Saturday, April 19, 2014

Facing my Demons: Two-wheel Versus Three-wheel Recumbents

During 2013, my main ride was my ICE Vortex+ recumbent trike. I completed 14 centuries, twelve of which were on the trike and the rest on my Rans X-Stream two-wheeler.  My total mileage for the year was 10,300, about 8,000 of which, were on my trike.

In 2014, I haven't been motivated to ride the centuries each month, but my mileage thus far is similar to 2013, and I am on track for another 10,000 mile year.  At the beginning of this year,  I started to ride the two-wheeler more.  The greater speed of the XStream seduced me.  The X-Stream is a very comfortable ride over long distances, especially in open country riding.  There was a period during the first part of the year when I was convinced that most of my 2014 riding would be on the X-Stream.  I even bought a new set of carbon tubular racing wheels.  The ride is fantastic with the new wheels, and I am typically 1.5 to 2.5 mph faster on souped up XStream compared to my 'fast' trike, the Vortex+.

While on my two-wheeler I would sometimes talk to myself about my recumbents.  "Why do I ride the trike when I am so much faster on the Rans?" I would say to myself.  I would also say silly things like, "Howard, you are not old enough to ride trikes.  Why don't you get out there with the fast guys?"

After a few days of exclusive two-wheel riding in early February, I decided to get back on the trike. It was a cold, windy day at our home in Florida and it felt good being back on the trike.   With the trike, keeping balance with strong side winds is not a problem.  When riding with lots of traffic whizzing by, side winds can be a bit unnerving.   On that day, being a little bit slower was not a problem.  And, I was having fun, despite the weather.

I have a friend who I ride with in Florida who rides a two-wheel highracer and likes to go fast. When I ride with him I most always take the X-Stream and really enjoy racing along one of Florida's trails with my buddy.

When I am back riding alone, I most always choose the trike.  Why?  For one thing, speed is less important to me than enjoying the ride, and the trike is more fun.  But, to be honest, explaining the most important reason forces me to make a confession.  My most important priority these days is safety, and I consider the trike to be a much safer ride.  When I am climbing steep grades, I can relax and not worry about losing my balance and having an accident.

In 2007, I was climbing a not-so-steep grade in North Georgia.  I lost my concentration, was in the wrong gear, started to slow down too much, panicked, and fell over.  The crash to the pavement resulted in a broken hip, broken femur and close to a year of physical and mental rehabilitation.  I was riding a high racer with my pedals about 7 inches higher than my seat height, which made it difficult for me to recover my balance while falling.  If I had been on a trike, no problem.

So, many times since the accident when I go out for a ride I think about safety and accidents, and I choose the trike.  The experts say that after an accident such as mine, one should confront fears by not shying away from situations similar to the conditions of the accident.  I have taken that to heart, and after the accident have gone out on two wheels and climbed very steep grades, often, even thought it was scary at first.  In fact,  the year after the accident, I entered Florida's Horrible Hundred ride on my two-wheeler at the time, a Rans Titanium V-Rex.  There are several steep climbs on this ride, including Sugarloaf Mountain (see photo to the left), which I ascended with relative ease on the Ti-Rex.  Yes, I conquered my fear, but nevertheless, there is still a little voice inside my head that keeps whispering to me, "Take the trike. You will not have to worry about having another falling accident!"

The bottom line is that little voice often wins.  Doesn't bother me though, because the trike is so much fun to ride.  I am no speed slacker on the trike.  I can usually keep up with any other bike when I ride in groups.  Plus, when I ride in the North Georgia mountains, I look forward to the climbs, and the steeper the better.  I do get dropped by some two wheelers on the steepest climbs, but what the heck, ascending those mountains on my trike is a worry-free blast.  Descending at high speeds is no longer a 'white knuckle' experience, and even though I have to be careful not to flip the trike on fast descents, going down curvy mountains on the trike is a wonderful 'go cart' experience.

The safety issue isn't all about climbing and descending mountains.  A more frequent issue is riding in traffic, although I admit to trying to ride away from cars and trucks as much as possible.  In Florida, where I live part of the year, my daily ride is usually along Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key.  There is a bike lane, but it is not wide, and during the snow bird season there are lots of cars, service vehicles, ambulances, speeding police vehicles, etc.  I live along Gulf of Mexico Drive, so it is easy to just ride out of my garage on do the 20 mile loop around Longboat Key. Since there is usually lots of traffic, I have flashing lights front and rear regardless of whether I ride the trike or the XStream.  I feel safer on the trike.  Not only is stopping and starting more effortless on the trike since I do not have to unclip after braking, I feel much more in control on the trike.  With my flashers and my flag, visibility is not an issue, in fact it seems that vehicles give me more space while they are passing than when I ride the two-wheeler.

The other day I was riding along on my trike and a woman was parked in a driveway waiting to enter Gulf of Mexico Drive.  Since she was stopped, and I had the right-of-way I kept going at a moderate speed.  Just as I approached the driver wasn't looking at the bike lane, and when she saw the car lane clear she moved out and almost hit me.  I had to swerve quickly to avoid the collision. She braked as I swerved and an accident was avoided.  If I had been on two wheels, there is a good chance I would have fallen over onto the road.  With the trike, I kept my balance and was able to maneuver to avoid being hit and then back onto the bike path.

The fun and safety factors keep me on my trike more frequently than my two-wheeler.  I will continue to ride two wheels in certain situations, but my first choice is the trike.  Going forward, I will always be keeping my purchasing eyes open for trikes that are better and faster, although it is hard for me to imagine a better trike than the ICE Vortex+.

The memories of my 2007 accident are a big factor in my trike preference, but my riding choice go way beyond that.    I can train hard and ride hard on my trike.  When I am top condition, being on a trike does not seem to impact that much when I am competitive situations, which these days seem less and less frequent.  The trike seems to offer me most everything I need.  So, I can have my cake and eat it too. I can have fun, ride fast, and stay relatively safe.