Enjoyed a Neighborhood Spin on Electra

Yesterday I installed HD training wheels on my new Electra Townie 7D Equipped, but the head on my bicycle pump was too big to fit in the spokes of the 12.5” training wheels; hence, I held off on the last step: inflating the training wheels. Today I bought a foot pump with a smaller head on the air hose and inflated the tires. Then I took a spin around the neighborhood; I loved that I finally got to test ride Electra beyond the bike shop parking lot without crashing!!! I’m grateful I can still ride, and Love being on a two wheeler again after 4++ years and >16,000 miles on adult tricycles.


My current bike sacrifices performance for comfort, but at this point in my life, it was a trade I’m happy with. I have a friend: Vasco da Gama, 13th great grandson of the Portuguese Explorer of the same name. I didn’t know that when I met him, Norm and their wives at a gas station in 29 Palms. I was on my way to Las Vegas, taking the back desert highways to Route 66 and then I-95 in either Nevada or Arizona. The bikes caught my eye at first; it was 1998 and they both had Harley-Davidson 95th Anniversary Paint Jobs, or so I thought, but Norm’s was a HD Electric Glide and Vasco was riding a Yamaha Royal Star with a similar paint job. He told me they were going to Laughlin and I could ride along so I wouldn’t get lost. I accepted and was invited on weekend rides about twice a month through 1999. It was also in 1999 when I traded in my 1998 Harley-Davidson XLH 883 for a 1996 Harley-Davidson Softail Custom. Rick was doing the paperwork at Pomona Valley Harley-Davidson and needed 3 references (formality). Vasco’s name came out of my phone, but I told Rick let me try and remember his last name. Rick said, ‘is it da Gama?’ I said yes, do you know him. He said no, I know a Vasco da Gama from history. I said ‘interesting, I’ll ask him about it’. I did and he told me the story. Somewhere in the middle, he said he rode the Royal Star for a smoother ride opposed to the vibration of the Harley-D; I was around 30 and Vasco was around my current age. Decades later it rings true for me more than it did when he first told me. We are all on unique journeys, but my sacrificing performance for comfort on a bicycle is similar to Vasco doing it on a motorcycle.

Blood n’ Gears

It has been a week since I attempted to ride Electra around the neighborhood. I didn’t get very far; after about ten feet, I lost my balance and crashed on the street. My left eye socket suffered the most visible damage: a couple deep cuts in the upper left corner and swelling around the inner perimeter. The first couple days swelling was bad and I had to keep one eye closed when using the computer. The swelling went down and my eye bruised/black. It’s all healing, including the road rash on my hands and knee. The worst is not visible; rather, internal bruised ribs and sprained wrist, but healing too.

Take off was too slow. One change I made between the test ride and my attempted neighborhood spin was starting in 1st gear rather than 4th gear (about a 1:1 ratio instead of a 2:1 ratio). That was a mistake. I should increase the teeth on the chain ring so the starting ratio is 2:1 and prevent slow take offs in normal conditions. Quicker starts result in less time to reach self balance. First, I must remaster human powered two wheel cycling.

I received some advice about trying protective gear. I’ve never had any and could only find children sizes when I bought the mountain bike. It seems like a great idea at this point in my life, so I ordered some adult size elbow, knee and wrist pads from Amazon. Hopefully they’ll work for me. I also ordered another set of stabilizer wheels. I tried a set on my mountain bike in 2017, but they didn’t fit (each wheel was about 3 inches off the ground on the lowest setting). They should be about ground level on that setting, allowing the rider to become familiar with the bike. Rising should be in level 2-3, followed by removal. When I looked at some pictures of my MTB in 2017, I noticed the stabilizer wheels were ground level after installation, so the metal probably reformed when I sat on the bike. I attempted re-adjusting the wheels several times but had no success. Soon after, I broke my hip following stabilizer wheels side-to-side shift causing a speed wobble and crash. Hopefully, this new set is higher quality! That plus the pads may be the ticket to easing back into two wheel cycling.

Fresher in my memory is my attempt at two wheel cycling in 2017. I had to practice on the streets of Long Beach (mostly traffic circle residential and business zones). Reviewing old photographs, I realize I had some success even though I remember the crashing most. It is painful but if the pads can take away most of the blood and pain, 2021 may be more enjoyable with happier memories. IDK, but I’ll find out this weekend…

New Chapter: Picked Up Electra Today and Will Ease into Two Wheel Cycling.

Let the Adventure Begin!

Electra is the best bicycle I’ve ever had! Technology keeps amazing me. My previous bicycles & trikes have been budget, but I spent a little more for this Electra, and one of the many advantages is quick acceleration. When you have balance issues, a slower take off means more time before 5 MPH and beyond. During that time, loss of balance would cause me to wiggle the handlebars involuntary (should not be done) resulting in wobbles and sometimes crashing. I was considering an e-bike for that one issue, but grateful I discovered this standard Electra at Bicycle Discovery. Electra does make e-bikes, but mine is not one of them.

Another advantage of this bike is the fenders, mounted lights and electric generator in the front hub. Those options cost $100 and worth it! The front wheel looks like it could be housing a hub motor. Instead, it contains a generator for the running lights. The electric wires, rear brake cable and shifting cable all run inside the frame. One electric wire goes in the lower right fork and out the upper fork to the head tube mounted front light, and another comes out the seat stay and into the rear fender the rear light is mounted on. Its slick and hopefully has a simple disconnect option for maintenance that requires front tire removal.

The gears shift smoother than any other bicycle or adult tricycle I’ve had. The forward pedal design allows for a snappy take off, but after first gear going through the gears from 35 to 81 gear inches can be done quickly and smoothly. On my trike, I’ll shift a gear and if it changes in two blocks, that is a good day.

The step-thru frame is awesome!!! They are nice on trikes, but this is the first bicycle I’ve had with one. The trikes self balance so it is a luxury for my hips, but on bicycles, mounting and dismounting was a challenge with step-over frames, and now it is a breeze! And the cruiser style saddle is right there if needed, thanks to forward pedal design. My other bicycles had pedals below the saddle, so the seat would be higher for proper leg extension. After mounting the bike, I’d have to hop on the saddle. Electra calls their forward pedal: ‘Flat Foot Technology’, which allows you to sit low for better control/vision while maintaining proper leg extension. Hence, you sit down rather than hop up.

Moon Cool Trike (Starling) Cleared a Path for Electra D7 Equipped Bike

Maiden Voyage: Surf City State Beach

The truck picked up the trike this morning, as scheduled, so I’m good to bring home my new bike tomorrow. Much of my fear about riding another two wheeler is manufactured. Fear knocked at the door; faith answered; no one was there. I’ve suffered balance issues from my 1991 motorcycle accident, that is true, but I was able to ride 50,000 miles on motorcycles afterwards. In 1999 I had a second motorcycle accident I refer to as my minor accident. I broke my neck and pelvis that time, but released the following day. My first MC accident was caused by a car resulting in bad stuff like 90 day coma. My second accident was simply turning too fast and crashing in a field. I was in a bad mood and should not have been riding. Lesson: emotions are powerful and driving under the influence of bad emotions should be avoided!

Some of my fear is real. I test rode the bike Sunday, just across the small parking lot. It was enough to let me know the bike has excellent acceleration (at least in first gear at only 35 gear inches; my current trike only goes down to 49 gear inches). I do good >= 5 MPH – the self balance speed of a single track vehicle. Getting up to that speed and staying over allows me to ride with ease (20-30 MPH is a comfortable cruising speed on that bike (I believe – it was four years ago on rigid mountain bike). I’ll have to ride that bike fast and hope my balance adapts for slow rides.

New Bike for Earth Day

I didn’t have a plan; rather, I followed a sign that led me to a new bike. I was considering the Electra Townie 7D, but had to get rid of one of my trikes to make room; currently I have two trikes and a two bike limit. I saw the button on the Salvation Army website to schedule a pickup, and remembered how easy my last couple donations were. So I scheduled a pickup, and Wednesday was the first available date.

I’m going to donate the trike I just assembled, and after I scheduled the pickup, I went to the local bike shop and purchased a blue Electra Townie 7D Equipped. The same as Electra Townie 7D with the addition of fenders and mounted lights that are wired to the hubs to generate electricity. I left it at the bike shop and plan to pick it up Thursday (which happens to be Earth Day).

Everyday is Earth Day but April 22 is the recognized Day. Bike use is one of many ways to reduce your carbon foot print; what a wonderful day for a new bike (since everyday is Earth Day, any day is an excellent day for a new bike!)

I still have issues with a two wheel bike, and now I don’t have a large parking lot to practice in. Five years ago I did when I lived across the street from Alamitos Bay Marina. But I broke my hip on my mountain bike, had total hip replacement, and been riding three wheel adult trikes since. The primary difference is steering: on a trike, steering is performed by using the handlebars like a steering wheel opposed to a single track vehicle such as a human powered bike where steering is performed by leaning (handlebars may be pressed to guide the lean). All this was once natural, but after five years of riding adult trikes and a brain injury thirty years ago now I need to think about it. I wonder when my brain will do it naturally again!?

2021 Blue Townie 7D

Dilemma: New Bike

It has been four years since I rode a two wheel bike. I busted my hip resulting in total hip replacement and six long months without riding. I still ride adult tricycles but this week looked at an Electra Townie in a bike shop. I sat on it for 10 minutes, and it was super comfortable.

Electra is a child company of Trek, and they’ve been making bicycles for 25 years. I believe it is time for me to get a step-thru frame. My hips have never had much range of motion; for years I struggled with step over frames on both bicycles and motorcycles, but these past 4 years I’ve enjoyed the low step-thru frames of my adult trikes.

The aerodynamics of them result in greater power output for less speed/distance (performance reduction). The Electra is not an electric bike, but probably an awesome performance bike with features like forward pedal design. I had that on one of my trikes, and it makes a big performance improvement. Unfortunately, that trike was a single speed with a non changeable hub on a secondary axle. But my trikes (former and current) with gears perform lower than any bike with gears I’ve ridden.

I’ve also only ridden lower end bicycles. This bike promises higher performance and feels solid in the showroom. I just assembled that stars and stripes trike, so I’m at my limit. I can have two bikes at most (house rule) so I need to get rid of it to make room for a new bike (don’t have a plan though). But if I get it figured out, it just may be an excellent modern experience!

Bike Diagram

First 2-wheeler post 1991 accident

1994 Pontiac Grand Am GT
Beyond my motorcycle accident of 1991, I was released from the hospital November 1992 (15 months: 3 months unconscious and 12 months rehab learning to live with a brain injury post surgery). My license was suspended by driver safety due to my traumatic brain injury; in winter 1993 I was finally enrolled in 6 months of driver training and had a class C license spring 1994. To celebrate, I paid cash for a 1994 Pontiac Grand Am GT, and drove it 100K miles spanning 6 years.

In 1995, I rolled a two wheel 18 speed mountain bike to the register of a discount store. Riding a bicycle again was my first step towards getting back on a motorcycle. In Palm Desert, I had miles of non busy residential streets to practice on (a benefit of desert life). I remember my first take off on that bike: I rode about 200 feet before an uncontrollable speed wobble made me crash. It was that way for weeks, but as time past my brain adjusted to riding the bike and distance between crashes increased. Soon, crashes and road rash were a memory, so I started riding in heavy traffic throughout the valley. Furthermore, I took my bike to my sister’s house in South Orange County to ride the narrow windy canyon roads. I was in my late 20’s so recovery from rugged bike riding was quick and teaching my brain to ride a two wheeler again was successful!

1971 R 75/5 BMW Motorcycle

Day of Life Changing Event

July 29, 1991, the day of a major life changing event. That is the day I died, but it also the day I was born again. It was just another day I was riding an old 1971 R 75/5 BMW Motorcycle to Whitewater to earn some bread for the day. I started in Palm Desert and was riding the desert highway 111 through Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City and Palm Springs before briefly riding Interstate 10 to exit onto Whitewater Canyon Road where I would get some work for Whitewater Water Company (distributing runoff water from Lake Arrowhead for Palm Springs Golf Courses).

An unexpected occurrence happened in Rancho Mirage (ironically, near Whitewater Park). A driver pulled out illegally into my lane; I was riding 55 MPH with no helmet (legal in California, 1991), t-boned the car and flew 100 feet through the air landing on my unprotected head. I went into a coma state and remained in it for 90 days. On that first day, I was a mess (according to medical records). Not expected to live past midnight (7/29/91) I’m amazed I can tell this tale ~30 years later.

I received ~$100K, my share of a $305K settlement. It was enough to pay cash for a townhouse, buy a car, and supplemented my wages at Angel View Crippled Children’s Foundation for 5 years. That was also a time when I studied computers at College of the Desert, so between working 40 hours/week, attending school 20 hours/week, commuting 200 miles/week, and family/social activities I was fortunate just to have a roof over my head. When that chapter of my life ended, my house was stolen.

As a result, I spent a year++ living homeless: sleeping in bushes or Missions. I remember the first night I had to sleep on the streets (bushes off a main road); it was a scary experience! But as time past, it was easier (mentally, not physically).

Beyond that year++ of homelessness, I was shuffled across the country and landed back in California. I started a new life in OC/Long Beach. Rent takes most my Social Security Disability, but I get to pedal on the beach path most days. I’ve never had it so good!

2021.4.10 Surf City Coastal View via Bluff at Dog Beach

First BLOG Entry via Beach Cycle

Another beautiful ride in the neighborhood. When I was younger, my body burned calories with minimum effort. As I got get older, more effort is needed. Cardio is required most days, so in 2008 I began walking 10 to 20 miles, three days a week, alternating with three days of lifting weights. That routine got me in shape and feeling great, so I kept it up. June 12, 2016, I replaced walking with riding an adult trike. Over 15K miles later, I still ride most days. Even when I have nowhere to go, I ride the local beach path and major roads to and from. Today’s ride didn’t have any major hills or wind, so my max speed was lower; however, the beach was filled with positive vibes. It was an awesome day for a beach cycle, and I’m grateful I was there!

 

2021.4.10 Surf City Beach Loop