Vacation time?!

To all my friends on hearth.com, below is a picture of Tim Woudenberg from San Francisco, CA.



I'll be leaving home in a few days to drive out to Tim's place. The whole crew will then move down to Oceanside for the start of the Race Across America. A very tough 3000+ mile race across this great country. There is over 100,000 feet of mountain climbing on this year's route. Our part of the race (solo riders) begins on June 9. Here is a link to the RAAM web page in case anyone wants to follow the race. Updates will be giving daily once the race starts:

RAAM

To look at the racers, in about the middle of the page you'll see "Racers." On the last page near the end you'll see Tim Woudenberg. Click on his name on the left side and it lists part of the crew (we now have 10 crew).

After the race I'll be trucking bikes and equipment back to San Francisco where I'll then pick up my car and head home. It will be quite a month but I won't be posting for a while.

That was the lowest point of RAAM when Bob was killed. That puzzle still has not been solved, but Bob was an inspiration to many folks. The other real disaster was when one rider was run over by a truck on I-40. He was the only one who tried to complete RAAM unsupported. That is no longer an option. All racers have to be supported. They can go unsupported for a time during the daylight hours but before sunset and until after sunrise, all riders have to ride in the area lit by the follow van's headlights. The riders also have to have lights on their bikes during that time. Also, pretty much all the freeway riding has been done away with. For example, this year instead of riding on I-10 from Blythe to the first exit past Quartzsite, the riders will go north and cross the Colorado River near Parker and then go back to the SE to pick up the regular route near Hope.

I guess it is sort of like the guy who had a heart attack and died while he was deer hunting. Is that such a bad way to go? Is it better to die in a hospital bed or out doing something that you love to do? I know how I feel about the answer but everyone has to answer in his own way.

btw, there was a team of 4 guys who whipped a lot of other 4-man teams in RAAM. Average age of the 4 was 75. Not bad, I'd say. They plan to race again too in another year or so. I believe the oldest guy to compete and complete the race was age 68. If I were to become able, I'd try to beat his record. lol

The bike pictures sells for $5895 off the rack. Naturally the the bike set up to race costs much, much more. Wheels alone can cost a couple thousand. But this is not the highest priced bike either. A bike Tim rode in 2007 cost now $9,500 off the rack. Regular DF racing bikes can cost well over $10,000. I know of one over $13,000.

Comparing this type of bike to a traditional touring bike is fairly easy as a touring bike is not that much different from a recreational DF bike. The biggest difference one will find in this type of bike is how they sit on the bike. The number one complaint with bike riding is the sore rear end. In RAAM, that also is the biggest killer of the race and people got to some big extremes trying different things to heal their butts and to get something they can even sit on after a few days.

The number two thing in RAAM and in any biking is the neck problems. One hears much about "Shermer neck" in RAAM. The neck problem is one thing that drove me to a recumbent bike and the very first thing I noticed was the view! Wow! I can see so much more now because of how I sit. However, that comes with one drawback too in that I can not look around to see what is behind, therefore mirrors are 100% necessary. I use only one mirror but some use two.

So we can list a few things that are different with the butt problem, the neck problem, carpal tunnel problem, wrists, elbows and shoulders take a beating. For me it was the carpal tunnel thing, tennis elbow, both shoulders going bad and especially the neck. Amazingly, I had only a few problems with the saddle. Since I switched to the recumbent bike most of those problems have either disappeared or are now minor problems. One really notices the difference when going longer distances, like 100 miles or more. I can ride 100 miles and still do work when I get home. No soreness, but the legs do get tired for sure as they will on any bike.

One thing one reads a lot and hears is that these bikes are terrible for climbing hills. I do not agree. I will agree that the regular bike has the advantage and usually one can climb faster with the regular bike simply because you can stand and pedal. Not so on a recumbent. But where the regular bike might beat a recumbent up a hill, the recumbent usually passes on the downhill. They simply are faster bikes on downhills and really show their strength in rolling territory. Still, so much depends upon the engine. Put a good engine on any bike and they will ride fast. My engine needs an overhaul badly.

People think these bikes are hard to ride. They are not. Yes, when one first rides a recumbent it is almost like learning how to ride a bike all over again. But as always, the key is to relax and once anyone relaxes, the riding is easy and a heck of a lot of fun.

Perhaps the biggest drawback to recumbent bikes is the cost. There are so many different types of recumbents that they are not mass produced; therefore, the price is a bit higher. And there is the main reason you do not see as many as you will see of the Walmart type bikes that are sold cheaply. It is also the reason one does not see the $10,000 racing bikes all over the place. Most folks simply can not afford such a luxury.

I hope this answers a few of your questions.

btw, I rode my bike this morning to the barber shop. It is 15 miles to the barber shop so is a nice ride. I do this sort of thing a lot which gives me riding time and saves a bit on gas too. We do live in the country so I don't have to ride in a city. Our home town is 10 miles from our house and there is one stoplight in the village. All county roads I can ride to town too.

Anthony, there is one thing I did not mention and that is respect on the road. I don't completely understand it but have some theories. What happens is that I seem to get more respect on the road from other traffic than I ever got when riding a DF bike! It is amazing when traveling a county road and in my mirror I see cars and trucks pull completely into the left lane almost 1/4 mile behind me! Not only that, but I get lots of smiles and waves from people in vehicles and people who happen to be outdoors in their lawns or wherever. This is something I really enjoy about riding this bike.

That is not to say I don't run into any jerks because they seem to be all over. Occasionally everyone seems to come across them but they seem to be fewer and far between when I am riding. I did have a lady pull up beside me one time and she started badmouthing me and saying I should not be on the road. The reason was that she said she couldn't see me. Hum. I simply asked how she knew I was there.

I did have one other person say they couldn't see me but what they really meant is that they could see the bike really well but could not see me sitting on the saddle with my whole trunk above the bike. I do take precautions in that I have quite a bit of bright yellow/green stickers all over the front plus I carry a pair of wraps (safety color and reflective) that can go around the ankles. But how I use those is one is wrapped on the back of my bright yellow rear pack and the other is wrapped around the handlebars. That one I also use when I park the bike. I simply wrap it around the brake lever so the bike can't roll.

This is what my bike looks like except I have a yellow pack on the rear of the seat:

Sorry Jags, on the handlebars you see the brake handles and sticking out the back is the shifters. No ring-a-ding on this bike nor will you find one on my bike either.


Delta-T, many folks are scared to ride bikes on the roads and that is okay. Myself, I can hardly believe the respect I get from traffic as they usually give me a very wide berth. On the times that I ride in town (villages actually) I've had no problem even when I have to pull up to a stop light. I did that just a couple days ago. I had to make a left turn and just got in the left turn lane and no problem. I can usually zip around the corner as fast as the cars do anyway and I've never gotten any angry comments or anything of the sort. That is another reason I'll stick to the recumbents.

Well, I've been riding since the late 40's and I agree with you. There are some places where I just will not ride, but where I ride there aren't many bad things happen. Dog problems are worse than car problems but I have a few ways to handle those critters too.

Ya, I was a skinny kid then. I can still hear my doctors practically yelling at my folks telling them to get me a bike and make me ride. "Get that boy a bike!" he'd say. Well, they got me a bike but they surely did not have to make me ride. I rode lots. Not as much as now where I ride several thousand miles a year but still lots for a young boy who was a cripple from polio. I fooled them and got the legs working again.

metal said:

There is a recumbent bike manufacturer here called RANS http://www.ransbikes.com/. I don't know how well they are known in your area, but they are popular around here (Kansas).

Click to expand...

Yes, Randy Schlitter is a great guy and he also sponsored a team in RAAM last year and they rode the new Rans XStream bike. I think he might sponsor another team or maybe a soloist in the future. Randy's brother, John is part owner of Bacchetta Bikes in Florida. Right now, John is the only person to have rode a recumbent solo and finished in RAAM. We're hoping Tim can beat the record that John established.

There is a possibility that next year we might see a few 2-man teams riding recumbents again. I'm quite certain that John Schlitter will be riding along with a fellow from California and they will ride the new Bacchetta CA-2 (Carbon Aero-2). It is a nice looking bike and the reviews coming in make it sound like a top notch bike. I'd like to see a 2-man from Bacchetta, Rans, Carbent and Volae but doubt that is possible. Nice to think about though.

Speaking of Rans, I just received this picture as I was typing that last post. I was supposed to crew for the team last year but had to back out. One of the crew sent it to me as a reminder; race time is only 12 days away!



Notice the time! Just a tad over 6 days to cross the nation. I wonder if any of those old folks who crossed in wagon trains ever thought this was imaginable?