I started my blog in July 2009 and I'm ending it today.  I'll still keep the pages on the title bar up to date. I'm NOT done pushing pedals by any means. I'll continue with social media. I feel Social Media serves a good purpose in letting other recumbent trike riders know that they are not alone. I for one live where I may see one or two trikes a year riding around my City of Thousand Oaks, CA. Without social media I would have felt very isolated over the years. My Instagram - Crazy On Three   Instagram is my primary source for sharing my trike rides and information. Even though my ..read more

For the last couple of years I've been looking at adding a handcycle to my rides. I want to take some of the strain off the issues with my legs and hips. For the last decade I've been keeping my upper body and arms strong knowing that I would eventually need to give my legs a break.  The process of looking for an handcycle was put hold in November of 2021 when a surgery on my left shoulder and bicep(tenodesis) became necessary. The shoulder recovered after about 6 months but it took me up until now to get my bicep repair strong again. For most of the first year of bicep strength training ..read more

There is still too much water crossing the trails so back to the pavement I go. I went back to a road tire setup.  I wanted more time off road (see my February Post) but too much water is still crossing the couple of trails suitable for my trike. And I don't want to fold up my trike and travel to another trailhead. I like to just pull out of my driveway and ride. In addition to putting road tires on I removed the rack and panniers to lighten the trike up a bit. The ride necessities are now trucked away in ICE seat pouches and a T-Cycle frame bag. I’ll use a ICE Sidepod when I want t ..read more

If you're like me and enjoy experimenting with different trike configurations which may at times include moving the boom then read on. The bolts that secure the boom are under a lot of pressure and suffer from fatigue when tighten and loosened too many times and they may break. Even when using a torque wrench to avoid over tightening they seem to snap after a few rounds of tightening and loosening. The first time a bolt snapped it was a challenge to remove the manufacturer installed bolt. With the snapped bolt head removed I then had to use my Dremel to mill a slot in the opposite end of th ..read more

In February of this year I posted about the change to Schwalbe GT365 tires (link here). The GT365 tires have been a joy to use. Currently I have the 55/559 (26" x 2.15") on the rear and 40/406 (20" x 1.5") on the front. But I like to test out different tire combinations so I'm going to take off the 40/406 (20' x 1.5") front GT365s  and try 55/406 (20' x 2.15") GT365s for awhile. I want more steering control in thick gravel and soft dirt. So far after one ride I've gained more steering and braking control off road and taking runts with greater ease but lost some speed on the pavemen ..read more

In emails to the Adventure Cycling Association I have expressed my disappointment with their lack of attention to senior, alternative and adaptive adventure cyclists. The Adventure Cycling Association has always focused on the abled and younger riders with an occasional shoutout to us senior cyclists but yet has no problem asking us seniors to part with our income through their estate gifting program.   Maybe a ray of hope? Following an email I sent to ACA on March 7th regarding Sylvia Halpern's latest adventure (Travels by Trike on Facebook), ACA posted about Sylvia on its Fa ..read more

Up to now I never worried about an electronic failure with my Shimano E8000. I know I could call my beautiful wife to come bail me out. Over the years of using e-assist I had to be bailed out only once when I ran out of battery power to the assist drive on a steep long climb. The integrated headlight was to blame for the loss of assist (post here). At that time my lowest gear was 26.5 gear inches.  Things are a little different now. I'm riding off road a bit more and will be spending more time off road when the rainy season is over. I have to be able to bail myself out if I have an electr ..read more

  I resolved the problem of caring a cane without it protruding awkwardly out from my trike. Up until recently I carried a folding cane in my pannier for my wonky legs (post here "Cane"). There are times when I want to ride without panniers but still have my cane with me. When I'm off the trike a cane keeps me balanced, especially on uneven dirt or gravel. I can manage reasonably well without a cane but I probably look like I've started my day off with a couple of Tequila shots.  I have three Leki collapsible (not folding) canes that are tall enough for me when ..read more

On  September 21, 2021 I ditched the Shimano Di2 (post here). The main reason for the change to cable was the shift buttons were wearing out fast.  After studying the compatibly of other Shimano switches with my e-assist system I bought a Shimano SW-E7000-R switch. I'm giving it a try to see if it holds up longer than the SW-E6000 switch. At least the SW-E7000-R switch is easy to find in the States whereas I had to buy the SW-6000 switch internationally. The Shimano compatibility chart can be found at Shimano.com (here). On the chart scroll down to the sixth page for the E8000 system ..read more

Now that I'm starting to get back out on the road after my crash I've decided to try and spend a little more time off road and less time on the pavement. I’ve been trying Schwalbe GT 365 tires. They make a good choice for when a ride includes both dirt and pavement. They’ve made my ICE Sprint FS E8000 a worthy gravel and dirt road trike ..read more