1: Introduction - A New Way to See The Sights

I love being out in the world riding bikes, hiking or touring on my motorcycle. However, over the years I've been doing a lot less biking due to numbness in my hands and soreness in my back and neck. It was time to make a change but I didn't know just what.

One day, while driving, a sign caught my eye for a bike store that specializes in recumbent bikes. I've seen these on the road more and more, even considered what it might be like to ride one, but never took any real steps towards researching them. I decided to stop in and take a look.

It was a rainy day so a test ride wasn't on the menu. I did get a chance to look at and sit on several different types of recumbents but the one that really caught my eye was a Cat Trike. The things I really liked about it was the balance of 3 wheels, angle of seating and, basically, the cool factor. Some may disagree with me but I think a trike can be the sportiest looking recumbent there is. I also liked the idea that your hands are relaxed at your sides and the seating is basically a lawn chair on wheels.

Well recumbents in general, and recumbent trikes in specific, do not hold a huge share of the bike market. This makes the price a fair amount more than a comparabily equiped upright bike. This, and the fact that I couldn't even test ride the trike, made me think that a little more research and time was in order before I made up my mind that this was the right choice for me.

I did, however, announce to my wife that I knew what I wanted for my upcoming birthday.