A Recumbent Cyclist
"How I became one"
By Ashby W. Spratley III
About a year and a half a go my wife decided that she wanted to buy a bicycle.
For the next several weeks we talked about the information she had read
in "Consumers Report". We also bought a couple buyers guides
and visited several bicycle shops. She decided that she wanted a Mountain
Bike, I did not really know what a mountain bike was but was assured that
this was the best bicycle for riding both in the city and the country.
At this time I felt that we would only ride around Metairie, I could not
imagine loading bicycles on a car and driving thirty to ninety miles just
to ride a bicycle.
With this decision made we were off to the bike shops. What a shock!
My last bicycle was a twelve speed Fuji bought over ten years ago. I was
prepared for the cost of the bicycle, but I had never heard of bicycle gloves,
bicycle shorts, bicycle water bottles, bicycle helmets or bicycle frame
pumps. All of which I found out we needed. Did I say we? Oh yes, well
I agreed to ride with my wife sometimes because she was uncomfortable about
riding alone, even through I was sure by now that this whole event was designed
to convert me from a couch potato into-well I'm not sure what I was support
to converted. But I was determine not going to be converted.
Back to the things you need to ride a bicycle, there was something that
you did not need but was nice to have, called a cyclecomputer. What an
incredible device. Through I had never owned one, the only speedometer I
had ever seen was an analog device that just gave you the speed, more or
less, and your total mileage.
Well we made it out of the shop with a Nishiki mountain bike for Lynne,
and we both had a helmet, gloves, water bottle and cage, one frame pump
and of course a cyclecomputer.
Lynne's bicycle was assembled, and we had brought my in and the shop installed
the new water bottle cage, water bottle and cyclecomputer. We also ended
up buying a bicycle car rack ("had to get those bicycles home somehow").
This was Saturday afternoon, so, of course, we went home and went for a
ride. Two point three mile. It was amazing; I never would have believed
I could go a mile anywhere under my own power. That night in talking with
Ken, a friend of mine in my astronomy club, I found out that he owned a
bicycle and rode from time to time. (I later found out that "from time
to time" meant two or three times a week for twenty to twenty five
miles a week) and would we like to meet him at the Williams Blvd. boat launch
to ride on the linear bike path. We met there at about 10:00 am and rode
to Causeway. I thought I was going to die and how was I going to get back
to the car?
Well we did get back to the car at Williams, but that eleven mile ride
which took us over four hours was a real eye opener. It was in a lot of
ways painful, but there was something about traveling under my own power
or something that I really liked. At any rate, I was hooked. We started
buying almost any bicycling magazine we could find, and I would hang around
bicycle shops asking question. I soon learned that one of the reason I
was having so much trouble riding the Fuji was that it was two inches too
tall for me. I could not stand over the top tube with out doing serious
damage to myself. I can't imagine who that bike was built for, because
I am six foot four.
So I decided that if was going to continue to ride I was going to have
to get a bike of the correct size. I bought a mountain bike, a Haro (guess
I like bikes with four letters in their names). It was much easier to ride.
About this time we joined the CCC and started doing city rides. Most of
which lasted one and a half to two and a half hours. Everything was great;
even if I could not keep up with the pack, I still had a good time. Then
we decided to try a country ride. It was great, I think it was Hammond,
and we rode the shortest route twenty or twenty five miles. We left when
the main group left and got back in just under five hours. The only person
left at the meeting place was the poor ride leader who had finished his
ride, the long route, two hours ago. He was very nice, and when he checked
to make sure we were all there and ok, he left.
The ride was fantastic I was really hooked and in a great deal of PAIN.
During the ride I had to stop about every five miles to relive the pain
in my tuss and get some feeling back in my hands. As the summer continued
I was able to ride farther and farther without pain elevation/rest breaks.
I also made several changes to the bicycle to make it more comfortable.
The first year year I put over 2000 miles on that Haro, I rode two fifty
mile centuries(Spring & Fall) and rode 127 mile of the Tour for Cure.
I was a riding addict by now, riding two or three nights a week and doing
two country rides or a city and country ride every weekend. I was able
to ride for about two hours now with needing to get off the bike due to
pain. My problem was that after about three and a half hours I could not
bare the pain I was in. I would joke with my riding partners at the end
of our rides by asking if anyone want to by a bicycle. However for me this
was becoming a serious problem. I wanted to ride farther, longer and faster.
But due to the fact that I am so big - I weighted about 416 pounds when
I started - nobody could give me any advice about how to solve my problem.
What I ended up doing was shorting my rides. My riding partners were all
getting faster and were easily able to make longer rides; so I would start
off with them and at some point break off and ride a shorter route so that
I could get back within my three and a half hour time limit. This worked,
I was able to keep riding, but I wanted to be able to go farther, faster
and longer. I did not know what to do.
At the Tour of Cure I got my first look at a recumbent bicycle. I had
seen one on TV but had not given them much through. Both day on the Tour
I was riding along in pain but enjoy the ride and the experience of Tour
(which I recomend to anyone) anyway - when from nowhere I saw a funny looking
bike coming up on me from behind. Very quickly it overtook me and passed
me. Riding the bike was a gray/white-haired man; and as he passed, the
one thing I remember most was the big smile on his face. That was it.
From that time on I was determine to get a recumbent bicycle.
By this time my wife was hooked on the "need for speed" also
and we had bought her a Nishiki road bicycle. It took her a little while
to become accustomed to the riding position and for it to become comfortable,
but her improvement in speed was almost instant.
I wrote to every advertiser in the back of the bicycling magazines that
sold recumbents and spoke with several on the phone. Most sent some sort
of literature on their product. I read several reviews from magazines.
I end up buying a Ryan Vanguard. I am very very happy with the bike and
I ride it almost daily. I can ride for six to seven hours with no trouble,
and my speed is up two or three miles per hour. In the county two to three
hour rides between stops are no problem, and my hands have not been numb
since I got the Vanguard. I would advise everybody to buy a recumbent bicycle.
RETURN - MENU