January 22, 2024 to January 28, 2024
January 22-28
Cold, beyond cold … simply cold! Our temperatures hovered in the -20 to -40 zone this week. And when we get a spell like this, life simply slows down in hopes of finding warmth somwhere. The only birds of note are the Common Ravens which find a perch on a tree or light pole and they puff up their feathers as far as they can in hopes of preserving some heat. The chickadees and redpolls disappear as they, too, are hiding somewhere trying to keep from freezing.
Moose, though, don’t get the option of sitting it out. They have to constantly forage and this time of year about anything counts as food.
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We are now just over a week from heading south to the Tucson area for our winter escape … a temperature gain of possibly 100 degrees with no snow or ice fog or freezing fingers and toes.
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Scott AndersonUgh! I don’t doubt you’re dreaming of Tucson. You’ll be coming at a great time. It’s starting to feel like spring here.
3 months ago
3 months ago
Randal RidgewayLarry - My wife and I are senior bike riders and have been enthused by your videos. We are at the point of switching to recumbents, as we are blessed with so many greenways in theCarolinas and Virginia. We watched you and your wife on the Travelers and thought about getting those for the back of our suv. Now I see you are using the Ice Adventurers, which come with a variety of hubs, etc. As a well traveled triker, do you have any suggestions about a setup of an Ice, especially for my far less experienced wife? I see so many new systems - e-assist, and several hub systems ( button and automatic). Hope your Tucson trip goes well and you video for us!
Randal Ridgeway (available by email, text, Facebook if easier)
3 months ago
Randal Ridgeway (available by email, text, Facebook if easier)
3 months ago
Larry MitchellTo Randal RidgewayGlad you enjoy the journals as well as the videos. We will be documenting with both for our upcoming trip.
As for the trikes … unfortunately it is a semi-complicated answer and I believe it really depends on your own mechanical skill set as well as the intended use for the trikes.
We use a hub motor system, specifically a package I put together with input from Grin Technologies. We use the motors as a response to my wife’s stroke 4 years ago. Having the motor helps her to balance out her legs in terms of rotation and strength. But the biggest factor was the ability to have batteries that Grin produced that were airline capable. Unfortunately they aren’t making those batteries anymore but they were a requirement for us given the need to fly when we travel. Those original systems were moved from our old Terratrike Traveller trikes to our newer ICE Adventure trikes. Same setup …. The system also gives us the ability to “dial in” levels of assist much more precisely than what we found with a mid drive motor system. The ICE trikes were selected as we already had some other ICE trikes and I try to keep our trikes as similar as possible for potential maintenance issues as I’m the mechanic for all our trikes.
Another benefit which I didn’t know about earlier is the current fact that I can box the new trikes in slightly smaller boxes with a little less weight which should make flying is easier.
So … what would I recommend … trike choice, unfortunately, is somewhat dependent on cost and the quality of the ride. Given that, I would recommend that you visit as many trike stores as possible, ride everything and find the brand and model that fits you the best. I can recommend either brand I’ve ridden but the ICE models are simply a higher performing trike but the cost is quite a bit higher. Once you find a model you like, adding an electric assist system is quite easy and I would find the one that works for you. I don’t mind “playing” with things to get my best fit thus the hub motor system works well. Others don’t want that, thus a mid drive system is often times a better fit. Our first ICE trikes were mid drive motor systems. I put over 8000 miles on them without an issue. My wife still has her original and it works well for her. My current two ICE trikes are both hub based assist. I’ve put over 19,000 miles on those without any issues.
On another side note, we rode both of the Carolinas with our daughters when we rode from Charleston up to Washington DC many years ago. 16 day trip, 14 days of rain, on our original Vision long wheel based recumbents.
3 months ago
As for the trikes … unfortunately it is a semi-complicated answer and I believe it really depends on your own mechanical skill set as well as the intended use for the trikes.
We use a hub motor system, specifically a package I put together with input from Grin Technologies. We use the motors as a response to my wife’s stroke 4 years ago. Having the motor helps her to balance out her legs in terms of rotation and strength. But the biggest factor was the ability to have batteries that Grin produced that were airline capable. Unfortunately they aren’t making those batteries anymore but they were a requirement for us given the need to fly when we travel. Those original systems were moved from our old Terratrike Traveller trikes to our newer ICE Adventure trikes. Same setup …. The system also gives us the ability to “dial in” levels of assist much more precisely than what we found with a mid drive motor system. The ICE trikes were selected as we already had some other ICE trikes and I try to keep our trikes as similar as possible for potential maintenance issues as I’m the mechanic for all our trikes.
Another benefit which I didn’t know about earlier is the current fact that I can box the new trikes in slightly smaller boxes with a little less weight which should make flying is easier.
So … what would I recommend … trike choice, unfortunately, is somewhat dependent on cost and the quality of the ride. Given that, I would recommend that you visit as many trike stores as possible, ride everything and find the brand and model that fits you the best. I can recommend either brand I’ve ridden but the ICE models are simply a higher performing trike but the cost is quite a bit higher. Once you find a model you like, adding an electric assist system is quite easy and I would find the one that works for you. I don’t mind “playing” with things to get my best fit thus the hub motor system works well. Others don’t want that, thus a mid drive system is often times a better fit. Our first ICE trikes were mid drive motor systems. I put over 8000 miles on them without an issue. My wife still has her original and it works well for her. My current two ICE trikes are both hub based assist. I’ve put over 19,000 miles on those without any issues.
On another side note, we rode both of the Carolinas with our daughters when we rode from Charleston up to Washington DC many years ago. 16 day trip, 14 days of rain, on our original Vision long wheel based recumbents.
3 months ago
Randal RidgewayThanks for the reply. I did see the TerraTrike Traveler has gone to a Enviolo hub on back (tweaked my interest), but the Ice looks more substantial. I guess I could upgrade hubs to a Alfina and add e-system as I continue to evaluate. I’m not quite ready to spend $12k on the Adventure with E up front and the Enviolo Automatiq hub they have come out with!
Some of my fave trails in the Carolinas/Va: Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville SC (my hometown), Neuse River Greenway in Raleigh, NC, Capitol Trail in Richmond to Williamsburg, VA. Good videos on these are on You Tube, filmed by the late Kenny P of BentNation.com. Again, enjoy the sun and reach out anytime! RR.
3 months ago
Some of my fave trails in the Carolinas/Va: Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville SC (my hometown), Neuse River Greenway in Raleigh, NC, Capitol Trail in Richmond to Williamsburg, VA. Good videos on these are on You Tube, filmed by the late Kenny P of BentNation.com. Again, enjoy the sun and reach out anytime! RR.
3 months ago
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Today's ride: 188 miles (303 km)
Total: 811 miles (1,305 km)
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