I guess you might say I have a recumbent kayak. My wife and I ride the near by lakes on our Hobie Kayaks. We had sea kayaks for a while until my back got so bad I couldn't paddle one no more 30 minutes. The Hobie, got me back out on the water. But it's the same thing, diehard kayakers don't like the Hobies for some reason.
'old-fashioned' bike = handicapped. You can let them start half-way up the hill and still catch them.
The V - the perfect rock-n-roll bike!
I do like the Hobie kayaks. They are fast and can go anywhere. A Hobie kayak can easily beat a normal kayak in a tug-of-war. Someday, I would like to get both a single seater and a tandem. The tandem would have out riggers, tramps, and a sail. The disadvantages though are that they don't include a Bimini top to keep you from cooking in the sun on a long ride. And they have to have cloth fairings added for cold-weather riding or for windy conditions. Even though my boats are relatively heavy (325 pounds each) and slower (4 mph), they each have a Bimini top and are aerodynamic by design. The first time I rode mine, it was 63 degrees and windy. The boat cut through the wind and I had to take off my hat and shirt and was still sweating. I like to take it out on Lake Michigan with the big boats and tour the coast line. I can surf the waves since it has a windshield that keeps the water out when I go down a wave and dip my nose into the water. For me, the boat is an excellent complement to a V. The V always wants to go fast - my V just hates to go slow. It allows me to go long distance and enjoy the countryside in comfort. The boat gives me a great way to do recovery rides while enjoying the waterscape. And, while in my boat, I have never had a redneck in a pickup truck try to see how close he could get to me (measured in inches) while screaming unintelligible (but potentially useful) advice out the passenger window. But regarding regular kayakers vs. Hobie kayakers, my opinion is that they are the waterborne version of the V riders vs. DF riders. The old saying is fitting: you can lead a DF rider to water, but you can't make it drink (this does not hold true for beer though).
Larry, I live on the west coast of Michigan where the Grand River goes into the big lake. If your V hits Canada, you've gone too far. Just keep tooling around the lower penninula's coast line in any direction and you'll eventually find it.This thread has some really cool quotes:
'old-fashioned' bike = handicapped. You can let them start half-way up the hill and still catch them.
The V - the perfect rock-n-roll bike!
I'll take you up on that Joe - where do you live - I'll be right over...
It's so obvious how much you, ratz, Larry, Charles, Lief, Jeremy, Joseph et. al. like your bikes. The enthusiasm is warranted and infectious. Consequently it's fun to keep up with this forum. Reading everyone's adventures just makes me want to get back out on the bike again.
They don't come with the Bimini top, but you can purchase it separate. We enjoy kayaking mostly in warm-hot weather. But we do have winter dry suite for cold weather kayaking and kayaked on Christmas Eve.
Does your wife know you're posting topless kayaking pictures in public?
Just don't film it; I had to go back and edit out my shadow riding no handed while pulling the kids trailer; my 17 year old was not impressed with my level of responsibility.I've seen videos of Jim riding around no-handed. Bet he could do that too
First I need to improve my ability to pull a water bottle out of the cage while rolling. I've done it. But the only thing pretty about it was the 'pretty scary' part.I've seen videos of Jim riding around no-handed. Bet he could do that too
First I need to improve my ability to pull a water bottle out of the cage while rolling. I've done it. But the only thing pretty about it was the 'pretty scary' part.
Bob, I think you hit the nail on the head and drove it clean through...pretty much sums up a whole years worth of threads in one paragraph without all the details.So it depends on what you are chasing; Larry's racing already (freak) on the fast track. Liefs working his way up to some ultra goals with aggressive goals. The wife and I are targeting Ultra's as a long term sport we can do together for the next 30 years and our kids are also into it so we are on a long slow build; Rick's in the throws of "hey I could be a lot better at this than I thought", Eric is already racing and trying to balance Velo-lust, Michigan weather and life into his schedule. Charles is waiting on his kids to steal his Cruzmantis so he can finally get a guilt free Silvio; Jeremy is still deciding if he likes his cycle computer; or if he should just ride and know he's faster than everyone he passes. Moose is solving more rando issues than I can count; and Ivan's too busy to hang out any more (I bet his kids hit that age, so he's probably just reading along).... So color me thrilled at all the new faces. Post away; share, gush do all that stuff; and oh my don't be intimidated by the crazy high volume posters; we just trying to give you all a jump start so that you can go have the next great idea so we can leverage your discovery, because discovery is learning, learning is life, and life is better on two wheels than two feet.
Yep. Came to the same conclusion yesterday.
So there with you; it's 3am and I'm considering getting on the trainer at home and just skipping sleep at this point.Lately, life/work has been screwing up my riding schedule...
4:45 AM. Today is the big finale to bike to work week and I haven't even been able to just plain 'bike' this week let alone 'bike to work.' Trying to work the logistics so that I can at least participate today.
5:45 am and I was off to my as daily as I can make it sunrise ride. Sleep is over rated.
