JimParker
Member
I have seen a lot of cornfields and dairy farms lately!
Now sitting at a public terminal in a library in Seneca Falls, NY. Sofrider V2s parker outside. My wife and I were the first in to camp on Day 2 of the Bon Ton Roulet, which is a 7-day tour around the Finger Lakes "wine country" of New York. I have a bad case of "helmet head" but I am otherwise VERY happy. The Cruzbike SRV2s are perfomring exceptionally well. They have been repeatedly pelted with rain. We bring the cushions into our tent at night and let the bikes take a shower outside. I have climbed the biggest hills of my life and blazed down the other side this past week, speeds exceeding 40 mph. I have ridden farther (115 miles) in one day than ever, and been far more comfortable than I would have been on a road bike. Based on my skill level, I seem to be significant;y faster than equally skilled/trained road-bikers on flats, down hills, gentle uphills, and rolling hills ("rollers"). I lag a little behind on steep uphills, but I am carrying much more weight up than they are (a 36# bike, pack, and those extra pounds I added last winter). The stock tires have performed very well for me. A lot of the roads here are in poor condition, some loosely covered with gravel, and we have not had any traction issues whatsover.
The 115 mile ride did not happen here in New York. That was last week. We were driving back east from Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona (where the bikes mainly served to shuttle us back and forth from our camp site to the rim or the cafeteria). So I get online and find that we missed this big 2-day 1500 rider tour of the Mississippi River Valley (TOMRV) that was held in June. But lo and behold they had the cue sheets on their website. We decided to camp at Mississippi Palisades State Park. On Thursday, July 17th, we followed the entire TOMRV route except the part south of the Preston-to-Miles leg. We started out north on Hwy 84 early in the morning and finished that evening back at camp. Including the half-mile to and from our campsite, we covered 115 miles. We carried our own fluids and snacks. We stopped at a couple of gas stations along the way and a Subway in Bellevue with a great view of the River. This was a very hilly ride, especially for us flatlanders from the coastal plains of eastern North Carolina. But the views from the top of the hills, which often reminded us of Southern France, were incredible and made the climbing work worthwhile. We met some guys here in NY that did the TOMRV. They said we did the hilliest part of the course, so basically we did the better part of the 2-day tour in one day.
These bikes are getting a lot of attention here. There are about a dozen recumbents here out of a field of 475, and it is clear that ours are very different and perform more like a road bike. Hey... one thing I discovered on these lond rides and I have not seen it mentioned before: I was developing some very sore muscles after about 50 miles. I stopped for a break and lengthened my TFT about one inch further. That seemed to change things just enough to relieve the fatigued muscles and get back to some easier pedaling. Try it sometime on a long ride.
More later. Five more days to go!
Jim Parker
Now sitting at a public terminal in a library in Seneca Falls, NY. Sofrider V2s parker outside. My wife and I were the first in to camp on Day 2 of the Bon Ton Roulet, which is a 7-day tour around the Finger Lakes "wine country" of New York. I have a bad case of "helmet head" but I am otherwise VERY happy. The Cruzbike SRV2s are perfomring exceptionally well. They have been repeatedly pelted with rain. We bring the cushions into our tent at night and let the bikes take a shower outside. I have climbed the biggest hills of my life and blazed down the other side this past week, speeds exceeding 40 mph. I have ridden farther (115 miles) in one day than ever, and been far more comfortable than I would have been on a road bike. Based on my skill level, I seem to be significant;y faster than equally skilled/trained road-bikers on flats, down hills, gentle uphills, and rolling hills ("rollers"). I lag a little behind on steep uphills, but I am carrying much more weight up than they are (a 36# bike, pack, and those extra pounds I added last winter). The stock tires have performed very well for me. A lot of the roads here are in poor condition, some loosely covered with gravel, and we have not had any traction issues whatsover.
The 115 mile ride did not happen here in New York. That was last week. We were driving back east from Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona (where the bikes mainly served to shuttle us back and forth from our camp site to the rim or the cafeteria). So I get online and find that we missed this big 2-day 1500 rider tour of the Mississippi River Valley (TOMRV) that was held in June. But lo and behold they had the cue sheets on their website. We decided to camp at Mississippi Palisades State Park. On Thursday, July 17th, we followed the entire TOMRV route except the part south of the Preston-to-Miles leg. We started out north on Hwy 84 early in the morning and finished that evening back at camp. Including the half-mile to and from our campsite, we covered 115 miles. We carried our own fluids and snacks. We stopped at a couple of gas stations along the way and a Subway in Bellevue with a great view of the River. This was a very hilly ride, especially for us flatlanders from the coastal plains of eastern North Carolina. But the views from the top of the hills, which often reminded us of Southern France, were incredible and made the climbing work worthwhile. We met some guys here in NY that did the TOMRV. They said we did the hilliest part of the course, so basically we did the better part of the 2-day tour in one day.
These bikes are getting a lot of attention here. There are about a dozen recumbents here out of a field of 475, and it is clear that ours are very different and perform more like a road bike. Hey... one thing I discovered on these lond rides and I have not seen it mentioned before: I was developing some very sore muscles after about 50 miles. I stopped for a break and lengthened my TFT about one inch further. That seemed to change things just enough to relieve the fatigued muscles and get back to some easier pedaling. Try it sometime on a long ride.
More later. Five more days to go!
Jim Parker
