The Cold Commute - How to cycle a recumbent trike to work

A very cold (for Orange County California) commute to work on my recumbent trike. Temperature was 39 degrees and dark when I left. This is my 1 hour, 13.5 mile commute to work, condensed to 10 minutes. I ride a recumbent trike (TerraTrike) on the streets of Orange County and the Santa Ana River Trail (SART) to get to my office. I wanted to give people an idea of what it is like. It is a lot more fun to commute by trike, plus I get exercise, and it costs me nothing in gasoline. Because my trike is in the traffic lane, with 400 lumin lights, and it is so much more unusual than a conventional bike, Drivers seems to notice and respect me on the street as just another vehicle.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• bike commute
• commuter
• recumbent
• trike
• terratrike
• tricycle
• tadpole
• commute
• street
• trail
• bike
• bicycle
• orange county
• garden grove
• SART
• river
• Santa Ana River
• cyclist
• commuting
• HPV
• human powered
• vehicle
• saving gas
• economical
• safety
• driving
• cars
• alternative
• transportation
• terra trike

[syscam1]

Where did you purchase the LED lights that are on the side and underneith your trike?

[dregerclock]

@syscam1 The glow lights that I have shining under the trike and on my rear wheel are called BikeBrightZ bikebrightz [dot] com

They have four different colors... I only bought the red and yellows. for whatever reason I found that for some reason the red lights have longer battery (AAA Cells) life than the yellows. So I have really only used the red ones. But in fact all of them seem to burn up batteries fast. have to use them sparingly only on the street sections of my ride and when dark.

[XRayCam]

@dregerclock you could actually get a 12V house alarm battery and mount somewhere (non acid type is best) and just find the proper "resistance" to drop the voltage down to a safe level for your diode "lights" and drive for VERY long times...then charge up the 12V :-) For nearly NOTHING in cost.....then you can have ALL the lights you want. What us the FLASHING White Light up front? I like that for safety!!

[dregerclock]

@XRayCam - thanks for the idea... with winder coming along I will be thinking about lighting more. I always run the tail light and the head light on streets even in the daylight. Which requires some bright lights. The headilght and the taillights are both the same (other than the color of course). They are the Dinotte 400L units - Lithium Ion battery pack versions.

[va3ks]

Just got a Catrike Road and what a BLAST to ride plus I can ride it with a broken collar bone. Tomorrow wil be my first commute with it to work!

[dregerclock]

@va3ks -wow, congratulations! The Catrike Road is a very nice trike. I am thinking about a Road or an Expedition as my next one. Be safe out there. One thing I found about street riding on a trike is that you want to follow the rules of the road to the tee... be in the lane or along the side where you are most visible, take the lane if there is not safe room for cars to pass in the same lane. Drivers usually will respect your space if you are were you are seen and driving predictably. Congrats!

[WebDogZcom]

Very inspiring video. Thank you for sharing this.....

[XRayCam]

@dregerclock Thanks for the Update.

[Trikesalot]

I really enjoy your "training films.". Almost make me WANT to get out into traffic! :-)

[dregerclock]

@va3ks - LOL! ... got you hooked and you haven't even ridden one yet! Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you heal up fast. I went over the handlebars on my mountain bike twice before I got my trike. Thankfully I only got cuts and scrapes, nothing broken.