Back in the saddle

April 30, 2012

     Going out in cool air, still makes me cough, we were so grateful to have temps in the 60's today, and sunshine.  Winds were about 5 MPH.  I'm thinking that must be a record for April 2012.  Seems like nearly everyday this month has been windy, and the winds have been insultingly cold.


     It was too frosty this morning to ride to church, so we drove.  After church, I made a quick dinner, and we got ready to ride.  We haven't ridden for over 2 weeks, so all 3 tires needed air.  while Tony was pumping up the tires, I decided I had misjudged the weather, so I took a layer off.  Tony did the same, but added  it back on, before we left.

     We weren't sure how far we were going to ride today, but agreed, that if I started coughing, we would turn around and head home.  The half mile of gravel we rode on when we left the house, was as loose as marbles on the road.  Our back tire did a jerky, spinning dance on the up hill portions, and the going was slow, even on the little section of flat terrain we encountered.  We cheered when we reached the pavement, welcoming the big  paved hill on 155th, as if it were a long lost friend.


     We turned east on 16 mile road and north on 140th.  Rather than ride into Dighton, we headed east once again, on 17 Mile Rd.   At the corner, our ears  were greeted by the laughter of children playing.  It was delightful to hear, and to see the faded red wagon, 2 trikes, and a ball, strewn across the yard.  Happy living has replaced the bleak empty windows that we rode past last year.  It's good to see a house lived in.

     1 brown horse, a brown and white and dapple, and a white one, came up to the fence to investigate the strange thing that was passing by.  The dapple stuck it's head over the fence for a better look.  Convinced that we were harmless, it returned to it's comrades.

       Although the grass is growing enough to require mowing,

it is not warn enough to convince the trees to fully leaf, it's the "tween time" between full fledged spring and summer.  Lots of brown still dots the landscape.  Unfortunately the 70 degree temps we had in March, accelerated the time schedule of the cherry and apple trees, by about 4 weeks, and due to the heavy frosts we have been having,  between 60 and 70% of this years fruit crop has been lost.  A sad thing for the farmers, and for the summer produce stands.  Bright red, juicy cherries, will likely cost  more this summer, and there is a good likely hood, many be shipped in from WA.  Not sure if the blueberry  or peach crops were impacted by our false spring, or not.

     It seems odd to ride by the houses where normally,  flowers accent the landscape, and see only spring flowers.

My heart is ready for marigolds, and pink and white impatience.  Without the leaves competing for attention, it seems that the roofs shout with streaks that melting rivers of ice and snow left behind.

     Rode by the "Pour House,"  a farm that has this sign as a greeting
I never see any cows there,  the sign makes me wonder if at one time there was a dairy farm here.

     Passed the Rose Lake Free Methodist Church, which for some reason, is called the "Shingletown Church," It is across the street form an old country school house that was known as the "Shingletown School" There are no signs that proclaim this, but that's how they are commonly known.   Before writing this, I called several people to ask them what they knew about "Shingletown," but came up empty handed.  Finally a friend that had a book on old school houses in our area, called me back and had some history for me.

     Shinglletown really did exist.   Like many towns in the area, it was part of the lumbering era. The name, Shingletown, was  due to the number of Shingle Mills in the area.  The community  consisted of a few stores,  a Post Office, a church, and a school.  In 1882 a shingle covered,  one room school house was erected.  In later years it was replaced by a brick building, and in 1930 the current frame structure was built.

The building is owned, and used today, by the  Rose Lake Free Methodist church, which is right across the street.  Being a lover of local history, it does my heart good to see 2 buildings, from days gone by, still in use.

     We stopped for a break, and a bit of a snack.

We were almost done with our apples, when a shot rang out.  Across the road from where we were, was a mobile home.  From the sounds of things, some target practice was taking place, behind the garage.  Glad it was facing away from us, we got back on Rollin, and pedaled out of there.


      2 dog encounters, on the trip home.   On 140th, a big boxer, named Tyson came out, barking and growling.  Remembering that last year, when he chased us, stopping the trike, cut short the chase, I stopped Rollin right away.  I wasn't sure I did the right thing,  Tyson, approached  me, growling, and with the hair on his neck standing up.  His owner was working in the garage, so I asked him to please come and get his dog.  He called Tyson, but was ignored.  Finally he came out and got the dog, even as he was dragging it away, he was reassuring us that it would not bite.  We were not convinced.

     The next dance with a dog occurred when we were about 4 miles from home.  Someone opened the door of a house and out dashed Sadie, a 3 legged, black and white, English Springer.  It was obvious that this dog just wanted to chase us to her property line, which is what she started to do.  Unlike Tyson, when her owner called her, she stopped chasing us, and returned to the house.  Sadie was not a threat, she was just being a dog.  Even if her owner hadn't been there, I doubt Sadie would have harmed us.  She just wanted us to know that she was watching over things and we needed to be on our way.

     The meadows are green with grass and peppered with dandelions.  Sometimes, in the early morning, or evening,  we see deer feeding in this area.

     When we see this sign, we know we are less than 1 1/2 miles from home.

There are 2 big hills to overcome before we arrive at our driveway.  If our legs are already feeling like finger jello, it can take us quite awhile to complete the journey we started.


Today we rode 18 miles.  Praising God for giving us such great weather to ride, and for getting us safely home, once again.






   

Laid low

     It started out innocently enough, a little irritating cough.  The next morning, I woke up, feeling like my throat had been rheamed  out with a  thin, red hot pipe.  Strep was my first thought. My naturopath wasn't available.   I rescheduled my clients and started on oregon grape and colloidal silver right away, rubbing tea tree  oil on the throat every few hours  My evening my throat felt better, but the cough was worse.  Made it through the night.  Had to reschedule clients again.  Tony came home with some suggestions from our naturopath on things I should take. I started on them right away.  No appetite.   Fever visited that night, and dragged my body over some rocks.

     Fast forward 2 more days, to the weekend.  There was a breakfast that I needed to attend.  In spite of taking cough syrup, I coughed through most of it, was glad when it was done and I was back home.  It was an important weekend,  I had many obligations at church, and there was a surprise birthday party for Tony's Mom on Sunday.  I was unable to attend any of it.  Coughing, being cold, and running a fever, set up camp all around me, and forced me to participate.

     On Day 8, I realized I hadn't cooked any meals in over a week.  Apparently, Tony was feeding himself.  Most likely eating lots of oatmeal, PBJ sandwich's and bagels with peanut butter.   Time to make an appointment to see the doctor.   Once she got over her shock at how sick I looked, doc said I had bronchitis that was on the verge on pneumonia.  My first bout ever with bronchitis, and it was clearly winning.  For the first time in over 6 years, I took an anti-biotic.  She also called in a cough syrup with codeine....sleepy time syrup.   She said I would start to feel better in 24 hours, and I did..briefly.  Then things went downhill again.  My doctor had the day off and the on call doctor, couldn't fit me in, so he called out  5 Z-pak, which is something strong that is used to treat pneumonia.

     Once again, clients for the week, are  shuffled around like a deck of cards.  Yes they can come next week.  Many get well wishes conveyed from them, with a reminder, that they need me to get well.

     So grateful for the blessing of friends.  A good friend  picked up the new meds, bringing supper with her.  Sleepy time syrup got me through the night.  Next day, same friend came and made supper for us.  Later our Pastor called to let us know that people would be bringing in meals for a few days, a gesture we gratefully accepted and appreciated.  Especially, Tony.  Me, I still had no appetite or taste.

     2 days later, life is getting better, fevers are gone, still coughing, but the mucus making factory  in my head, seems to have shut down.  Appetite and taste are slowly returning.  I can taste chocolate and smell coffee, life is improving.

     Over 2 weeks have passed, I still have 2 packets of pills to take.  I feel quite a bit stronger, but certainly not ready for a bike ride.  Which reminds me, we are now 2 weeks behind on our training.  I'm hoping to start cleaning Rosie up and to try and get the mountain drive easier for Tony to kick out, but right now, I'm going to take a little nap.  Hopefully, I can have a little cycling adventure in my dreams.

    Miles ridden today, zero.

Here is Rollin.

     We are happy to introduce Rollin, the GTT that recently joined our family.
     The bright yellow seat will make us  noteworthy on the road, even for those that have no idea what a GreenSpeed is.   We want folks to know we are there.

It may not be the  SS Enterprise, going where no man has gone before, but 

as the captain, this is where I get to sit.  From here I can boldly choose the proper gearing, turn the trike, and decide when to stop for ice cream.  

      In light of,  the last rain event we experienced, we are happy that Rollin came with Ortelieb, waterproof, panniers.  After our last wet riding foray on Rosie, I took everything out the non waterproof,  panniers, and spread them out on the  retaining wall.  It looked like we were having a garage sale, but gave me a chance to inventory what was in there.  I even took somethings out, but not my trusty duct tape.  And yes, I found my gloves.

Tony's stoking power and the mountain drive,  take place here.

 Years of long distance running enable Tony to help us out run dogs and deer flies.  He is my "super stoker."  If I say, "deer fly alert,"  or dog alert."  he knows he needs to put the metal to the pedal, NOW.   Deer fly season isn't here yet, but I know the little buggers are already plotting ways to ambush us.  They especially like it when we are on an incline.  We're easy pickings then.

On gargantuan hills, Tony kicks the mountain drive in with a flick of his heel, and we spin up the hills like a pair of senior citizen's waltzing up the stairs.   We might be slow, but we are graceful, and eventually get to the top, without breaking a sweat.  (unless it's a brutally hot  day with no shade. In those conditions,  Superman might even sweat.)  

     Rollin's chain was very clean, so we decided to continue using White Lightening Wax lube on it.  Boeshield T-9 , is what we have used in the past, but it seems to be leave Rosie's chain dirtier,  This wax lube comes in a blue carrier oil.  I shake the bottle well, and then apply it the chains, and let it dry , overnight.   I will need repeat this ritual about every 300 miles.    

     Riding has been elusive for us, this week.   Tuesday morning we had about 1/2 inch of snow and strong winds.  When the weather became more agreeable, our job schedule interfered, and I came down with a whopper of a cold, even missing work because of it. This weekend doesn't look much better, and our schedule is quite full.  Hope the climate  and my health, will be more cooperative next week.  

The rain jacket I ordered came, but they sent the wrong size, and didn't have the right one for an exchange.   I couldn't find anything I really liked.  Finally ended up ordering  from a different  company.  Got  a  Bellweather Stormchaser.  It is both waterproof and windproof, 1 jacket, for double duty,  so the panniers will be less crowded.   I am one of those people that read reviews, and this rain gear got good ones.  They only make it in Men's sizes, I ordered a small, hope it fits.   

 Happy to finally share some pictures of Rollin on here.  Sad that we won't be able to ride until nest week.  Stay tuned for more adventures.   (dramatic music, plays in the background.)
  

       

  

     

     

South on the White Pine Trail

    I spent part of the day getting some bling On Rollin.  Bling is a water bottle holder, a bell, an air horn, a small portable air pump, and of course,  panniers that are packed for the basics of a ride.   our little dog, Button was happy to go along today, his traveling condo, now secure, on Rollin's rear rack.

     Wanting to give our legs a break from the hills, we loaded Rollin up on the trailer and drove to the White Pine Trail in Reed City.  It is  called The Crossroads,  and is where the Pere Marquette trail intersects with the White Pine, and  is available for year round use, with restrictions of at least 4 inches of snow on the trail before it can be used by snowmobiles.


     Reed City is the cross roads of MI  where 2 major highways, US 10 , east and west, and US 131, north and south, intersect, but it was also where the Pere Marquette Pennsylvania Central Railroad went from Ludington to Midland,  the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad ran from Rockford to Cadillac.   These railroads transported vital supplies to the logging industry that once thrived in our area. vital to life in the north country of MI.

Reed City's legacy  continues, with the Fred Meijer White Pine State Trail and the Pere Marquette State Trail intersecting at the reconstructed replica of the historic, downtown, Reed City, railroad depot.  It is a beautiful building, with a community room, as well as restrooms, a covered pavilion and an outdoor fireplace.  The town's pride is evident, in the building's care and use. Everytime we have been there, the community has some type of family gathering taking place.  Today, bright yellow and blue balloons framed a 'Happy Birthday,' banner.

     The White Pine trail system is the largest in our state, running 92 miles between Grand Rapids and Cadillac, MI.  The Pere Marquette is 55 miles in length, crossing through Clare, Lake and Osceola counties.  The trails are well used, year round, with  a  minimum 4 inch snow restriction in place, for snowmobiles.

     It didn't take long to get the trike off the trailer, and we were riding in no time.  The sun warmed our faces.  We headed towards Big Rapids, expecting to see many other riders.  To our surprise there were no Mom's and Dad's, followed by children, in blue or pink helmets, spreading across the trail.  No cyclist's in matching jersey's and shorts, speeding by, and no roller blades, singing along the asphalt.

     We stopped in the park at Paris, MI for a break.  Paris has a fish hatchery that opened in 1881.

 The area was selected as a site because of the abundant sources of water and the railroad connections.  The hatchery was a major supplier of salmon and brown trout fingerlings.  Fish in distinctive red cans were shipped in  railroad baggage cars, throughout the state.   In the mid 1930'a the WPA renovated and expanded the facility.  It continued to operate until 1964, when the Department of Natural Resources closed it.  The site was acquired by Mecosta County Park Commission in 1973, refurbished as a park, and reopened in 1976.

     The work of the  CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp,) and the WPA (Works Progress Administration,)  and it's impact on our country is a fascination to me.   Our country was at it's lowest point, financially,  when the WPA was introduced as part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. These programs  were designed to put America back on it's feet, and get the economy moving again.  It's original propose was to build and improve America's infrastructure, but it also funded arts history and culture in America.  Out of work Americans, both men and women, found jobs through the WPA.

  Sometimes the workers had to go far from home to live in camps to work.  The initial appropriation for the WPA was 4.88  billion dollars from the Emergency Relief Fund.  Over the years the WPA would employ 8.5 million Americans and spend 11 billion dollars. Although I tend to see what the they did for small town America and our parks system across the US,  half of the workers were employed in New York City.

     Wages varied from region to region and state to state.  In the state of TN, a man working with a pick and shovel earned 18 cents an hour and was limited to an income of 26 dollars per month.  While a similar man in PN had to work 30 hours to earn 94 dollars per month.  Strong complaints about these practices, brought about adjustments in wages to better match the living costs in each state.

 

  Nearly 9000 miles of sewer lines or storm drains  were laid,  by 1938 280,000 miles of streets and roads were repaired or paved.  As of 1940, 4383 schools were built and repairs and additions done to over 30,000 others. More than 130 hospitals were constructed, with improvements made to 1670.

  Our country would not be what it is today without the hard work of those who participated in WPA.  The WPA , born in 1935, had a lifespan of 8 years, and a legacy that continues, to this day.


     In addition to the fish ponds the area has a few buildings.  I'm not sure what there purpose was.
Just beyond the fish hatchery, there are some camping places for both RV's and tents.  In the summertime, smoke from campfires drifts across the park, and the sounds of children playing, fill the air.  Across the street from that,  is one of our favorite antique shops, filled gleaming wooden furniture, old enamel tea pots, silver ware, china, and other bric-brac, some of which now, resides, in our home.

     Button was glad to get out of his condo carrier and had to sniff many blades of grass, before he found  just the right spot to do his business.  He wanted to explore a bit, but was sure he might miss crumbs from our granola bars, if he did.

     Refreshed and ready to roll,  we progressed south, the ride was blissfully uneventful.  After riding next to it for quite some time, we crossed the Muskegon River.  The sun sparkled on the water, than flowed around a sand bar island, and under the bridge.

     It seemed like a good place to take a break.  So peaceful to look out over the water, I missed seeing the green leaves add some trim to the scene.

     Saw a pretty church in Roger's Heights.  The steeple looked like a mix of Greek and Russian influence, to me.  Churches, barns and old houses, they keep showing up in my blog....

The first sign of excitement was when we reached the end of the paved section of trail, and stopped at a convenience  store.  A cop had someone pulled over.  There was an Arby's there, so we had a fish sandwich before turning back towards Reed City.   The guys in Arby's were full of questions about"that thing," we were riding.  I saw the officer, looking it over too.

     Fueled up, we were ready to roll.  On each ride, God gives us little gifts of his creation to enjoy.  Today, it was ssmall white flowers  blooming along the trail.

     Pedaling on to Reed City, we were greeted by a headwind.  Now, later in the day, cloudy skies  made the wind feel colder.  I stopped and added a layer,  and my gloves, before riding on.

     Soon Rollin went back on the trailer,  Button in the car, and we all went home, tired, but happy.

     We rode 27 miles today.

Some rides don't go as planned.

     Today's ride was going to be a short, 16 mile ride, to church and back.  It's one of our easier courses, although it too has it's share of hills, they are what we consider, "mild hills."  And just in case the ride is too easy, we have the "Hill trio," to greet us in the last miles, before home.
   
     Winds this morning were about 10 -15 MPH, temps in the mid 40's and it was sunny.  30 MPH winds dancing around this afternoon, but we would be home  by then.  I am far behind on my household duties, and need some time to be domestic.   Too much time spent riding and blogging, lately.  Tomorrow is a big errand and appointment day, and the weather forecast is for possible sleet.  Not a good riding day,  and as good of a reason, as any, to ride today.  Not that we ever need a reason to do that.

     Tony continues to struggle with getting the  mountain drive kicked out.  When we changed pedals, we moved the trouser guards from the mountain drive on Rosie, to Rollin, and I'm thinking that they don't line up with the magical little button that kicks the gearing out of mountain drive.   I am going to try and take them off on Friday.  I think it will make it easier for Tony to hit the button with his heel.

     Rode past a cow and her calf.   He looked pretty young,  tawny brown coloring,   a few  shades brighter than the contented cow that walked ahead.  The little one wasn't far behind, and was completely focused on his Mama.  They were to far away to get a good picture.  I have been looking for the sheep and lambs, but haven't seen them.   The song of the rooster greeted us in a few places.  Sometimes I think of how efficient it would be to live in town and ride Rollin, to the grocery store, library, and work,  but I would sure miss the open country roads we ride.  I prefer peaceful peddling, past fields, farmhouses, cattle, horses, chickens and geese.   A deer, turkey or some other wildlife, can come strolling across the road or a field.   A tom turkey, gave us a  full display of his tail feathers today.


     The gulls were all revved up over something or another, a cement mixer and several construction workers were at the self milking barn.   Maybe the gulls were ticked because there was so many people around.  Not as many trucks parked along the road as there was last time we rode by, but it is is a mess from all the field dirt.

     Our new wireless computer isn't working properly.  It recorded our miles to church as 10 , and we know that it is 8 miles.  Kind of odd, as we know it was accurate on our last 2 rides.  From what I've read wireless computers can be affected by many things, but it is more common for them to be off around stop lights, alarm systems etc.  None of those between our house and church.  Wanting credit for every mile we ride, we will  be switching back to a wired computer.  I'll probably go back to a Cat Eye.

     Arriving at church meant time for a bathroom break and a snack.

  A car pulled in the driveway, just as we were leaving. 4  elderly, strangers got out and went over to the bell tower that holds the old bell from the school house.   Thinking that perhaps they might want their picture taken by the tower, we stopped to chat.  One couple was from CA, the other from western MI.  Their parents had grown up in the area and had gone to the Dighton School.   They heard there was a lot of historical pictures , on display, in the church, and were disappointed that it wasn't open.  With a key to the church in my pannier, I offered to open the church for them, so they could take a little look around.  Tony waited outside with Rollin.

 Once we got in the church, I could see that this wasn't going to be a quick tour.   Many pictures evoked a memory story for them, or something their parents had shared.   There are pictures on each of the hall way walls downstairs, and pictures in the foyer of the church as well.  They took pictures of the pictures, and gratitude at being able to get into the church to see them, flowed abundantly.  I was glad I had offered to let them in.

     Meanwhile, I could see dark clouds rolling in.  Setting those thoughts aside, I let them take as much time as they needed.  Who knows it could be the last time one of them ever sees this piece of their  history.   By the time they  signed the guest register,  nearly an hour had passed.  The 4 of them stood in front of the bell tower and I took a few pictures.  Of course it wasn't fall, as in this picture, but it was the only one I had of the tower.

 With happy hearts, they got in the car and drove away, and yes, it was still spring.
 

     Tony was pretty cold by then, and we had an 8 mile ride, with strong headwinds ahead of us.  I wondered if we might get wet before we made it home.  Asking the Lord to look upon our good deed with favor, and to hold back the rains, we pedaled out of the driveway.

     The wind beat a chill against our faces as we headed south, making me wish I had my balaclava on instead of my skull cap.  My gloves kept my fingers toasty, and biking tights warmed our legs.  The sky was dark and overcast, continuing to  threaten rain.


     We pushed it going home, not wanting to have a repeat of our last rain scenario.  Last year the farmer that owns the land on the corner of 155th,  plowed the meadow over and planted corn.  This spring they cut down what we refer to as ,  the "rock tree."  It is a tree that had a big pile of rocks under it.

 Years ago we took our trailer and hauled several loads of rocks to put on the side of our hill.  Being a tree hugger, I am sad to see the tree come down.  I wish they would come and haul it away, taking the sadness I feel when seeing the toppled skeleton too.   I think Tony is getting tired of me talking about it, and what a shame that mere cornstalks could determine the fate of this  majestic tree.
   

     Upon arriving at the driveway our odometer  said we had ridden 20 miles, but we knew we had only logged 16.

   
 

Putting Rollin through his paces

      April 06, 2012

     After getting only 5 hours of sleep in the past 2 days, we are still pretty tired, but eager to take Rollin out for a ride on our  home terrain to see how he does.  How will he like our hills, and can he really open up on the flat trails?  GreenSpeeds  are noted for how fast they go.  Tandem trikes are slower than other trikes and bikes, but GreenSpeeds  (GTT's)  are the fastest tandem trike made.  Last year in PALM,  we usually saw a GTT briefly in the morning, and maybe at a few early water stops, but after that, it left us, and many others,  in the dust.

     I got the ratchet straps loose and the pieces of foam we had taped on Rollin came off easily.

   


 Upon examination it looks like he took the trip well,  even with all the bouncing around on those WI roads.  The tires all needed some air, so Tony took care of that.
   

By the time we got going, it was mid afternoon.  Temps was 55, with winds  around 10 MPH.  We wanted to see how Rollin did on hills and flats, so we opted to ride into town and spin the White Pine Trail.  When heading home, we would take 18 mile Road, which is awash with hills,  and go  around the rest of lake on 140th.

     You have all been good sports, (or at least I think you have.) about listening to me go on about our Schlumpf Mountain Drive and how much easier it makes our life, when riding  hills.  Some of you might be wondering what the big "hoo ra" is about this mountain drive.

      In 1992 Florian Schlumpf, who lives in the mountains of Switzerland,  invented the mountain drive, which adds lower gearing to bikes and trikes, making it easier to climb steep grades.  Florian is an avid unicyclist, and has a put a mountain drive on the hub of his unicycle.  This allows him to ride up steep alpine passes with it.  I can't imagine riding a unicycle in a parking lot, much less, up a mountain. Florian has been making  the  Schlumpf mountain drive in a small shop, behind his alpine  home.  In 2012, the manufacturing was turned over to a factory in Germany, so he would have more time to come up with new and better innovations.  Unfortunately, this has caused the price of this wonderful device to increase by $200.00.



 I am not very good at explaining things of this nature, so I copied most of  the following explanation from a website that explains the Schlumpf Mountain Drive, much better than I.  Hopefully,  you can understand it.   I won't be of much help, if you can't.  This might get a little technical, so feel free to skip over it if this kind of explanation drives you nuts.

The Schlumpf Mountain Drive is a planetary geared crankset spider that acts like 2 chainrings on the front of your bike.  (on a tandem, it is on the back.)  In high gear, it uses a 1:1 ratio and gives you a gear of whatever chainring size you have installed.  In low gear mode, it bumps the chainring size down by a factor of 2.5 for a 2.5:1 gearing ratio.

The mountain drive gives any bike or trike an ultimate granny gear by gearing down the exisiting drivetrain.  Without a front deraileur, the mountain drive, in conjunction with a conventional rear cassette, gives the rider a huge gear range with almost no gear overlap.  With a front deraileur, the gear overlap helps ease transitions between higher and lower gear sets.  Our trike has a front  and rear deraileur.

With a 20 inch rear wheel, which is what we use, using an 11-34T rear cassette, and 2 front chainring sizes of 53T and 39T (which means the gear ring has either 53 or 39 teeth.) you can expect a gear range of approximately 8.6 - 90 inches, with a fair bit of overlap.  (that is NOT a typo.)

   
     Please don't ask me to explain all of that.  I can tell you this, with Schlumpf Mountain Drive on our trike, our gearing is low enough that we could probably ride up a tree, if we had too.  Granted, we don't race up a hill fast, but one of the advantages of riding a trike is we can go as slow as we want, and we won't tip over, we can also look at the scenery as we go.  However, it would not be a good time to meet up with a skunk or a bear.

With our mountain drive engaged, we don't have to push hard, (called mashing)  on our pedals to get to the top, but can slowly spin our way up.   On some hills, we go so slow that the wheel won't register the speed on the computer, yet we are still moving forward.   We call it "zeroing out."  Someone walking, could easily pass us, but the point is to get to the top, and with our trusty mountain drive, we get it done, and that is what counts.

     So it was imperative to us, that Rollin have Schlumpf Mountain Drive.  Since we have a Mountain Drive,  on Rosie, we already knew he would do well on the hills.  So no surprises there.  Our biggest question was how he would do on the "flats."

     Our best speed on Rosie had been about 18 MPH, and that was when we were racing a thunderstorm in PALM.  Yes, we won, and  the prize was staying dry.) With Rollin, we can achieve that speed without working nearly as hard.  When we did our test ride, I had him up to 20 MPH, without too much huffing and puffing.  I expect to improve once I master the gearing combinations.  Tony also needs to practice getting the feel of the new Mountain Drive.  He is having some trouble getting it out of Mountain drive, once we are done with a hill.  It will come, just takes miles of practice.

     We stopped at the bank, where I asked a guy to please take our picture.  It didn't turn out , so you will have to imagine us in our biking tights and jackets, red helmets gleaming in the sun, smiling like 2 little kids, next to their new wagon.   Only in our case we were next to Rollin, wearing the "trikers grin."  

     Our turning ratio with Rollin is smaller than with Rosie, but  bear in mind that we are still nearly 10 foot long, and don't turn on a dime.  Rollin is also 5 pounds lighter, weighing in at 63 pounds, of course that is without any of our gear on the trike.


     Once we got on the trail I had a chance to practice my speed gearing.  It seemed different to not know the sweet spots to coax the most from Rollin, like I do on Rosie.  I know the exact combinations I need to make her sing.  Rollin and I, we're still learning the scale.  We still managed to get him up to 21 MPH without extreme pedaling.  I have a feeling this boy, can really fly!

     Green grass is abundant now,  we saw evidence that some folks had already put their lawn mowers to work.

     The new side mirrors are round and earth like instead of  the oval I am used too, framing what is behind us into what I call,  "my world view."

     Rollin seemed to  handle the gravel section of our road fine.  I would say he passed todays tests with flying colors.  The only concern we have is that the seat might be just a tad to close for Tony's stoker position.  He is right on the borderline of needing the next size frame.  The seats aren't adjustable.  If it makes problems for him,  but we might be able to move his cleats back a bit, or go with  longer cranks. Riding to close to the pedals can cause serious knee problems.  We are hoping this will not be an issue for him.  Time will tell.  We'll be watching Tony's knees closely on our next few rides.  Won't be selling Rosie, until we know Rollin will work for Tony.

     We rode 28 miles wonderful today.   Welcome to our world, Rollin, we're glad your here.

   

   



 


   

When we least expect it, God blesses and provides.

       Here we are in Manitowoc WI.  Today we will be picking up a "new to us," GreenSpeed tandem trike.  We are still pinching ourselves to make sure this is real.  Just a few blogs ago, I shared our goal of riding from MI to WA in a few years, mentioning that in order to do that ride ,we would need to upgrade to a GreenSpeed tandem trike.    We prayed about it but figured this dream was in the distant future. Today is the day, but the Lord has been putting things in place for all of this, for awhile.

     There are a lot of pieces that the Lord put into place to bring this blessing our way.  Pieces we knew nothing about.  About 6 weeks ago I got a call from a life insurance company telling me that while doing an audit, they had come across a small life insurance policy on my step Dad,  who died 20 years ago, that had never been collected on.  My sister and I were the beneficiaries on the policy, the company would send us the necessary  paperwork, and after we filled it out, we would each get a check.  I took some notes, and later went online to verify the companies, name address and phone.  Sure enough, it matched.  It was legit.  What a shock.   I felt like I was playing monopoly and landed on free parking.   A few days later the paperwork came. I filled it out and sent it onto my sister.   What a blessing from the Lord!!  Now Tony and I  had enough money to start a savings account for a new trike.   We figured it would take us years to save and find the right trike., boy were we wrong.  When the Lord  blesses and answers prayer, he doesn't mess around.

     We don't have a GreenSpeed dealer in our state, so a while ago, (before the insurance call,)  I emailed the company and  told them we would eventually be buying a used  GreenSpeed tandem trike, also known as a  GTT.   What we should be looking for, what could be modified etc.?   I got a reply from the CEO of GreenSpeed, Ian Sims.  He wanted to set up a time to have a skype conversation.  After doing some figuring out of time and day differences,  things were arranged.  The visit  was a wonderful learning experience, complete with Ian's Aussie accent and a reference to  "lovely shifters."     He answered our questions and gave us a little tutorial on GreenSpeed tandems.  Now we knew exactly what to look for on a used trike.   Again, we figured a trike like this, at a price we could afford,  was years away for us.  We put it in the Lord's hands and got on with life.

     Fast forward one more week.  We received an unexpected phone call from an online friend that has also been looking for  used GreenSpeed Tandem trike.

 Our friend's requirements were pretty much the same as ours,  but he needed a taller captain position and a shorter stoker.  We both desired the GTT that had 5 couplers, which means the trike can be broken down into 5 pieces for transport.  Normally the GTT comes  with 2 couplers. There is even a hard cover case for the 5  pieces to go into that would make it possible to do international touring with it.  Tony and I had agreed that if we found the right trike, and it only had 2 couplers, we could live with that.  Our friend however, has family in Europe, and plans to ride there, plus some back issues, so 5 couplers are a must for him.   To make a long story short, he had come across a very nice, 2 coupler,  GTT that he had put a 10 day "buying hold," on.  After giving it more thought he decided he couldn't compromise on the coupler issue.   He was going to be calling the seller to let him know, but then he thought of us, and what a good fit the trike was. He told us all about the trike and said, that if we were interested,  he would tell the seller that that some friends in MI, that might want to buy the GreenSpeed.  Tony and I asked questions and  said we would like 24 hours to think about it and would get back to him.

Here is a link to the pictures the seller had posted of the trike.  With the British racing green color and the black fenders, we could see that this trike was a boy.  If we bought him, he would need a  boy name.

http://www.timswoboda.com/misc/tandem/tandem.html

     That night we looked  at the online pictures of the tandem,  several times,  evaluated finances, talked and prayed about the decision facing us. The price on the trike was exceptional, it met most of our requirements, could be modified and tweaked a bit  for our tour. and the trike had only 1500 miles on it.  It had never been ridden in the rain and looked like it came right out of a showroom. A deal like this wasn't likely to come along again. We hadn't expected one to come along so soon.  Once we sold Rosie, we would be upgrading to this trike for about, an additional $1000.00.  We bounced the pros and cons around like a volley of ping pong balls, and after praying, decided to sleep on it and talk more in the morning.

   When I got up,  Tony was in the kitchen eating breakfast.  Between his bites of oatmeal he was grinning,  that  told me , he felt  this  was the one for us.  I was in agreement with that, and by evening, we bought the trike.  We were soon going to have a  GreenSpeed,  tandem trike!   Later that day we discussed names.   The trike had dignity, so the name had to as well.  Since our Terra Trike was named Rosie, it would be nice if the name started with an R.  Rambler wouldn't do, nor would Robert.  Tony suggested Rollin,  because we would need to keep him rolling.The name fit, and so "Rollin", he shall be.

     The day after we bought Rollin, the life insurance check came.  An affirmation  from the Lord that he brought this trike and the money to buy it, to us.  None of it came from our own efforts.
      Then we had to arrange a time to drive to WI and pick the trike up.  That turned out to be a challenge,  as we found out the same day, that the tie rods in our car needed replacing, no trips for us until they were.  Parts had to be ordered, but finally the car was fixed, a pickup date was set, and we were off.

     We picked the trike up and headed for the Hostel Shoppe, a recumbent bike and trike shop in Steven's Point WI.(about 2 hours from where we bought the trike. )  There we had the boom adjusted for me, pedals and cranks swapped out and a new wireless computer put on.  Took the trike for a test ride to make sure all was working well, and headed back to MI.

     Interstate 41 is not a road I would recommend when hauling a trailer with a light load on it, unfortunately, it was the road we needed to take.  The road made the trailer bounce like a  rock, ricocheting  across the water,  so much, that I couldn't go over 45 MPH.  This went on for miles and miles. Occasionally there would be a stretch of road that was better, but it didn't last for long, and we would be back to 45 MPH.  It made for a long trip to the MI border.

     We got home about 4:30 AM on Friday morning.  We were too tired to unload Rollin, and it wasn't raining, so he had to stay on the trailer a bit longer.  We headed for bed and some much needed sleep.  Happy to be home at last.

Miles driven to bring Rollin into the family were 1102.  Miles ahead in this relationship... innumerable.