A little while back my recumbent was stolen near Morpeth (UK) and I posted a 'stolen' ad here. After
several months of adventures it found its way back to me - suffering a little from surface rust and
vandalism, but it will live again.

To add insult to injury, after being stolen from private farmland in the middle of nowhere it was
abandoned unlocked on a rough houseing estate in full public view - and it stayed put for several
months judging by its condition.

So, Hurrah! - and thanks to those who gave suggestions as to how to recover
it. And if you do see a red M5 recumbent with custom modified etc. etc. stop me to say 'hi' but
please _don't_ call the police!

Kit

kit@brain.ncl.ac.uk

Kit Wolf <kit@perseverance.ncl.ac.uk> wrote in message news:<pan.2004.03.04.07.38.39.729331@perseverance.ncl.ac.uk>...

> A little while back my recumbent was stolen near Morpeth (UK) and I posted a 'stolen' ad here.
> After several months of adventures it found its way back to me - suffering a little from surface
> rust and vandalism, but it will live again.
>
> To add insult to injury, after being stolen from private farmland in the middle of nowhere it was
> abandoned unlocked on a rough houseing estate in full public view - and it stayed put for several
> months judging by its condition.
>
> So, Hurrah! - and thanks to those who gave suggestions as to how to recover
> it. And if you do see a red M5 recumbent with custom modified etc. etc. stop me to say 'hi' but
> please _don't_ call the police!
>
> Kit

Hi Kit.

You were really lucky to recover your recumbent. Most bikes once they are stolen are gone forever.

There is a guy here in my home town who has built himself a recumbent. He has got it loaded with
everything including a car battery (for the lights), a real heavy tractor seat and an elaborate ash
tray so he can smoke while he is riding it down the street. The damn thing must weigh 200 pounds and
it is unrideable to anyone but him. He parks it where ever he wants and never has a worry about
anyone stealing the confounded thing. Oh, did I mention that the thing (I hesitate to call it a
bicycle) looks like a beast from hell! You haven't seen ugly until you have seen his masterpiece!

He is very proud of it however despite my reservations about it. But what do I know. Like he says,
real men ride heavy bikes - and they should look sharp too like his does. He wouldn't even look at
your M5 as he would consider it a sissy bike. The really amazing thing is that he is fairly fast on
it. Did I mention also that he is as strong as an ox. It must have something to do with pushing that
200 pound monster around the countryside and having a good smoke while he is at it.

Regards,

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

Ed,

I hope you can get a picture posted so we can all see his creation.

JD

"Edward Dolan" <edolan@iw.net> wrote in message
news:7d49e514.0403040405.d17baa1@posting.google.com...
> Kit Wolf <kit@perseverance.ncl.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:<pan.2004.03.04.07.38.39.729331@perseverance.ncl.ac.uk>...
> There is a guy here in my home town who has built himself a recumbent. He has got it loaded with
> everything including a car battery (for the lights), a real heavy tractor seat and an elaborate
> ash tray so he can smoke while he is riding it down the street. The damn thing must weigh 200
> pounds and it is unrideable to anyone but him. He parks it where ever he wants and never has a
> worry about anyone stealing the confounded thing. Oh, did I mention that the thing (I hesitate to
> call it a bicycle) looks like a beast from hell! You haven't seen ugly until you have seen his
> masterpiece!
>
> He is very proud of it however despite my reservations about it. But what do I know. Like he says,
> real men ride heavy bikes - and they should look sharp too like his does. He wouldn't even look at
> your M5 as he would consider it a sissy bike. The really amazing thing is that he is fairly fast
> on it. Did I mention also that he is as strong as an ox. It must have something to do with pushing
> that 200 pound monster around the countryside and having a good smoke while he is at it.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ed Dolan - Minnesota

> Hi Kit.
>
> You were really lucky to recover your recumbent. Most bikes once they are stolen are gone forever.

25% luck, 25% work and 50% the helpful people of Pegswood & environs. It restored one's faith in
humanity somewhat. But I'd have never got it back had it not been so distinctive.

> There is a guy here in my home town who has built himself a recumbent. He has got it loaded with
> everything including a car battery (for the lights), a real heavy tractor seat and an elaborate
> ash tray so he can smoke while he is riding it down the street. The damn thing must weigh 200
> pounds and it is unrideable to anyone but him. He parks it where ever he wants and never has a
> worry about anyone stealing the confounded thing. Oh, did I mention that the thing (I hesitate to
> call it a bicycle) looks like a beast from hell! You haven't seen ugly until you have seen his
> masterpiece!
>
> He is very proud of it however despite my reservations about it. But what do I know. Like he says,
> real men ride heavy bikes - and they should look sharp too like his does. He wouldn't even look at
> your M5 as he would consider it a sissy bike.

Each to their own. But I second the picture request.

Kit

Did I mention also that he is as strong as an
> ox. It must have something to do with pushing that 200 pound monster around the countryside and
> having a good smoke while he is at it.

Sounds like us paperboys back in the 60's. We used to pump those big, fat- tired bikes with a full
load of papers all whilst we yanked out a Camel or a Kool and lit up with a Zippo or a Peacock Hand
Warmer with the cig- lighter hole in the middle. Yeah, those were the days! I still think we were
healthier then.

Neil

Edward Dolan wrote:

> ... There is a guy here in my home town who has built himself a recumbent. He has got it loaded
> with everything including a car battery (for the lights), a real heavy tractor seat and an
> elaborate ash tray so he can smoke while he is riding it down the street. The damn thing must
> weigh 200 pounds and it is unrideable to anyone but him. He parks it where ever he wants and never
> has a worry about anyone stealing the confounded thing. Oh, did I mention that the thing (I
> hesitate to call it a bicycle) looks like a beast from hell! You haven't seen ugly until you have
> seen his masterpiece!...

Mr. Dolan,

Would this person happen to be related to Joe "Road Warrior" Kochanowski?
<http://www.outsideconnection.com/gallant/hpv/joe/>.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities (Illinois Side)

Cornelius Roberts <none@ya.biz> wrote in message news:<Xns94A2CD20F58noneyabiz@199.45.49.11>...

Edward Dolan wrote:

> Did I mention also that he is as strong as an
> > ox. It must have something to do with pushing that 200 pound monster around the countryside and
> > having a good smoke while he is at it.
>
>
> Sounds like us paperboys back in the 60's. We used to pump those big, fat- tired bikes with a full
> load of papers all whilst we yanked out a Camel or a Kool and lit up with a Zippo or a Peacock
> Hand Warmer with the cig- lighter hole in the middle. Yeah, those were the days! I still think we
> were healthier then.
>
>
> Neil

Neil, let me tell you about the kind of bike rides we have here in SW Minnesota.

There was a factory group who decided they would do a day bike tour of about 35 miles. About 30 guys
showed up and we were off to the races. Unfortunately, about one third of them had to stop for a
smoke after a few miles. And so it went. They were just about the most pathetic group of cyclists
you ever saw in your life. Their butts were all killing them after a few miles, their hands were
going numb and the smoking wasn't doing anything for their stamina either. I just about died
laughing and thought to myself - this could only happen here in SW Minnesota, the land of the
perpetually unfit and the chronic gripers and complainers who essentially hate the idea of getting
on a bicycle to go anywhere. Everyone had just one thought in their pea size brains and that was
let's get this over with so we can have our pizza and cokes. Needless to say, I decided never to
ride with these guys again. It was just too much torture for me to see what they were going through.
In fact, it was enough to make you give up on the idea of cycling altogether.

Regards,

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

Tom Sherman <tsherman@qconline.com> wrote in message news:<c28nmc$1piq1l$1@ID-81487.news.uni-berlin.de>...

> Edward Dolan wrote:
>
> > ... There is a guy here in my home town who has built himself a recumbent. He has got it loaded
> > with everything including a car battery (for the lights), a real heavy tractor seat and an
> > elaborate ash tray so he can smoke while he is riding it down the street. The damn thing must
> > weigh 200 pounds and it is unrideable to anyone but him. He parks it where ever he wants and
> > never has a worry about anyone stealing the confounded thing. Oh, did I mention that the thing
> > (I hesitate to call it a bicycle) looks like a beast from hell! You haven't seen ugly until you
> > have seen his masterpiece!...
>
> Mr. Dolan,
>
> Would this person happen to be related to Joe "Road Warrior" Kochanowski?
> <http://www.outsideconnection.com/gallant/hpv/joe/>.

Thanks for the web page Tom. I will peruse it at my leisure as there is a lot there to peruse. I am
familiar with Joe from the pages of RCN of course.

However, this guy here in my home town definitely has a screw loose or as they say, he has only one
oar in the water, unlike Joe. But the amazing thing about Joe is that he seems not to be overly
concerned about the weight of his bikes. Apparently, it is all aerodynamics with him. He is into
building complete body fairings and he supports them with with whatever is necessary regardless of
weight considerations. And he claims to be reasonably fast too. But like my local guy here, he is
probably as strong as an ox too. We wimps, like myself, have to consider the weight of the bike
irrespective of aerodynamics.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

On 5 Mar 2004, Edward Dolan wrote:

> Tom Sherman <tsherman@qconline.com> wrote in message news:<c28nmc$1piq1l$1@ID-81487.news.uni-
> berlin.de>...
>
> > Edward Dolan wrote:
> >
> > > ... There is a guy here in my home town who has built himself a recumbent. He has got it
> > > loaded with everything including a car battery (for the lights), a real heavy tractor seat and
> > > an elaborate ash tray so he can smoke while he is riding it down the street. The damn thing
> > > must weigh 200 pounds and it is unrideable to anyone but him. He parks it where ever he wants
> > > and never has a worry about anyone stealing the confounded thing. Oh, did I mention that the
> > > thing (I hesitate to call it a bicycle) looks like a beast from hell! You haven't seen ugly
> > > until you have seen his masterpiece!...
> >
> > Mr. Dolan,
> >
> > Would this person happen to be related to Joe "Road Warrior" Kochanowski?
> > <http://www.outsideconnection.com/gallant/hpv/joe/>.
>
> Thanks for the web page Tom. I will peruse it at my leisure as there is a lot there to peruse. I
> am familiar with Joe from the pages of RCN of course.
>
> However, this guy here in my home town definitely has a screw loose or as they say, he has only
> one oar in the water, unlike Joe. But the amazing thing about Joe is that he seems not to be
> overly concerned about the weight of his bikes. Apparently, it is all aerodynamics with him. He is
> into building complete body fairings and he supports them with with whatever is necessary
> regardless of weight considerations. And he claims to be reasonably fast too. But like my local
> guy here, he is probably as strong as an ox too. We wimps, like myself, have to consider the
> weight of the bike irrespective of aerodynamics.

I've never been to Minnesota - I could see his arguments makes sense if it's particularly flat?

I'll challenge him to a race up some of the 20% gradients round here...

Kit

Kit Wolf <kit@brain.ncl.ac.uk> wrote in message news:<Pine.SGI.4.44.0403051738410.731640-
100000@mercy.ncl.ac.uk>... [...]
> > > Edward Dolan wrote:
> > However, this guy here in my home town definitely has a screw loose or as
> > they say, he has only one oar in the water, unlike Joe. But the amazing thing
> > about Joe is that he seems not to be overly concerned about the weight of his
> > bikes. Apparently, it is all aerodynamics with him. He is into building
> > complete body fairings and he supports them with with whatever is necessary
> > regardless of weight considerations. And he claims to be reasonably fast too.
> > But like my local guy here, he is probably as strong as an ox too. We wimps,
> > like myself, have to consider the weight of the bike irrespective of
> > aerodynamics.
>
> I've never been to Minnesota - I could see his arguments makes sense if it's
> particularly flat?
>
> I'll challenge him to a race up some of the 20% gradients round here...
>
> Kit

I have never liked to climb hills on a bike, but most especially not on a
recumbent bike. It is fairly flat here in southern Minnesota and that is the way
I like it. But the flattest area I have ever seen in my life is the Red River
Valley of the North which runs from near Fargo to Winnipeg.

I do think SWB like your M5 will climb hills better than LWB like my Tour Easy
clone, but the fact is that I am never going to climb hills at all well on any
kind of bike. As you may surmise from this, I am not into cycling for the
challenge of it, but rather strictly for the enjoyment of it. For me cycling on
the flats is enjoyable and cycling in the hills is not.

Regards,

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

On 5 Mar 2004, Edward Dolan wrote:

> Kit Wolf <kit@brain.ncl.ac.uk> wrote in message news:<Pine.SGI.4.44.0403051738410.731640-
> 100000@mercy.ncl.ac.uk>... [...]
> > > > Edward Dolan wrote:
> > > However, this guy here in my home town definitely has a screw loose or as
> > > they say, he has only one oar in the water, unlike Joe. But the amazing
> > > thing about Joe is that he seems not to be overly concerned about the
> > > weight of his bikes. Apparently, it is all aerodynamics with him. He is
> > > into building complete body fairings and he supports them with with
> > > whatever is necessary regardless of weight considerations. And he claims to
> > > be reasonably fast too. But like my local guy here, he is probably as
> > > strong as an ox too. We wimps, like myself, have to consider the weight of
> > > the bike irrespective of aerodynamics.
> >
> > I've never been to Minnesota - I could see his arguments makes sense if it's
> > particularly flat?
> >
> > I'll challenge him to a race up some of the 20% gradients round here...
> >
> > Kit
>
> I have never liked to climb hills on a bike, but most especially not on a
> recumbent bike. It is fairly flat here in southern Minnesota and that is the
> way I like it. But the flattest area I have ever seen in my life is the Red
> River Valley of the North which runs from near Fargo to Winnipeg.
>
> I do think SWB like your M5 will climb hills better than LWB like my Tour Easy
> clone, but the fact is that I am never going to climb hills at all well on any
> kind of bike. As you may surmise from this, I am not into cycling for the
> challenge of it, but rather strictly for the enjoyment of it. For me cycling on
> the flats is enjoyable and cycling in the hills is not.

I'm no masochist, Ed - though I'd miss cycling _down_ the hills. Round here
they're not optional unfortunately.

Kit