 120 mph. Both the bike and I survived it, but again it would be oh so easy for things to go terribly wrong.

When I was a teenager I read a book about a young man who had a hotrod car he had built himself. He held a firm belief that speed  could get him out of  dangerous situations vs. going slow, slowing up which was the norm. I wrote a book report on it in high school. But it was just a book and I don’t think I ever bought into it. I remember hearing “Speed Kills!” and I tended to believe that instead.

Speed can be addictive. Even at 76 years old I still enjoy going fast, but 60 plus mph is not for me. Perhaps when I was younger and more foolish taking chances and risks, but not now at my present age.  They say that with age comes wisdom. Hopefully that is true and we all gain from it.

With my present set up I don’t need a hill to go down to go fast. My e-motor is quite capable to doing the job. When my friend tops off at 20 mph that is just a “fast idle” for me. I can easily cruise along at 20 mph and not begin to tax my battery or motor. So when I am all alone out there I often ride along at 17 to 25 mph enjoying myself. I rarely go much faster … at least not for very long … as I just don’t feel safe doing so. Both our trails and streets are quite rough so I get bounced around a lot which can be unnerving. It is really hard on my trike. When riding out on the streets taking the lane it is nice to be able to ride the speed limit (30 or 35 mph) and being able to keep up with cars. Of course, there are always motorists who just have to pass me even though I am going the speed limit. Often they pass me only to have to brake hard to stop with me right behind them. They really gained a lot. But like I said, they just had to pass me.

The motor I have now is advertised as being able to achieve 44 mph on a bicycle. A tadpole trike weighs considerably more and with 3 wheels there is more rolling resistance. And then there is my weight factor. Even though I have lost 50 pounds I still have twice that much I need to lose.

I don’t have a 4 speed close ratio transmission and 365 horsepower nor a 555 hp 426 c.i. Dodge Hemi like I use to have, but I am quite satisfied with my Catrike Trail. It gets me around just fine. Well, it is time to stop writing about it and actually go out there and do it. I might be getting old but I still enjoy my time machine that transforms me into a youngster every time I am seated on it. My trike is indeed a wondrous time machine.

I can’t end this without including some beloved songs by the Beach Boys. I gotta admit … it is all about cars … fast cars.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

Why wish upon a star when you can talk to the  One (Jesus) Who created them?

TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

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