A
Andy Welch
Guest
With the icy mornings recently I've been using a Windcheetah (recumbent trike) to get to and from
the station. The combination of stong winds a hilly route and my total inability to get out of bed
in good time means that I've usually had to really go for it. I've had a feeling that this has
resulted in a bit more muscle going on the old thighs. My times for this ride on the Windcheetah are
now pretty much the same as my upright times from the summer (despite the bike, lights, luggage etc
weighing a fair few pounds more). But I was totally unprepared for the effect when I got back on the
upright for a 30 mile spin this weekend. OK the joy of ridding in the sunshine may have had some
effect, but man I was really flying up those hills. Knocked 10% off my previous best time for this
route and even had to get off and throw some grass in the air to convince myself that there really
wasn't a tail wind!
I think the extra stength comes from the fact that you can't stand in the recumbent position so
trying to power up hills is effectively like doing bench presses. If you are putting pleanty of
effort in then an hour of those a day works wonders for your leg strength. OK I guess Beloki is
already spending plenty of time in the gym. But for those of us who can't stand the gym being able
to boost your leg strength just by changing bikes for a few weeks seems like a good deal.
Problem is that this ride also served to convince me that what I really enjoy is standing on the
pedals and powering up hills. So I reckon the trike will have to go. Don't get me wrong, it's a
great machine for certain rides. I bought it so that I could ride through the winter while my wife
is on maternity leave and, given the state of the roads some mornings, I don't know what I'd have
done without it. It is also great for long leisurely rides and if my premium bonds came up I'd keep
it just so I could continue to admire it. But I can see that once my wife returns to work (in the
same building as me) and our child goes to the nursery down the road I'm just not going to be riding
it much and basically it deserves to be ridden.
I'll post a proper for sale note once the danger of ice has passed and I've given it a thorough
service. But if anybody fancies a Windcheetah but is put off by the price of a new one then let me
know (plenty of pictures at http://windcheetah.fotopic.net).
Cheers,
Andy
the station. The combination of stong winds a hilly route and my total inability to get out of bed
in good time means that I've usually had to really go for it. I've had a feeling that this has
resulted in a bit more muscle going on the old thighs. My times for this ride on the Windcheetah are
now pretty much the same as my upright times from the summer (despite the bike, lights, luggage etc
weighing a fair few pounds more). But I was totally unprepared for the effect when I got back on the
upright for a 30 mile spin this weekend. OK the joy of ridding in the sunshine may have had some
effect, but man I was really flying up those hills. Knocked 10% off my previous best time for this
route and even had to get off and throw some grass in the air to convince myself that there really
wasn't a tail wind!
I think the extra stength comes from the fact that you can't stand in the recumbent position so
trying to power up hills is effectively like doing bench presses. If you are putting pleanty of
effort in then an hour of those a day works wonders for your leg strength. OK I guess Beloki is
already spending plenty of time in the gym. But for those of us who can't stand the gym being able
to boost your leg strength just by changing bikes for a few weeks seems like a good deal.
Problem is that this ride also served to convince me that what I really enjoy is standing on the
pedals and powering up hills. So I reckon the trike will have to go. Don't get me wrong, it's a
great machine for certain rides. I bought it so that I could ride through the winter while my wife
is on maternity leave and, given the state of the roads some mornings, I don't know what I'd have
done without it. It is also great for long leisurely rides and if my premium bonds came up I'd keep
it just so I could continue to admire it. But I can see that once my wife returns to work (in the
same building as me) and our child goes to the nursery down the road I'm just not going to be riding
it much and basically it deserves to be ridden.
I'll post a proper for sale note once the danger of ice has passed and I've given it a thorough
service. But if anybody fancies a Windcheetah but is put off by the price of a new one then let me
know (plenty of pictures at http://windcheetah.fotopic.net).
Cheers,
Andy
