Accessories - Plan For The Future

 

Song:  Treat Me Well

Group:  Heart

I will be ordering this double trike rack to transport my younger sister's and my trike

to distant trails.

This will not only allow only one vehicle to transport both trikes...

but it will still leave the inside free to transport the below accessories...

and extra passengers.

My elder sister and her husband have a truck...

and so...

they will be able to carry both of their trikes without a hitch carrier.

This is a towed dog carrier which will carry my younger sister's dog...

as well as my mother's.

My younger sister will tow this behind her trike.

At first...

the two dogs will be running beside the trike as she rides...

and when they get tired...

they can ride in comfort inside of their dog carrier.

This is the wheeled palanquin I will be towing behind my trike

while on bike trails, so my mother will be able to 

experience the outdoors with us as we tride.

And yes...

I purposely misspelled the word...ride.

I childishly combined the word trike and ride...

and yes...

this will make us triders on the trails.  :)

This will allow my mother to enjoy the great outdoors with us as we trike

besides rivers or in the mountains on improved bike trails...

or other hard packed surfaces.

It is a comfortable and safe carrier...

which has completely covered sides for use in inclement weather...

or which has the ability to only have the roof sunshade up...

but with the side windows rolled up in sunny weather.

This is what my mother will be riding in during our Christmas lights tour 

of the neighborhood...

as well on our spring, summer, and fall bike trail rides.

My elder sister's and her husband's trikes should be arriving soon...

and we will then all be able to tride anywhere...

and at anytime...

at will.

Tomorrow...

my elder sister and I will test out towing these two carriers empty

to ensure basic stability and handling characteristics before we load them

with my mother and the dogs.

I will have to be careful when towing my mother...

especially when turning.

I will be the one towing my mother because my trike has special low gears meant

to overcome obstacles and steep inclines in the mountains.

As such...

my trike will be able to handle

the weight of the palanquin...

of which will require extra torque

to pull from a dead stop...

and especially when going up inclines...

besides my trike having the most traction and stopping power.

----------------------------

Although my mother is of an advanced age...

and her ability to walk has greatly deteriorated...

with this palanquin...

she will be able to enjoy the same great outdoors

(minus unimproved or otherwise rough trails)...

that the rest of the family will.

She loves natural beauty...

of sunshine and fresh air...

all the while being accompanied by her family.

We will be taking her on our rides as often as possible.

-----------

I had also ordered her a skiing bib...

a balaclava...

and heated mittens for my mother to wear to ensure her comfort 

on chilly days (she already has a warm jacket).

I had ordered myself a ski jacket and bib...

winter gloves...

a balaclava and beanie...

and sunglasses...

in preparation for cold weather rides...

and some summer clothes and a hat for hotter weather riding.

---------

My younger sister and I will also be trying some more desolate

and rough trail riding.

One will slowly follow in the car...

 whomever is triding at the time...

and we will then switch off as the other becomes tired.

That is the beauty of the double carrier...

we will be able to switch places quickly and easily.

With the vehicle just behind the trider...

emergency medical equipment...

water and food...

trike repair gear...

etc...

may be readily at hand.

----------

However...

I will also be going on a lot of rides alone.

Besides scouting out trails ahead of time

for full usage feasibility towing the doggy carriers...

or the palanquin...

my younger sister's trike cannot go everywhere mine can.

Plus...

one of my main reasons for my triking...

is to keep in shape.

I will be pushing myself far harder than will she be able to.

And so...

why I will often be hitting the trails alone...

besides of my love for solitude in the great outdoors.

I now have about everything I need...

other then the 360 camera setup.

And so...

in the meantime...

I will be publishing some of my musings on life in subsequent articles...

of some of my previously published articles from a now private blog of mine.

And...

every so often...

during my rides of the trails...

I will talk of many basic thoughts of mine that I consider important.

I won't discuss politics or trending topics...

but only of the most basic of thoughts...

mostly in the realm of philosophy and psychology.

---------

One explanation of the music I put at the top of each article.

It is not only for the reader to listen to something as they read...

as I write...

whether it be an article or a novel...

I always listen to music.

It sets the stage for the movie of the mind to flow...

and what I put on the top of each article

is the actual song I listen to over and over as I write it

(and it is not so much about the words of the song...

but of the resonance and flow of the music that tells the story).

While the mind may print out the words...

it is music that establishes the creative flow from which the movie is made...

and from which the mind merely describes using words.

And so...

this blog is designed to take the readers on a journey of the mind...

as well as one of the mountains.

The Beginning - ICE Full Fat Trike

 

Song:  Morning Calm

Composer / Performing Artist:  James Toller

My name is James Toller.

I am an author and an amateur musician.

And starting recently...

I am an offroad recumbent triker.

It is in solitude that I find balance and inspiration in life.

I will be presenting many of my prior and future musings on life...

as well as on various topics within the realm of psychology and philosophy.

I will be presenting some prior blog entries from a now private blog...

if they fit a particular theme for my entry in my new blog here.

Sometime this spring...

I will also be making a new YouTube channel...

with vlogs from my trike adventures.

I will include the videos from that channel here as well.

I am going to purchase a 360 degree camera to record my mountain and forest 

journeys for those interested.

Just a few weeks ago...

I bought an ICE Full Fat RS Recumbent Trike.

This not only keeps the body healthy...

but the mind.

As my particular trike is made for off road use...

I will be using it primarily on improved and unimproved trails...

mostly in the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas.

To experience the great outdoors is to be able to become one with it...

at least for a while.

My ICE Full Fat trike with rear suspension

has 3 x 26" x 4" off road tires capable of riding in sand / snow...

as well as other off road...and some on road...riding...

and a total weight capacity of 275 pounds...

and so, I will be able to pack a lot of necessities on the luggage rack...

in waterproof bags.

I eventually plan on riding long distances with it...

although I will start out on small rides.

I had bought very important upgrades from the beginning...

chiefly the rear hub and luggage rack.

You will notice that there is only one gear up front...

and one in the rear...

yet I will have 14 gears...from mountain gears to highway gears.

I bought the Rohloff 14 internal gear hub so there will not be a stack of exposed gears 

or a derailleur.

This is important...

not only to keep everything as maintenance and trouble free as possible...

but in rough terrain...

an exposed derailleur can easily become bent...

or otherwise damaged...

leaving me stranded in dangerous territory.

I have full disc brakes on all three tires...

and in the waterproof bags I had bought...

I will carry a lot of water, some food...

bike and tire repair kits...

along with an inflator...

and other items...

depending on where I will be going.

I hope to one day go on multi day journeys

with a sleeping bag and tent also strapped to the trike.

I will also carry my bass flute to play songs whenever 

I feel the calling of the mountains...

lakes, rivers, or the night desert sky.

Believe it or not...

this whole bike will fit into the back of the car...

with but a quick seat removal (quick releases).

In loose sand or gravel...

I will just deflate the tires some for more traction...

as fat tires are specifically designed to run at between 3 to 5 PSI to run 

on snow or loose sand...or at up to 20 PSI for hard roads.

This trike model was designed for, and used, on a record breaking ride 

from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.

It has a chromoly frame...

and a rugged suspension system in the rear...

as well as indirect vertical grip steering.

In a few weeks...

I will be 64 years old.

And although I can no longer carry a heavy pack on my back for long hikes...

I will be able to trike very long distances in the great outdoors...

until the day I die.

Although I will continue to age...

I never wish to become feeble.

I am a man...

and the day I can no longer truly live life...

is the day I should die.

With this...

I will still have what I value most...

personal freedom.

And being self mobile in the great outdoors...

is freedom.

I will soon begin vlogging on it...

of the many beautiful on and off road bike trails...

fire roads...unimproved roads...

the great beauty which surrounds us

in the mountains and forests...

and even deserts.

I haven't yet fully outfitted it...

but I will begin to record some of my outdoor journeys

while riding it and living life...starting in spring.

I ordered reflectors, lights (I plan to do many night rides as well)...

an emergency electric drive (in case I need to go back to the car in a hurry)...

or to help me up steep inclines...

travel bags...bike computer...phone holder...etc...

but my primary mode of power will come from my legs.

Why a recumbent trike?

My knees can no longer sustain any long distance running, walking...

or standard biking.

Besides, as I continue to age...

I will eventually become unable to do many things.

However, I will be able to continue to exercise using this...

and to continue experiencing the great outdoors.

Even though I won't have my 360 degree camera and set up until spring...

I hope to make my first vlog riding it as I enjoy the neighborhood 

Christmas lights using my handheld Canon GX-3.

It will probably be rather an awkward shoot...

as I will be pedaling and handholding the camera...

but once I get the 360 camera and setup...

things will look much better.

Just as in life...

I will be taking the road not often traveled...

and I shall be doing it alone.

Solitude is so underrated in our overrated

and overly saturated socially connected world.

I ordered various options for my trike.

Right now...

the trike is in a shop installing a Bafang 750 Watt E drive...

and battery for emergency or very steep hill usage.

I will take pictures later with the options and accessories installed.

We will be taking my mother out to see the Christmas lights around our area...

as she rides in her wheeled palanquin in a few weeks.

My younger, and my elder and her husband also bought trikes to ride.

My younger and elder sisters will be pulling doggie trailers...

and I will be pulling a wheeled palanquin with my mother inside.

My younger sister on her trike.

These shots are from just down the street...

and it is from where I will go for some sunset shots every once in a while.

My elder sister and her husband are still awaiting the arrival of their trikes.

Although we will be going on many trike rides together...

I will also be doing many trails alone.

Again...

I am now almost 64 years old...

and so...

in my sunset years.

Just as I love beautiful sunsets...

I love my sunset years.

Most of what I say will have come from my experience in life...

and from my reflections upon them.

This is what I love about solitude...

it is there that I download my visions of the past...

where I codify, simplify and generalize them...

so I may apply them in life.

This will be one of my central themes of this blog.

My usage of good ole country common sense

has been my guide through life.

This blog will incorporate my many musings on life...

and of my continued experiences...

from the seat of my trike.