Bicycle Brush with Death!

I wasn’t going to blog about this but decided since it is becoming more of an occurrence I really shouldn’t let it go.

I was out taking a short test ride on my son’s bike around the neighborhood before he moves with it to Chicago.

In Akron there is new program called SHARO, short for Share the Road. The city painted some nice bicycle emblems on two major feeder streets designed to raise the awareness of bicyclers out in car traffic.

After T-boning a semi-flatbed truck on a motorcycle when I was 20 years old I pretty much stay out of heavy traffic on my bicycle simply because cars weigh thousands of pounds and I don’t.

As this street feeds west from downtown it widens to accommodate a center turn lane designed for cars coming both directions to get out of the main traffic flow to ready for their turn.

In order to get back home I had to cross this busy street, not a big deal if you obey the traffic laws and watch yourself. I waited until all of the eastbound downtown traffic had cleared and crossed the two lanes of traffic into the wide center turn lane to maneuver my way to my next street.

I timed it so that by the time I would be even with my street the five cars approaching from downtown headed westbound would be past and nice big hole would open up for me to exit through.

I did a quick glance over my right shoulder to make sure no cars were coming up behind me turned back to front just as the large green four door whipped into the center turn lane to pass the cars in front of him. He was doing about 40 MPH and I figured I had about 2 seconds until the head on impact.

Luckily for me he just happened to spot me and yanked the wheel back into his lane of traffic nearly hitting me. It all happened so quickly it was almost a nonevent. But having survived a similar incident some 30 years ago I know I would have died or suffered life threatening injuries, again.

I noticed three things quickly: 1) I had put myself in that situation and was ultimately responsible for my own well being 2) THIS WAS A TURN ONLY LANE NOT A PASSING LANE 3) by the looks of the guy and his car I would have been a hit and run victim because I doubt he had insurance and would not have wanted to talk to the police.

Needless to say I have become even more cautious and less trusting of traffic to do the right thing. Especially with all the cell phone and texting distractions let alone the drinking and driving.

I normally stick to the trails and neighborhood streets. But reality rules and one must occasionally get out into traffic flow. Rule of thumb: we've got one flesh and bone body not encased in by thousands of pounds of steel and no seatbelt. Be careful because it’s usually the other guy that will nail you.

New Trike Frame Build

I initially became interested in this design for its low profile and laid back recumbent style.

I’m not a real speed guy but do like the advantage this trike offers when it comes to moving along at a quick clip if you choose to or just “feel the need for speed”.

This is a very solid frame and is not going to breakdown on you if you get a bit rough with it.

I built my own wheels simply because I enjoy the process. Wheel lacing can be an art but is not that difficult once you get started with a good plan in mind and some very basic tools. We can cover this subject in a later blog. A great source of information is http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

You can also check out http://www.bbinstitute.com/ or http://www.bikeschool.com/ for cycle repair classes and wheel building courses.

Why Not a Row Bike?

When I consider recumbents as compared with the normal upright cycle I tend to think outside the box.

Sure all cycles have wheels, brakes, can be steered and have gears to one extent or another, but the recumbent is laid back with the pedals out in front. The handlebars are normally underseat or lengthened to be easily accessed by you the rider.

Thinking outside of the box just a bit; what if instead of handlebars and pedals there was a combination of the two? What if the seat slid back and forth along the main upper tube of the frame?

This type of an outside of the box recumbent is called a rowing bike. Invented by Scott Olsen the same fellow that brought us Roller Blades or inline skates. ScottO as he is known as, like so many of became bored to tears with indoor stationary exercise equipment.

After cycling for so many years I can barely stand to get on them myself! ScottO figured out how to put his favorite piece of exercise equipment, a rowing machine, on two wheels and take it for a ride!

Be sure and check out http://www.rowbike.com/ for a great picture gallery and videos.

The rowing bike is actually an amazing cycle. You will get complete upper and lower body workout plus a great cardiovascular workout as well.

There does seem to be a bit of a learning curve but nothing a few times around a parking lot won’t overcome.