I’m not an expert and have learned from my own experiences, but my favorite riding shoe on a recumbent is actually a sandal. I have a wide foot and finding biking shoes that fit is very limiting and often expensive. Biking sandals seemed the right choice right from the start and I’ve been happy with their performance and comfort. Regardless of the weather I always wear a good pair of wicking socks to help move the moisture away from my feet. The other reason is to prevent rubbing of the straps and avoiding blisters. For the money, my choice is Keen sandals and the ones I have really liked are the Keen Commuter II. They have a SPD compatible plate and padded straps for comfort. Most sites say they run a 1/2 size small, but I bought my normal size and they were perfect.
The only problem I had was that a rear strap stitching came loose after about 1,000 miles on my bike. Their warranty assistance was the best I ever experienced. I submitted a support ticket and received a prompt reply simply asking for an image of the defect and a photocopy of the receipt. They shipped out a new pair immediately. That attention to service will have me back as a customer over and over.
I should preface this by saying that for the last six months I did not do any riding and practically nothing athletic. Gained ten pounds and really was concerned that I would be staring over on the bike, having to build up muscles and stamina for my three upcoming state rides, the first and most grueling less than two months away. Well, when they say “Just like riding a bike”, it must also mean we don’t lose our muscles. Unlike a year ago when I’d be really sore after a ride I found the outing with my sons on Saturday quite enjoyable physically and no soreness at all.
Our local city trail heads mostly South and the forecast for Sunday was 15 mph winds from the SW, temps around 72 and dropping to 65 after noon, then winds gusting to 40 mph. I thought I’d do my favorite 13 mile ride down to Bellevue, NE, and back on the trail, headwind first, then gliding home with the tailwind. WRONG! Throughout the ride I kept checking the weather channel on my phone and it always said the forecast was for SW winds but the current conditions consistently said winds from the NW. I made the 13 miles down in less than an hour and it took over two hours to to get back home in a headwind with cooler temps (and me in just shorts and a thin bike shirt). About half way home I was fumbling with one of my water bottles, trying to put it back in the under seat holder blindly, quite distracted from my riding when a strong gust of wind hit me and I went down. A mild case of road rash on my arm, but all is well.
On a bright note I ran into Gloria at the turn around point, Culvers restaurant, a fellow BRAN and RAGBRAI rider I met last year. We chatted for about 2o minutes, talking of last years trips and our upcoming ones. She is suggesting we start an adult card group on RAGBRAI. The teenagers had one last year and had a great time, so I look forward to the adult version.
Well, the season has begun and barring any further close encounters with the trail, I am looking forward to the next seven weeks of intensive training in preparation for BRAN.
Last Saturday, April 9, I went for a 13 mile ride with my two youngest children, Alex and Aric. We have a city trail head just blocks from our house but some city sewer construction project has the most of the first mile blocked so we put the recumbents in the back of the pickup and the road bike on the used Yakima bike rack I had just installed on my 1972 Super Beetle (worked great).
It was most pleasant to ride with my two youngest (ages 16 and 19), something I don’t think we have done in probably a decade. I’m pleased to see they are both taking an interest in riding and hope this is the start of many more rides.
Yep, we heard of a recumbent bike over in Griswold, Iowa, that was in need of a good home and on April 2 my son Aric and I drove our 1972 VW camper bus over to pick it up. This recumbent, under the loving care of Duane, was quite different from other other adoptee, my Burley Canto. The steering is under the seat and the rider position is much more laid back. I enjoyed the drive over and back, as it was one of the first nice Saturdays of the year and a chance to get my vintage VW another adoptee) out for a country drive. Additionally, half of the 50 mile drive is on the same highway as a stretch of RAGBRAI which I will be participating in this July.
We could not even wait to get the bike home to embrace it and let it know it was loved. We stopped at a parking lot and took turns developing the bonds that only a recumbent rider can nurture. It was splendid!
My son Aric was anxious to try the bike on the local trails so grabbed my bike and did about seven miles. A great first ride and he did better than I probably would have with that unique steering method.