2012 Godspoke #1

Our First Ride together for 2012
Had a great turn out for our Group Ride tonight. The weather was great and so was the enthusiasm!

Godspoke #1 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The Mango was great to ride! For the first time I felt the promise of the rides ahead. I hit the 30's fairly easy and punched +40 a couple of times. You really can feel the Zoom factor on any slight down grade. There is no going back now. Every one else was bundled for chilly weather and I rode open canopy with a light vest. Riding on the paths was okay but with a group it was slower. A velo is not a social beast when mixed in with the common "safety" bike. They are mushing while I am coasting. Still the GRR will be a nice ride.

Vizors are In And Need a Velo Companion!

These Vizors Need a Home and A Velo to Ride with, They are lonely, if you can help please email or leave a comment.

I have been under the weather lately but I have been out for some ride every day!

Day 4 The Ride Before the Storm

Today's Partial ride Home was Great, Speed was defiantly up , So was the pressure in the tires. Makes a difference from 65 to 100 psi. I also seem to have the Mango dialed in better. It doesn't take me 15+ minutes to get in connected and comfortable. I think I may have to, no I will take out the Pedal extenders, I don't like the rubbing I feel when pedalling. I need them on the GRR but I'll try to see what happens when I try riding without them.

Now if the weather would co-operate so i can get some longer rides in to work on my endurance. Tonight and tommorrow we are to have rain the 5-25 centimeters of heavy wet snow. Should make tomorrows ride rather interesting.
Oh Later in the month I am traveling to the US. for a bike ride and business trip.April 18-28+ . I am planning to visit the Risse Factory, a few West coast dealers, T-Cycle Accessories and hopefully a velo builder in Vancouver B.C. Plus a lot of riding in several States so Say tuned for the Crazy Canuck Tour to TAR TAR. with fellow velonaut Bluecoyote. Should be some fun posts, Interviews, video and photos. Maybe a detailed look the Rotovelo and interview with Nada Holz of USA Rotovelo importer.

day 3 Into the Night...

Well really Night 1 (day 3)

I had a really busy day and did not get home from my second job until 2 am this morning. So I jumped on my Goldrush for a quick ride around the neighborhood. There is something pleasing about riding around during the wee small hours. So quiet, plus we had a really bright moon last night that really light up the countryside.

Day 2 of 30 Days Of Cycling

Not a bad ride today. Weather was nice, Speed was up , hat was OFF!
Seems like I have to find a better hat to ride with. Two times while riding home today, when I shifted position radically and tilted my head up to much my hat lifted then flew off. IT IS A REAL PAIN to shuffle backwards on a busy highway to reclaim my CAP! Actually I chuckled at myself after. I guess with faster speeds there are hazards! LOL

Day 1 of 30 Days

Today i rode my Velo for the first time in a couple of weeks. It was also the start of 30 days of Cycling that I signed up to do for April. No matter how I feel, no matter the weather. I will cycle everyday this month. I will post a photo and the stats. Last yearI really enjoyed this commitment. It was a highlight for 2011. I hope this year will prove to be better because I have a new Velo to get used to and because I am so out of shape from medical issues this past winter.

No more excuses here goes:

Today was a shake down ride, had some chain rubbing from one of the chain covers on the inside, it sort of irritated me for most of the ride; I stopped a couple of times to adjust it and it got a bit better but not until I got home and removed both did it go away. I have to get the covers just so or I get rubbing. I certainly need to lose the weight I gained over the last couple of months, but even then I notice my speed is better than last year. Not in the 30's like others but definitely pleased.

I felt poorly all day, and if it was not that I made a commitment to myself, I would have stayed in. It, as always, turned out to be a great day for a ride. It's amazing how much we do or don't do is all mental, what we decide to do. We really can do more if we make the choice just to do it.

Are Velomobiles or Recumbents Safe?

                                       photo from http://wimharwig.com/2009/04/

Results poll of accidents as reported on http://bickyenzijnfietsen.blogspot.ca/

Time to evaluate the data obtained.

The end result was 198 completed forms and came within easy with the largest sources wim fencers and ligfiets.net site (thanks)
The data are made ​​anonymous and can be found here for general use . This data is free to use but please add a link to my blog please. I put all the figures for percentage chance to have an accident within the 10.000km. How much time is difficult to estimate because everyone has different driving distances per year.

General figures:

3,192,500 recumbent kilometers (nearly 80 times around the earth cycling)
2934000 velomobile kilometers: (73 laps around the world cycling) Surveys completed following country breakdown: Recumbent Ende Belgians 30 Recumbent Ende Dutch 108 Recumbent Ende French 2 Velomobile Ende Belgians: 25 Velomobile Ende Dutch: 79

Recumbents

6% chance of accidents with bodily injuries with private counterparty 10.000km a
13% chance of accident with property damage to their own opposing bicycle per 10.000km
11% chance of damage per accident with counterparty without 10.000km
40% chance of accident without counterparty own bodily injury per 10.000km
37% chance of accident without counterparty with material damage to own a bike 10.000km Is 40% a great chance to get yourself hurt every 10.000km? If you break your leg or every 25.000km. But if an injury is a bruised buttocks. And it is well known that a fall with minor injuries recumbent gives a bukfiets. Dangerous compared to other traffic, you can not call it a recumbent. You're more likely to injure yourself by slipping anywhere, against driving through inadvertence than by anyone else in the movement of being run over. I regularly receive the comment to a comparative research with our friends stooping. But stooping my friends is not large enough to sufficiently completed forms to come. (Someone who can help or information available to him?)

Velomobiles

Quest: 46
versatile / orca: 5
WAW: 11
Sunrider: 1
Strada: 15
Mango: 16
Limit: 3
Alleweder: 8 3% chance of accidents with bodily injuries with private counterparty 10.000km a 15% chance of accident with property damage counterparty to own a bike 10.000km 3% chance of damage per accident with counterparty without 10.000km 3% without counterparty risk of accident with bodily injury per 10.000km own 21% without counterparty risk of accident with property damage to own a bike 10.000km Chances an accident / collision are much lower than in velomobile recumbent. The 3 wheels will generally less skidding crashes causing damage or injury. The distinctive shape will be of benefit in traffic.

calculation example 1

Physical injuries, I think the worst, with 2 broken fingers (no party) by bukfietsen I have had my share. With my Mango I have 6% chance of something similar encounter. with my 13.000km a year so I can about that 8% chance per year. That means statistically, 12.5 years driving without bodily injury, or 166,666 kilometers.
Personal injury is also relative. Most stories I've heard / read about hit or fall injuries geslipte velomobiles bad. The risk of damage is greater, for me as a 31% per year. And it does or pain to your wallet.

rekenvoorbeeld2

Like the fact that velomobiles twice as safe as recumbents:
So you have 107% chance every 10.000km something to come up with the recumbent and 45% chance with the velomobile.

Conclusion

Facts are Meaningless axis THEY CAN be overused to prove anything .
His recumbent and velomobile now more dangerous than driving or bukfietsen? Without figures are difficult to prove, of course. Personally I think after 28,000 kilometers lying recumbent safer than bukfietsen .. With the racing bike, I was every week once the pass cut off or ignored in traffic. With 4 x also to fall, I had not much confidence anymore. defensive driving course is the message because you can indeed have a recumbent be overlooked if you have a car right crosses. But if the car you cross he has seen and you memorize (because a recumbent you still not see every day)

When asked whether recumbents / velomobile is not dangerous I always answer that it is the car that makes it dangerous and not the type of bike.

Thanks to everyone for completing the data

A new riding season for us in the N.H, so a new challenge

Last year I missed the sign up for 30 days of Cycling Challenge but still did my own 30 day Challenge.

It was a pain in the @$$ somedays butt at the end I was stoked for the rest of the year. In someways it was the best month of riding for 2011.
So hear is your chance to challenge yourself. Join me and start your year right.
http://30daysofbiking.com/register/register.html
If you do sign up drop a note on the BROL thread so we can see how many recumbent riders will do this.
http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=82550

Twas a fine day for velomobling today!

NOT!

My Drive Home: Heavy Snow Fall and lots of freezing slush!

My front yard this eveing:

Radio says 2 more days like this then 2 digit weather for the next week or so... yeah right! ;

if it was rain I could ride! #$%^@$%

A Rainbow of Mangos

Today as I was looking over some of the graphics I've done in the last couple of months I came across this one and was reminded of Skittles Rainbow...

now if only..