Trike on a stick

#303 / #97

Red Leader, leading as always, and I went out for a longer ride on the lovely American River Parkway today. We aimed for and attained 30 miles.

Those of you who follow this blog might remember that RL got his trike adjusted last weekend, specifically moving the boom out far enough so his legs are much less bent when at full extension. Our ride back after that adjustment was faster than the ride in.

Today, that speed was still evident, cooking along quite nicely around 15mph. Red Leader always rides in front of me as I'm still a bit faster than he is and the point of these rides (in my opinion) is to keep him happy and exercising and enjoying the trike. I coasted a little less this ride, and decided that what I need on solo rides is Trike-On-A-Stick. Like a carrot on a stick except less vegetable. I always ride just behind Red Leader - slow or fast, there I am, trailing along quite happily. On solo rides I get distracted by all the things to see and don't ride as fast. Maybe a decal of Red Leader on his Gekko stuck to my glasses?

We saw lots of trikes, one tandem, and a handful of recumbent bikes. Spent a bit of time talking to a fellow who was very interested in our trikes since he hates riding on winter's wet pavements. I handed out one of Alphabent's cards. I hope he finds something he likes.

We were really not sure where the 15 mile turnaround would be from Sunrise and spent lots of time making unsupported guesses, then discarding them as our guesses slid away behind us. It was about the I-80 overpass, if you must know. This may be Red Leader's longest ride to date. Not sure. I plan on trying to do 30 mile rides with him at least once a week, and then moving to 35 or 40 in January. I'd like to do the whole trail round trip with him by May: Folsom to Beals, then to Discovery and Mile 0, and back to Folsom again.