Widdershins, First Outing

Artemisia said:

On this fair Sunday afternoon I took my new baby out for a short spin,
along a rather drab, but flat and straight, cycling path not far from
my home. We did several aller-retours, amounting to about 13 km.

First Impressions

I never noticed before how cambered a lot of streets are. I took a
short stretch of road to reach my path and I swear my right wheel was
about 6 inches lower than my left.

STEER, STEER, STEER! This is new. On Fly, I only have to look in a
direction and he reads my mind and goes there. Not so Widders. I have
to tell him _everything_. On said cambered road, he kept trying to
fall into the curb. No dear, go LEFT! Anyway, despite Carol Hague's
contention that recumbent trikes are all female, I now have no further
doubts about his gender.

Overgown hedgerows are a problem. They now overhang at face level. I
wouldn't even have noticed them on a bike.

It is magnificent to be able to stop and just start again! I can be
polite to families and old ladies. I can respect traffic lights
without foul language. On a bike, all of this would have unhorsed me
again and again.

Uphill is a joy. My path was flat, but I spent some time yesterday
doing the ramp to the upper storey of the underground parking. I used
to practise getting up this on Myrtille. Shift down, pedal pedal
pedal, brake, turn, pedal for your life, push, push, push, turn again
at the top and usually miss the mark. Now, shift down, pedal relax,
turn, pedal relax to the top, turn again. I kept trying to speed
until I realized I didn't even have to. It's so zen, I don't even
break a sweat.
I had to get in before dusk, not so much because I feared Widders
would turn into something hairy at the sight of the full Moon, as
because I don't have lights for him yet. I've ordered two Cateye
EL530's, since Helen is so pleased with hers. But I'm in a quandary
as to where to put them. No room on the computer mount. I would like
them on the front boom, one on each side, just next to the wheel
axles. But how on earth shall I mount them as the diameter of the
boom is about 3", much thicker than a handlebar?

This is supposedly a folding trike but my first attempt to fold it
failed miserably. I did get the seat off. But the quick release clamp
for the fold didn't seem to release anything, and getting the seat
back on was about 45 minutes of panicky sweat. The manual is most
unhelpful because there are almost no illustrations so you can never
tell what it is talking about; OTOH it is constantly telling you how
much danger you are in if you put things back incorrectly. I will
write to HP Velotechnik demanding more diagrams and better tech
writing (given that it's my own profession.)

EFR
Ile de France

Before Jobst flames you for posting a ride report here ( :-P ) and then
starts another political thread, let me just say, "Charming."

Bill "happy trials and trails (and streets and paths)" S.

Bill Sornson said:

Artemisia said:

On this fair Sunday afternoon I took my new baby out for a short spin,
along a rather drab, but flat and straight, cycling path not far from
my home. We did several aller-retours, amounting to about 13 km.

First Impressions

I never noticed before how cambered a lot of streets are. I took a
short stretch of road to reach my path and I swear my right wheel was
about 6 inches lower than my left.

STEER, STEER, STEER! This is new. On Fly, I only have to look in a
direction and he reads my mind and goes there. Not so Widders. I have
to tell him _everything_. On said cambered road, he kept trying to
fall into the curb. No dear, go LEFT! Anyway, despite Carol Hague's
contention that recumbent trikes are all female, I now have no further
doubts about his gender.

Overgown hedgerows are a problem. They now overhang at face level. I
wouldn't even have noticed them on a bike.

It is magnificent to be able to stop and just start again! I can be
polite to families and old ladies. I can respect traffic lights
without foul language. On a bike, all of this would have unhorsed me
again and again.

Uphill is a joy. My path was flat, but I spent some time yesterday
doing the ramp to the upper storey of the underground parking. I used
to practise getting up this on Myrtille. Shift down, pedal pedal
pedal, brake, turn, pedal for your life, push, push, push, turn again
at the top and usually miss the mark. Now, shift down, pedal relax,
turn, pedal relax to the top, turn again. I kept trying to speed
until I realized I didn't even have to. It's so zen, I don't even
break a sweat.
I had to get in before dusk, not so much because I feared Widders
would turn into something hairy at the sight of the full Moon, as
because I don't have lights for him yet. I've ordered two Cateye
EL530's, since Helen is so pleased with hers. But I'm in a quandary
as to where to put them. No room on the computer mount. I would like
them on the front boom, one on each side, just next to the wheel
axles. But how on earth shall I mount them as the diameter of the
boom is about 3", much thicker than a handlebar?

This is supposedly a folding trike but my first attempt to fold it
failed miserably. I did get the seat off. But the quick release clamp
for the fold didn't seem to release anything, and getting the seat
back on was about 45 minutes of panicky sweat. The manual is most
unhelpful because there are almost no illustrations so you can never
tell what it is talking about; OTOH it is constantly telling you how
much danger you are in if you put things back incorrectly. I will
write to HP Velotechnik demanding more diagrams and better tech
writing (given that it's my own profession.)

Before Jobst flames you for posting a ride report here ( :-P ) and then
starts another political thread, let me just say, "Charming."

to quote Neil Brooks:

"
l
e
t

i
t

g
o

B
i
l
l
..
"

Tom Sherman said:

Bill Sornson said:

Artemisia said:

On this fair Sunday afternoon I took my new baby out for a short
spin, along a rather drab, but flat and straight, cycling path not
far from my home. We did several aller-retours, amounting to about
13 km. First Impressions

I never noticed before how cambered a lot of streets are. I took a
short stretch of road to reach my path and I swear my right wheel
was about 6 inches lower than my left.

STEER, STEER, STEER! This is new. On Fly, I only have to look in a
direction and he reads my mind and goes there. Not so Widders. I
have to tell him _everything_. On said cambered road, he kept
trying to fall into the curb. No dear, go LEFT! Anyway, despite
Carol Hague's contention that recumbent trikes are all female, I
now have no further doubts about his gender.

Overgown hedgerows are a problem. They now overhang at face level. I
wouldn't even have noticed them on a bike.

It is magnificent to be able to stop and just start again! I can be
polite to families and old ladies. I can respect traffic lights
without foul language. On a bike, all of this would have unhorsed me
again and again.

Uphill is a joy. My path was flat, but I spent some time yesterday
doing the ramp to the upper storey of the underground parking. I
used to practise getting up this on Myrtille. Shift down, pedal
pedal pedal, brake, turn, pedal for your life, push, push, push,
turn again at the top and usually miss the mark. Now, shift down,
pedal relax, turn, pedal relax to the top, turn again. I kept
trying to speed until I realized I didn't even have to. It's so
zen, I don't even break a sweat.
I had to get in before dusk, not so much because I feared Widders
would turn into something hairy at the sight of the full Moon, as
because I don't have lights for him yet. I've ordered two Cateye
EL530's, since Helen is so pleased with hers. But I'm in a quandary
as to where to put them. No room on the computer mount. I would like
them on the front boom, one on each side, just next to the wheel
axles. But how on earth shall I mount them as the diameter of the
boom is about 3", much thicker than a handlebar?

This is supposedly a folding trike but my first attempt to fold it
failed miserably. I did get the seat off. But the quick release
clamp for the fold didn't seem to release anything, and getting the
seat back on was about 45 minutes of panicky sweat. The manual is
most unhelpful because there are almost no illustrations so you can
never tell what it is talking about; OTOH it is constantly telling
you how much danger you are in if you put things back incorrectly.
I will write to HP Velotechnik demanding more diagrams and better
tech writing (given that it's my own profession.)

Before Jobst flames you for posting a ride report here ( :-P ) and
then starts another political thread, let me just say, "Charming."

to quote Neil Brooks:

"
l
e
t

i
t

g
o

B
i
l
l
.
"

I plonked Neil so I wouldn't be tempted to flame him, OR be subject to his
slander and lies, so he can thank you for this*: Hope his wife (his main
support other than Vicadin and Disability even though he's healthy as a
horse) didn't lose her job when Planned Parenthood was busted for telling
underage pregnant girls to lie about their age so they wouldn't have to
report their statutory rapists to the authorities. He can always take his
Magic Flying Prus (sic tm) to France again, I guess. Or ride one of his two
$6K Mootses. Disability and chemical/spousal dependence really pay!

OK, time to let go again...

Bill "I hear the blogs are hiring!" S.

*He swore he plonked me, so won't see that. Right.

Bill Sornson said:

Tom Sherman said:

Bill Sornson said:

Before Jobst flames you for posting a ride report here ( :-P ) and
then starts another political thread, let me just say, "Charming."

to quote Neil Brooks:

"
l
e
t

i
t

g
o

B
i
l
l
.
"

I plonked Neil so I wouldn't be tempted to flame him, OR be subject to his
slander and lies, so he can thank you for this*: Hope his wife (his main
support other than Vicadin and Disability even though he's healthy as a
horse) didn't lose her job when Planned Parenthood was busted for telling
underage pregnant girls to lie about their age so they wouldn't have to
report their statutory rapists to the authorities. He can always take his
Magic Flying Prus (sic tm) to France again, I guess. Or ride one of his two
$6K Mootses. Disability and chemical/spousal dependence really pay!

OK, time to let go again...

Bill "I hear the blogs are hiring!" S.

*He swore he plonked me, so won't see that. Right.

Real classy post there Mr. Sornson - posting personal gossip.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
When did ignorance of biology become a "family value"?

--
....
"Artemisia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyway, despite Carol Hague's contention that recumbent trikes are all
female, I now have no further doubts about his gender.

Oh mine is definitely male too. Always has been. Indeed, all my steeds are
male.

Gino & Luigi Mk II (The Bianchi Brothers)
Mr Norbert Frosty (IceT)
My hybrid is male too, but he won't tell me his name, so he's referred to as
Clint.

Artemisia said:

I've ordered two Cateye EL530's, since
Helen is so pleased with hers. But I'm in a quandary as to where to put
them. No room on the computer mount. I would like them on the front
boom, one on each side, just next to the wheel axles. But how on earth
shall I mount them as the diameter of the boom is about 3", much thicker
than a handlebar?

Judging by:
http://www.hpvelotechnik.com/images/presse/sco_fx_gefaltet_smart2_dreirad.jpg
http://www.hpvelotechnik.com/images/presse/sco_fx_links_dreirad.jpg
and other pics on the HPV site, you are supposed to use the mounting
point on the underside of the boom (under the bottom bracket) with a
B&M type dynamo light mount 🙁
This would seem to be a major pain in the bum, as I'm not aware of any
commercial adaptors that you could use to mount your 530's from there,
and IMHO a single screw attachment would not be strong / stiff enough
for the weight of two (or even one) decent battery lights. And you do
really want the lights well forward to minimise foot flash.
I suggest that you contact HPV ungently with a suitable plea for help!

You could also ask the folk at www.bentrideronline.com for advice,
'cos several of them have FX's.

In article said:

I had to get in before dusk, not so much because I feared Widders would
turn into something hairy at the sight of the full Moon, as because I
don't have lights for him yet. I've ordered two Cateye EL530's, since
Helen is so pleased with hers. But I'm in a quandary as to where to put
them. No room on the computer mount. I would like them on the front
boom, one on each side, just next to the wheel axles. But how on earth
shall I mount them as the diameter of the boom is about 3", much thicker
than a handlebar?

Remind me, did you end up with a front derailleur post?
If so, consider something like
http://www.ice.hpv.co.uk/standard_trikes/accessories.htm#LightMount

(Which appears to be a normal Minoura Space Grip:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5300001170
(The square plastic bit unscrews and does up in the other alignment so
it can clamp to handlebars or as shown in the ICE photo.)

squeaker said:

This would seem to be a major pain in the bum, as I'm not aware of any
commercial adaptors that you could use to mount your 530's from there,
and IMHO a single screw attachment would not be strong / stiff enough
for the weight of two (or even one) decent battery lights. And you do
really want the lights well forward to minimise foot flash.
I suggest that you contact HPV ungently with a suitable plea for help!

I was hoping to put them next to my hips, on the beam that is
perpendicular to my body and feeds into the wheel axles. Is that a bad
place? I don't want the two lights too near each other as this cancels
the advantage of having two of them.

I know the Scorpion makes provision for mounting a B&M dynamo but that
is not my choice of lighting at all...

In fact, there is precious little space on this thing, it's even worse
than an upright. Apparently one isn't allowed to put anything on the
handlebars because it could perturb steering.

EFR
Ile de France

Alan Braggins said:

Remind me, did you end up with a front derailleur post?

No, for the moment there's just the 24-spped SRAM on the back.

Quoted message said:

(Which appears to be a normal Minoura Space Grip:

That's what Helen uses. It might turn out to be the solution, but I
would prefer not to have both lights so close together.

Carol Hague and Rob at Westcountry Recumbents had a lighting system on
one of their trikes with two lights by the sides of the seat. They were
on the handlebars, I think. That't the sort of thing I have in mind.

EFR
Ile de France

"Artemisia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Alan Braggins said:

Remind me, did you end up with a front derailleur post?

No, for the moment there's just the 24-spped SRAM on the back.

Quoted message said:

(Which appears to be a normal Minoura Space Grip:

That's what Helen uses. It might turn out to be the solution, but I would
prefer not to have both lights so close together.

Should be fine. Having two on a Space Grip I find the Cateyes light up the
entire width of a single carriageway and for a goodly distance in front too.
Where I ride there's no street lighting and I find the 2 Cateye 530s to be
entirely adequate.

Quoted message said:

Carol Hague and Rob at Westcountry Recumbents had a lighting system on one
of their trikes with two lights by the sides of the seat. They were on the
handlebars, I think. That't the sort of thing I have in mind.

EFR
Ile de France

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bill Sornson said:

Artemisia said:

On this fair Sunday afternoon I took my new baby out for a short spin,
along a rather drab, but flat and straight, cycling path not far from
my home. We did several aller-retours, amounting to about 13 km.

First Impressions

I never noticed before how cambered a lot of streets are. I took a
short stretch of road to reach my path and I swear my right wheel was
about 6 inches lower than my left.

STEER, STEER, STEER! This is new. On Fly, I only have to look in a
direction and he reads my mind and goes there. Not so Widders. I have
to tell him _everything_. On said cambered road, he kept trying to
fall into the curb. No dear, go LEFT! Anyway, despite Carol Hague's
contention that recumbent trikes are all female, I now have no further
doubts about his gender.

snip

Widdershins is a wonderful word. I haven't seen anywhere except in the book
"Dahlgren (Samuel Delaney)", and the subject of the thread. Of course I had
to check Google and there are lots of references to widdershins, but when I
read Dahlgre it would be several years until I got my first computer and
more years until the invention of Google.

Being over here in our little corner of ARBR, this tread only appeared as a
"re:" and I have no idea about the rest of the thread, so if this comment is
redundant, I apologize in advance; Artemisa, I read your camber comment and
am wondering why you are pedaling in the right lane, against the flow of
traffic. I would expect you, being on the right coast of the big pond, to be
riding happily and safely in the left lane with your left tire somewhat
below the right one.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Artemisia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

squeaker said:

This would seem to be a major pain in the bum, as I'm not aware of any
commercial adaptors that you could use to mount your 530's from there,
and IMHO a single screw attachment would not be strong / stiff enough
for the weight of two (or even one) decent battery lights. And you do
really want the lights well forward to minimise foot flash.
I suggest that you contact HPV ungently with a suitable plea for help!

I was hoping to put them next to my hips, on the beam that is
perpendicular to my body and feeds into the wheel axles. Is that a bad
place? I don't want the two lights too near each other as this cancels the
advantage of having two of them.

Have you thought about a helmet mount? You could also mount a strobe light
on the boom.

check out what others are doing for some ideas:
http://greenluck.smugmug.com/

http://greenluck.smugmug.com/gallery/424226#17012951

Also, consider BROL: www.bentrideronline.com as there are many trikers there
with similar issues.

Quoted message said:

I know the Scorpion makes provision for mounting a B&M dynamo but that is
not my choice of lighting at all...

In fact, there is precious little space on this thing, it's even worse
than an upright. Apparently one isn't allowed to put anything on the
handlebars because it could perturb steering.

Check out Greenluck's site to get some ideas.

He has a LOT of pics, so you need to carefullly click through his
night-riding journey.

"gotbent" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Being over here in our little corner of ARBR, this tread only appeared as
a "re:" and I have no idea about the rest of the thread, so if this
comment is redundant, I apologize in advance; Artemisa, I read your camber
comment and am wondering why you are pedaling in the right lane, against
the flow of traffic. I would expect you, being on the right coast of the
big pond, to be riding happily and safely in the left lane with your left
tire somewhat below the right one.

She may be rightpondian, but in .fr rather than .uk.

cheers,
clive

wafflycat' w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com said:

Should be fine. Having two on a Space Grip I find the Cateyes light up the
entire width of a single carriageway and for a goodly distance in front too.
Where I ride there's no street lighting and I find the 2 Cateye 530s to be
entirely adequate.

But where is the Space Grip mounted? On the boom or on one of the
sides? Widders has a mount on his left side but this is already almost
fully encumbered with an Airzound and wireless computer.

I'm hesitant to "borrow" lights from one of my other bikes because I
worry about offending their sensibilities. It must be a trying time
for Flyzipper right now - he has been so much my favorite. Myrtille
the oldest is very sweet and accommodating and has quite a grandiose
rechargeable halogen that she isn't using (she has a flat at the
moment and when I tried to fix it I broke the wrench before I could
get the wheel off). But with the battery pack _and_ the light that
thing is so ginormous that I wouldn't know how to rig it up.

EFR
Ile de France

Roger Zoul said:

Have you thought about a helmet mount? You could also mount a strobe light
on the boom.

Helmet mount could be an idea if I can use two with the EL530s. Only
it was such a delicious sensation the other day to be riding, for the
first time in my life, _without_ a helmet!

Quoted message said:

Check out Greenluck's site to get some ideas.

Thanks for all the links. I will indeed check them out.

EFR
Ile de France

gotbent said:

Widdershins is a wonderful word. I haven't seen anywhere except in the book
"Dahlgren (Samuel Delaney)", and the subject of the thread. Of course I had
to check Google and there are lots of references to widdershins, but when I
read Dahlgre it would be several years until I got my first computer and
more years until the invention of Google.

The term crops up a lot in Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series, which
is highly popular for a good reason. I'd ignored the series at first as
I don't really "do" fantasy literature, but it's proof that a good book
is a good book and having been given "Mort" to read on a washout day
have been hooked ever since.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Artemisia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

wafflycat' w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com said:

Quoted message said:

Should be fine. Having two on a Space Grip I find the Cateyes light up
the
entire width of a single carriageway and for a goodly distance in front
too.
Where I ride there's no street lighting and I find the 2 Cateye 530s to
be
entirely adequate.

But where is the Space Grip mounted? On the boom or on one of the
sides? Widders has a mount on his left side but this is already almost
fully encumbered with an Airzound and wireless computer.

On the Ice T, at the front of the boom where the crankset is, is a vertical
bit of tubing which just happens to be the idea size to affix a Minoura
space grip to. Just so happens that the Space Grip is an ideal width for
fixing two lights to without having any contact with feet, so I can pedal
along in comfort and with lights pointing ahead. If you have a look at the
pics on the ICE web site, you'll see what I mean about the sticking-up bit
http://www.ice.hpv.co.uk/

Quoted message said:

I'm hesitant to "borrow" lights from one of my other bikes because I
worry about offending their sensibilities. It must be a trying time
for Flyzipper right now - he has been so much my favorite. Myrtille
the oldest is very sweet and accommodating and has quite a grandiose
rechargeable halogen that she isn't using (she has a flat at the
moment and when I tried to fix it I broke the wrench before I could
get the wheel off). But with the battery pack _and_ the light that
thing is so ginormous that I wouldn't know how to rig it up.

It's easy to buy extra mounts for the Cateye lights - so you just lift the
light off one bike & place it on the other, as each bike has its own mounts
left on it.

Quoted message said:

EFR
Ile de France

In article said:

Alan Braggins said:

Remind me, did you end up with a front derailleur post?

No, for the moment there's just the 24-spped SRAM on the back.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(Which appears to be a normal Minoura Space Grip:

That's what Helen uses. It might turn out to be the solution, but I
would prefer not to have both lights so close together.

I have seen a handlebar stem on an ICE derailleur post, which could
give you a "bumper" with lights as wide as you wanted if you put a
whole handlebar in it. But that doesn't help if you don't have the
derailleur post.

You probably could improvise something with a Space Grip and hose
clip around the boom, but doing it neatly would be harder. The boom
doesn't by any chance have a bottle cage mount you aren't using?