Freewheel Ride Report

Hi everyone,

Last Saturday, I got home from my best state ride ever. I did Oklahoma's Freewheel for the sixth time.

The route was roughy 400+ miles. It led 1,200 cyclists over hilly terrain in Oklahoma. I am certain it is nothing compared to what some of you ride, but it was significant to me.

I have no state rides to compare it to. But a woman I met that had done Kansas' ride, Nebraska's ride and Wyoming's ride told us it Freewheel was a far tougher course than the other states she had ridden in before that.

On the ride side, I got up tp 40mph down a hill. It was a high for me on the Canto. I managed to average 15mph or better. this is a small average for some but for me it was good over a 6 day period.

On the bike side, I cannot believe the global differences of the Burley over my BikeE. The big wheels, strictly IMHO, provide a much, much, much better ride. I feel less fatigued and boy can I climb on this bent. I was surprised by my increased climbing prowess at the helm of the Canto.

Freewheel had about 50 recumbents on it. Burley and Easy Racers had the bulk of that number. Other present were: a Hot Mover Trike, RANS, BikeEs (quite a few!), Vision, Inifinity, Bacchetta Strada and Lightning.

One man that holds several speed records locally, rode from Tahlequah Oklahoma to the start of Freewheel in eight hours. That is 192 miles! He rides a Lightning R-84 with the F40 fairing.

 

"Canto, modified": Are you the guy that has a Rotator seat? If not, in what way is your bike modified?

John Riley

 

I was there too, on my Gold Rush with "stars & stripes bodysock". I thought it was a great ride, and
much less rain compared to the one I did in 1999. My upright riding, racer buddy commented that he
had never seen so many recumbents at one time. I will say that there were many more recumbents than
during the 1999 Oklahoma FreeWheel ride.

Terry Springfield, Mo.

"bentcruiser" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone,
>
> Last Saturday, I got home from my best state ride ever. I did Oklahoma's Freewheel for the
> sixth time.
>
> The route was roughy 400+ miles. It led 1,200 cyclists over hilly terrain in Oklahoma. I am
> certain it is nothing compared to what some of you ride, but it was significant to me.
>
> I have no state rides to compare it to. But a woman I met that had done Kansas' ride, Nebraska's
> ride and Wyoming's ride told us it Freewheel was a far tougher course than the other states she
> had ridden in before that.
>
> On the ride side, I got up tp 40mph down a hill. It was a high for me on the Canto. I managed
> to average 15mph or better. this is a small average for some but for me it was good over a 6
> day period.
>
> On the bike side, I cannot believe the global differences of the Burley over my BikeE. The big
> wheels, strictly IMHO, provide a much, much, much better ride. I feel less fatigued and boy can I
> climb on this bent. I was surprised by my increased climbing prowess at the helm of the Canto.
>
> Freewheel had about 50 recumbents on it. Burley and Easy Racers had the bulk of that number. Other
> present were: a Hot Mover Trike, RANS, BikeEs (quite a few!), Vision, Inifinity, Bacchetta Strada
> and Lightning.
>
> One man that holds several speed records locally, rode from Tahlequah Oklahoma to the start of
> Freewheel in eight hours. That is 192 miles! He rides a Lightning R-84 with the F40 fairing.
>
>
>
> --
> - - - - Derek Burley Canto, modified
>
> >--------------------------<
> Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com

 

Er...no.

Here's how I modified the Burley:

- SRAM 9.0SL shifters & derailleur
- nine speed drivetrain, 11-34T cassette
- RANS seat base
-

I suppose it is not that significant. But SRAM 9.0SL comps compared to the stock MRX is quite an improvement.

 

Hey Derek!

Sure enjoyed meeting/talking with you at Tom's several weeks earlier. I was looking for you on
FreeWheel, but didn't run into you anywhere this year....probably because I was one of the slowpokes
smelling the roses, enjoying the view (painfree)! I was on the 2002 (ebay special) red BikeE CT,
with the W*mart fiberglass "kids fishing pole" w/US flag (had to promise wifey I would ride with
it). I've been riding FreeWheel since 1984 (missed 1997, however). Thoroughly enjoyed the
ride....being a newbie to the 'bent world (only put 150 miles on the BikeE prior to FreeWheel), I'm
totally sold on it! Nothing at all like my old touring bike. I'm just like a kid in a candy
store...definitely has put the fun back in biking. A couple of days into the ride, I took a friends
Burly (limbo, I think) for a little jaunt....excellent bike! After seeing all the 'bents and how
they performed, I'm now drooling for something faster/sleeker than my
CT. I may have to look into building a TE clone or upgrade to a "newer" used steed.

Tony