29 December 2008

anchorage

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Recumbent bicycles

Flevobike
Desperately in need for a bit of attention? Go and get a recumbent bicycle. You'll get plenty of remarks. This summer in Sweden the highway traffic near Karlstad stopped just to let me cross.
With your back against the chair you can apply more power than your own weight.
The huge power combined with lower air resistance results into a much higher speed than a normal push bike. It takes just little effort to keep up with speed cyclists.
The high speed is a bit dangerous. A horn is safer than a bell..
High speed at low effort entice towards larger distances.

A 30 km tour degrades to a stroll around the block.

State borders get irrelevant. Distances of 50, 60, 70 km get withing cycling range.
Odd to see how roadsigns target old fashioned push bikes.

Cycle from Gouda to Haarlem and it won't be until Alphen aan den Rijn until you see directions for Haarlem.

The feet must be able to cope with the bigger forces.

The flevobike specialist Ab Touw, who runs the Green Machine Experience Center in Brielle, did recommend hard soled cycling shoes to me.

Pig headed I did not follow his advices, and suffered sore feet for months as a result.

Getting some big BMX pedals is an alternative for fellow thong lovers. Those big sized pedals spread out the forces to a larger area of the feet, making soft soles less painful.

Another tip from Ab Touw: Be prepared for a lower height than a normal push bike.

You will have less of an overview in traffic. So look ahead, as if you a driving a car.

The Flevobike Green Machine really is free of maintenance. The chain guard is totally-enclosed.

So I went cross country cycling in the mud, which scared the hell out of manufacturor and dealer.

Flevobike Green Machine with Dutch sign: anchorage dued after 4pm For the first few days I had a bit of trouble maintaining balance while standing still.

Ab Touw's advice:

Nice clean theory. To know is good, to put theory into practice is more tough. I only learned to brake automatically, after some unencouraging anchoraging.

Till next nut,
Nut