Test Ride Success!

Friday I tried to get the velomobile down to campus. Unfortunately, I only made it about six blocks before getting a flat. I'm pretty sure the tubes were still not the right size. I was lucky enough to be just a block from a friend's house, so I parked it behind his place and dashed back to my apartment to get the car. Another trip to the bike shop and the poor guy asked if I couldn't just bring the bike in. Not without a tube, I said. Luckily, I dug through the bag of patched tubes that had been in the trunk and the guy was nice enough to check for leaks. So I was able to put in a patched tube and get the velo back to home base. Hopefully I can ride the velo down to BC Bicycles soon and let him figure out where I've been going wrong.

Today I decided to put that patched tube to the test. I took the velomobile up to Otsiningo Park. I toyed with the idea of sticking to side streets, but I wasn't ready for the big hills up to Prospect Ave, so I rode right down Main and Front--about four miles from the garage to the park. The velo got a lot of looks on the road, and a lot of questions that I didn't stop to answer (unless I was at a red light).

I've noticed the winter road warp plenty in the car, but being that close to the ground encased only in fiberglass really drives home how bad some of those potholes are. So, to any vehicles who may see me swerve a bit: my apologies. Just trying to keep the axles intact.

Tooling around Otsiningo Park was a lot of fun. I do think I might need to invest in a horn. The chain rattling is pretty loud inside of the velo, so I keep thinking that people must be able to hear me coming, but I had to do a lot of shouting "excuse me!" and "on your left!" Apparently, that's not something people are used to hearing outside bike culture. I also feel bad that people seem to think they need to tramp through the mud when I go by. I don't need the whole path. I'm just hoping to scoot by you without nicking an elbow or anything.

For you non-riders: how would you prefer a cyclist to address you to ask you to move over? Would beeping startle you or seem rude?

I got a lot of comments that I looked like a little kid, cute, or just weird. But I got to talk to some cool people and let a couple of kids sit inside. It's too bad it's so hard to adjust the pedal distance. It makes it harder to offer to let people try the velo out unless they're pretty close to my size.

The bottom line: I hope people develop an interest in velomobiles. It can be a good workout (two-ish hours of riding and I can sure feel it) and a lot of fun. And besides, you're burning very renewable fuel (fat!) rather than petroleum. Huzzah!