Santa came early this year

Just over a week ago, I got an early gift from Santa!  That gift was a brand new Panasonic DMC-GF1 camera + Lumix 14-42mm lens.  Amazingly Santa also provided a genuine Panasonic leather case to put it in - Lucky me!  Well not really, at 55 I am probably a little old to believe in lovely ideas like Santa Claus.  The truth is I funded the camera by selling most my existing camera equipment and my wife and daughter paid for the remainder.  Perhaps there is a Santa after all?  In addition to still images, my new camera also records 720p video, so you may even see movies posted on this blog.  My plan is to ride with this kit in my bicycle panniers throughout 2011.

Recumbent Veltop Review

Velovision Issue 39

My Recumbent Veltop Review has been published in Velo Vision.  A version in .pdf format can be found here - Both the cover image shown on the left and the .pdf version of my review are courtesy of the editor Peter Eland...For those of you who don't know this excellent cycling magazine, Velo Vision can be found by clicking this link.

Veltop...What's it really like? Recumbent Veltop Review

I have now completed my Recumbent Veltop Review and it has been submitted for possible publication to a national cycle magazine.  If they do not wish to publish, I will definitely post links to the review from this blog...

Prees Trice Weekend Pictures

Images from this event can now be found here - If you would like copies of any of these pictures, please contact me by using the comments feature below this item.  My sincere thanks go to Pat Douglass at Xpanding Horizons for allowing me to use many of the pictures she took over that weekend.

Prees Trice Weekend by Mike Hessey

What a great event! Congratulations and thanks to all those involved in organising the event, and also to Abigail who managed more than twice her previous highest mileage, and on a heavy KMX while the rest of us were on Trices - and at 10 she is only 1/6 of my age, which is depressing, and I would never have even considered such a ride when I was her age!  I really enjoyed the ride, and it was particularly satisfying to see a younger rider take part, and complete the ride. I think Abigail did really well - congratulations to her.  I thought Abigail did very well towards the end; the time I was getting quite concerned was at around 40% of the distance - she obviously picked up later, while I was suffering from heatstroke by then (my excuse)! I was horrendously sunburnt on the legs when I got back (I forgot to take any cream with me), but I was sufficiently tired that it did not affect my sleeping, and although it still looks horribly red, it is not all that uncomfortable.

Note added by Tricerider:  On the left is a GPS generated map of the Saturday Prees route.  For Mike, Abigail (my daughter) and myself the ride was a total of 37 miles (60 Km).  On our return journey, we unfortunately missed a turning that would have taken us directly to the campsite at Green Lane.  However, I doubt that more than a mile was added by our unplanned detour.

(please click the map for a larger image)

Prees Trice Weekend itinerary

Clicking the following link should give you the itinerary for this forthcoming event in .pdf format Prees Trice Weekend T2 - Please let me know if you experience problems when attempting to open this document.

Prees Trice Weekend T2 - An update

We visited Green Lane Farm this morning. They have asked that we provide definite numbers by Sunday 13/06/10 - So if you wish to attend this event and have not yet contacted Pauline, please do so ASAP.  We have been told that due to the limited space available, it is unlikely the campsite will be able to accept more riders after this coming weekend.  Pauline's contact details are directly below.

My Weekly Mileage

Week ending Saturday 31st March 2012: 43.6 miles (70.2 km)
Week ending Saturday 7th April 2012: 45.7 miles (73.5 km)
Week ending Saturday 22nd July 2017: 60.1 miles (96.7 km)
Week ending Saturday 29th July 2017: 39 miles (62.7 km)

Please Note: Starting from 16/07/2017, all mileage data will be provided by either a Garmin GPSmap 60 or a Fitbit Blaze fitness tracker. This will be in addition to the basic information collected by my ageing cycle computer. At this date, my ICE QNT recumbent tricycle had covered 3,451 miles (5,554 km)

Prees Trice Weekend T2

Please Read Due to circumstances beyond our control, the provisional booking at Wem is cancelled.  Now for some good news!  The venue has been changed to Green Lane Farm at Prees nr Whitchurch and it's cheaper too!  Tents = £13 per night, caravans with electrical hookup = £15 per night (8 of these available).  All other details remain the same.  Showers and loos have been checked and they are very clean - Nothing else onsite.  However there is a hotel, a cafe, a shop, a Post Office, a bakery and Indian food within two miles of the campsite.  


Campsite details:
Green Lane Farm, Prees nr Whitchurch
Postcode: SY13 2AH
Tel No: 01948/840460


I have received a number of comments regarding the cost of camping at Green Lane Farm.  In fact their overnight charges are actually less than the original venue at Wem.  If you wish to book, please contact Pauline at the campsite quoting "Trice weekend" and whether you require electrics...

D.Tek HPV

Yesterday with two friends I visited D.Tek HPV near Ely in Cambridgeshire.  For those of you don't know them, D.Tek is a warm and friendly specialist recumbent dealer run by Kevin Dunseath.  Kevin has lots of knowledge, which is freely given...He also has lots of amazing stuff, both new and used.  In my opinion, D.Tek is well worth a visit.  But please ring first a arrange an appointment: 01353/648177

Veltop...What's it really like? Yet another update!

I've just been told by Cyclo-System that their test recumbent Veltop will be here in time for the Wem Trice Weekend T2.  I really hope this product generates lots of interest amongst recumbent trike riders.  It should be noted that the Veltop is designed to fit many different types of recumbent trike, however the fixing kit provided for my product review will be specific to ICE/Trice machines.

Veltop...What's it really like? Another update

I haven't heard from Cyclo-System in France, so I contacted them this morning.  I've asked that, if possible, a recumbent Veltop be made available for the Wem Trice Weekend T2 on 3/4 July.  It would be great to have a Veltop at Wem for other trike owners to see and try...Who knows, it may even generate sales!  If it is fitted by then, I am happy for other owners to test ride my machine if they wish...

Wem Trice Weekend T2

PROVISIONAL BOOKING CANCELLED
An update - We've been over to the proposed venue this morning and it looks ideal for a Trice event.  We will be staying about 1.5 miles from the small town of Wem, at a campsite called Lower Lacon Caravan Park.  They have showers, a shop, a swimming pool and even hot food!  The place is large, clean and friendly and the staff we talked with were really helpful.  A provisional booking has been made for a 2-night stay commencing Friday 2nd July.  So that they know just how many people to expect, the campsite have asked that we provide numbers within ten days of today (27/05/10) - Please let me know if you are interested.
PROVISIONAL BOOKING CANCELLED

Possible Trice Event

With the help of a friend, I am currently planning a Trice event over the weekend of 3/4 July.  This will take place at a campsite in Wem, Shropshire.

Weekly mileage log

I have decided to try and keep a weekly mileage log.  Hopefully this will start shortly and include maps compiled from GPS data and the occasional picture.  Details of my journeys and any trike maintenance issues I encounter may also be added.  The plan is to travel, almost exclusively, along the many quiet country lanes around my Shropshire home.  My current weekly average is just under 40 miles (64Km) per week.  With good weather just around the corner, will this improve?  You will have to read the blog over the coming months to find out... 

Veltop...What's it really like? An update

I have just been told by Stéphane Delery at Cyclo-System (the Veltop manufacturer) that they are happy to provide the recumbent trike version for review.  The test Veltop will come complete with fixings for my ICE QNT and should arrive sometime in the next few weeks…Watch this space for details!
Copyright of the included image remains with Cyclo-System.
Please do not use without permission.

Peter Ross Interview

Paul Lowing's illuminating interview with Trice designer Peter Ross is now published on the Tricerider blog.  Please click here to read this page.

Veltop...What's it really like?

I've just found this interesting piece of kit from France.  As far as I can tell, there are versions for both upright (Upwrong) bicycles and recumbent trikes.  I'm not aware that a recumbent bicycle version is available at this time.  I'd love to test the Veltop with my ICE QNT...Does anyone have the recumbent trike version that I can borrow for a road test and product review on this blog? 

Crystal Engineering

I am trying to research the history of Peter Ross and Crystal Engineering.  Unfortunately, there seems to be very little information available on the Internet.  If you have details or pictures of Peter and his machines, either two or three-wheeled, please get in touch.  I also require details of the later Orbit produced Speed Ross recumbent bicycle...Many thanks

'Not too impressed with the Video Bar!

For now I've finished the Tricerider blog revisions.  Generally I'm quite impressed with the new look, but I'm a bit hacked-off with the provided Youtube Video Bar.  The videos go in a circle, which is to be expected because I chose to link to two separate channels.
However, what I didn't expect was "undefined" content.  One of these undefined videos is a lady with a rather prominent cleavage.  Unless someone can suggest a solution which will effectively block content of this kind, I plan to remove the video bar in a very near future.  Doing this would be a great shame because the featured Trice videos are excellent…

500 days with a Trice

I have now owned a Trice* for just over 500 days. As of four days ago, it has covered 2717 miles (approximately 4300 Km). This equates to about 5.5 miles per day or 38 miles ridden for every week since purchase. I don't think this is a bad average, but it does have a downside. As we all know, the downside of using pedal power is the wear and tear that can be inflicted on the machine, it's component parts and the rider! So last week and purely out of necessity, I replaced the tyres and drive chain. My total spend was 60GBP (90USD or 70EUR). Costs were kept to a minimum simply because the chainset and derailleur block are still quite serviceable.

Helping to keep expenditure down was the fact that back in September 2009, I purchased two complete sets of almost new Schwalbe Marathon Racers from ICE designer Chris Parker. The cost of these tyres was negligible (5GBP per tyre including inner tube) so what hurt, was the cost of a new recumbent drive chain. Bought directly from ICE in Falmouth, this essential item set me back almost 46GBP (67USD or 52EUR) excluding postage. Initially I did think this was a lot to pay for a chain. However when I sat and considered the situation, I realized the chain had actually cost less than 1.7p for every mile of use. Apart from a Trice, or any other recumbent trike for that matter, where else can you have so much fun whilst getting fit for less than 2p a mile?

*My trike is a 2005 model ICE QNT which carries no Trice branding

O lucky man!

This happy looking chap is a regular ride partner.  He also happens to be the guy who introduced me to the recumbent trike world.  As you can see, he has recently taken delivery of a brand new Trice Vortex 2.  This version of the Vortex is fitted with a Carbon fibre hardshell seat.  It is a fabulous bit of kit which weights substantially less than my QNT.  If he ever wants to give this machine away, I sincerely hope he thinks of me!  NB:  On the day I took this picture, the trike was so new that mudguards were still to be fitted...

New ICE website online

Inspired Cycle Engineering (ICE Trikes) launched their new website this evening. The 2010 Trice comes in three distinct flavours, Adventure, Sprint and Vortex with lots of variation on each theme. Prices range from £1899 to over £3000 for a top of the range full suspension machine. The revamped website is well worth a look, there's lots of lovely stuff on there...There are 16 different models in the new Trice range and as before, each one can be customised to suit individual requirements...