When last we checked in I was "embracing the new normal", and enjoying my new (to me) recumbent bike. Well, as was mentioned then, shoulder problems had sent me down the recumbent path, and my shoulder problems worsened to the point where surgery became inevitable. In February I finally had my right shoulder repaired, and with that came the obvious conclusion that falling off the recumbent after surgery was a really bad idea. And since I was very prone to doing so, I knew in my heart that two wheels was simply too risky for the foreseeable future, or at least until a full and complete recovery had been made. And, seeing as how I was going to have a second surgery on the left shoulder a year later, the chances of riding on two wheels became a fantasy for the future and not part of my current reality. Having gotten through one surgery and the resulting long and painful recovery, there was only one option if I wanted to keep riding. There was gonna be a huge change, the biggest transition for me in cycling yet...it was time for a recumbent trike!
NOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Up to this point, like so many others I thought of trikes as something old people resorted to. But after doing some research I found a vibrant, thriving community of high-performance trike riders, and these trikes are not your grampa's grocery-getter. Some of these trikes cost more than a new car, and they are highly refined and beautifully engineered little speed machines. Test riding several showed me that they are fast, comfortable, but above all, super fun! There is just nothing like the feeling of carving corners on these things while being inches off the ground. It's exhilarating!
Out of the three most popular and extremely high-quality trike manufacturers, I kept coming back to a company called HP Velotechnik as the one most long distance riders toured on. And, as a German company, I had every confidence that their reputation was well deserved. A bit of Craigslist searching found someone local with one of their basic models called a Gekko, and after a test ride and a reasonable (for a trike, they are incredibly expensive compared to bikes!) offer, the nearly new trike was mine!
Happy, comfortable new triker
Woodland Park
Ready for exploring
Ravenna Park
I'm just realizing that every pic shown here is on dirt!
The Gekko, or "Three Toed Sloth", is a lightweight, folding, fully rigid trike. It is quick, nimble, with a tight turning radius, and a stiff frame. I loved it for all these qualities, but after a couple of months riding it I began to be frustrated by these same qualities. The things that made it perform so well on flat pavement were what made it really beat me up when the road surface became even a little bit rough. No suspension on a recumbent means every imperfection in the pavement gets transmitted straight into your body, and although I tried several small tweaks to improve the comfort, it just wasn't right. Plus, I wanted a trike I could take off-road, and the Gekko was just not going to work for that. I sold the Gekko to a co-worker who was in the market for a trike to commute to work on and started looking for my next trike that would be better suited to a more varied terrain. People like Matt Galat from the JaYoe World Tour, and the guys from Hello Bike World chose Hp Velotechnik to supply them with Scorpion FS20 trikes to take them on their incredible adventures, and they are not the only ones. That was the trike I would look for.
Some phone research led me back to Angle Lake Cyclery, a bike/trike store which has to be seen to be believed!
The view, standing inside the front door at Angle Lake Cyclery. Yes, it looks like this every day!
The owner Dale Clark is an angel of a man, generous to a fault, and while not exactly a meticulous shop owner, had in stock the exact trike I had my eye on to replace the Gekko, the Scorpion FS20. A deal was made, and I brought home my dream machine. The Scorpion, now known as "Klause", is full suspension, with a high tech MacPherson Strut up front. I don't know how it all works, but I do know the trike is a comfortable, plush, smooth ride, and most bumps in the road are now barely felt. There is a significant weight penalty for all this comfort and technology though, and the Scorpion weighs in at 5 pounds heavier than the comparable svelte (for a trike) Gekko, over 40 lbs with accessories! I say the extra weight is worth it though. The Scorpion is a true Cadilac among trikes. And if Matt Galat and the Hello Bike World guys are riding them, then I know it can handle anything I'm likely to throw at it!
An overnighter on San Juan Island
On the Iron Horse Trail...
...also known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail
Out for a city ramble
I have been thoroughly enjoying the Scorpion, but I do really miss the true off-road adventures and bike-packing that my fat bike carried me on. And you know what that means...
There's gonna be a new addition to my trike stable soon! 😃
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