Seth Cooper
Well-Known Member
I did the Dalmac ride for the first time in 5 years on my new v20c. Dalmac is East Lansing, MI to Mackinaw, MI 333 miles on my computer in 5 days. I was quite nervous starting as my summer riding didn't go as planned, in June I had a bad cold, then lots of vacation / family visiting and suddenly it was August and I needed to get my new bike up and running....but even quite unprepared, the v20 is so slippery I was able to get my 50-80 miles a day in without too much trouble. I don't have mid-mounted cleats and I have 172mm cranks so a bit against recumbent thought, and I think a bit of knee pain that came and went each day reminded me that I should look into at least the cleat move.
My first long miles with the v20c I really liked the stiffer front end, I think it helps with no-hands riding and the low-med speed handling was a lot better. High speed handling seems to not be as good, but I mentioned all that in another thread.
I also liked the new cruzbike bag it was a lot lighter than my homemade bag setup and carried what I needed (rain gear, arm and leg warmers, a few snacks, and of course basic bike / flat repair kit yes, I still have clinchers)
Speaking of flats, I did get one on the last day, hit a sharp rock in the road. I really feel the new v20c front end is easier to change a tire on which was great. As I was just getting the tire back on the wheel the bike repair truck pulled up and I waived him away, but forgot of course I could have used the pump. So I had to buy another CO2 cartridge from him 15 min later at the rest stop.
On the first day, I was getting breakfast at a diner with a bunch of other riders, and the server asked me "why are you doing this, is it a competition?" And my reply was "no, just a fun thing to do with friends", but later I realized that it IS a competition, but an internal one, to do something challenging to yourself, where winning is just finishing. I really felt this on the last day, it was only 50 miles and it was a beautiful Sunday morning, light traffic on one of the prettiest roads in Michigan. One gets a little euphoria in that case; I was doing a lot of no-hands riding waving madly at people as I passed them (and of course I passed people, I passed people like crazy all ride but that is the v20 not really me
)
As I was about a mile from the finish, cruising along at about 18mph, I saw a DF rider approaching fast from behind and when he got close I started to pick up the pace to see if I could match him, we were both doing about 25-27mph until a small descent when I pulled away hitting 34mph and that was happy for me, to still have legs and heart after a full day and a full week. I really felt I got stronger each day.
Edit to add, 474 riders on my route, probably 8-10 recumbents? A Q45, some Bacchettas, an M5 CHR, and some other models, a few trikes. As normal I got quite a bit of "I like your bike that is so cool" including a mom who stopped me on the sidewalk to say her son saw my bike as they passed me in their car earlier and was impressed. A few people asked how much, and I had one long conversation with a Bacchetta owner thinking of making the switch...
My first long miles with the v20c I really liked the stiffer front end, I think it helps with no-hands riding and the low-med speed handling was a lot better. High speed handling seems to not be as good, but I mentioned all that in another thread.
I also liked the new cruzbike bag it was a lot lighter than my homemade bag setup and carried what I needed (rain gear, arm and leg warmers, a few snacks, and of course basic bike / flat repair kit yes, I still have clinchers)
Speaking of flats, I did get one on the last day, hit a sharp rock in the road. I really feel the new v20c front end is easier to change a tire on which was great. As I was just getting the tire back on the wheel the bike repair truck pulled up and I waived him away, but forgot of course I could have used the pump. So I had to buy another CO2 cartridge from him 15 min later at the rest stop.
On the first day, I was getting breakfast at a diner with a bunch of other riders, and the server asked me "why are you doing this, is it a competition?" And my reply was "no, just a fun thing to do with friends", but later I realized that it IS a competition, but an internal one, to do something challenging to yourself, where winning is just finishing. I really felt this on the last day, it was only 50 miles and it was a beautiful Sunday morning, light traffic on one of the prettiest roads in Michigan. One gets a little euphoria in that case; I was doing a lot of no-hands riding waving madly at people as I passed them (and of course I passed people, I passed people like crazy all ride but that is the v20 not really me
)As I was about a mile from the finish, cruising along at about 18mph, I saw a DF rider approaching fast from behind and when he got close I started to pick up the pace to see if I could match him, we were both doing about 25-27mph until a small descent when I pulled away hitting 34mph and that was happy for me, to still have legs and heart after a full day and a full week. I really felt I got stronger each day.
Edit to add, 474 riders on my route, probably 8-10 recumbents? A Q45, some Bacchettas, an M5 CHR, and some other models, a few trikes. As normal I got quite a bit of "I like your bike that is so cool" including a mom who stopped me on the sidewalk to say her son saw my bike as they passed me in their car earlier and was impressed. A few people asked how much, and I had one long conversation with a Bacchetta owner thinking of making the switch...
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