No pics for this post, just an update…

It’s been 8 weeks since the arthroscopy and the knee’s recovering well. I’ve riden over 100kms since the op which isn’t amazing, but it is good to be able to do stuff again. We drove up to Cobargo last weekend and I thought it would be a good oportunity to take the trike up and do some riding up there and was able to ride around some really nice places.

On the way up we stopped in Bairnsdale and I went for a short 8km ride along the Mitchell River which was the longest ride since the op. Then when we got up to Cobargo I rode from ‘Gloron’ to ‘Mudpile’, again about 8-9 kms but quite hilly so again, a bit longer and more challenging and the knee held up very well. The muscles are starting to strengthen up too which is very promising. By far the best ride though was when I took the trike to Bermagui and rode the coast walk track from Bermi to Camel Rock, 8km then rode back to Bermi along the beach. It was absolutely fantastic! 5km of beach with a strong tailwind, very low tide and hard flat sand. Stuck on 25km/h and it was one of the best rides I’ve done, ever! Just wasn’t quite long enough.

Another exciting thing is that the physio has given me permission to start jogging. Only short 1km jogs at the moment, but it’s a start! Went and bought a self-rewarding pair of cross-trainers tonight so am looking forward to getting some k’s in the legs.

Anyway, sorry for no pics. Just wanted to journal my progress and share for anyone who actually reads this.

I won’t be able to do any riding for a while. I went in for my arthroscopy on the 15th to have the torn medial meniscus repaired/removed on my left knee. It has been almost 2 weeks since the operation and I’m recovering fairly well, in that I don’t need pain killers and haven’t needed crutches for almost a week, but I can still only bend my knee just a tad past 90 degrees so not enough for the pedal action.

Here’s some pics post-op.

My bloodied knee dressings. It looked and felt like it was going to be an impressive sight when I changed the dressing, but to my disappointment (an amazement at what the doctors can do) the cuts are only about 1cm long and barely visible. Looks like there’ll be minimal scaring. Oh well…

The removed part of the meniscus that was torn and flipped around to the back of the knee joint. It had been there since Oct 2008 so wasn’t able to be put back into position and stiched together. Apparently if the doctor stiched it together it would have taken a long time to recover/heal and I would have needed to be in a knee-brace for a while whereas with it removed, the knee will recover much faster and it is still usable. We’ll see. Hopefully it goes well.

As for the trike, I took it down to the bike shop before the operation for it to get serviced, have the derailleur replaced and a speedo mounted. It’s still there and seeing as I can’t ride it anyway there’s not much point pushing them to get it back quickly.

My follow-up appointment is on Tuesday and I’ll find out how long I’ll have to wait until I can ride again. Hopefully not too long!!!

Today we travelled to Warburton to listen to one of my students preach at church. It was a nice & sunny early spring day so I figured it would be a perfect day to ride the trail back home. I packed the bike trailer for Matilda to ride in and we set off after church.

We made it to Launching Place and it started to get a bit cooler so Jodi picked Matilda up (she’d done really well and it was the longest ride she’d done, about 12 kms!) and I continued on.

It was a really nice ride. It is so far the longest ride I have done on the trike. Around 45 kms. There were plenty of sticks etc on the trail which didn’t really bother the low clearance of the trike, but then about 5kms from home I rolled over a twig, seemingly insignificant twig, but it somehow managed to get caught in the chain and twisted up the rear derailleur. I had to bend it back so I could get home but am now looking for a new derailleur. Stupid twig!

Apart from the derailleur, the trip was good. SO Much more comfortable than previous rides I’d done on my MTB!

This morning was lovely and sunny so I decided to take Matilda for a ride around Lilydale Lake. She liked seeing all the ‘puppy’s’ walking around the lake and watching the ducks.

Looking over the lake.

I decided to get creative.

When I bought the trike I just wanted the bare machine, without the accessories that cost heaps, so I could have fun in making my own modifications. So in the past 2 weeks I have added:

- Light poles to the seat,  so the lights sit at about the same height as a ‘normal’ bike would have it’s lights – makes it more visible in traffic.

- A head-rest. I had it taped to the light poles to try different positions, but after almost 2 weeks of riding it around I decided I didn’t use it enough to justify having it fitted so I’ve taken it off, but the tape is still in place so I know where to put it if I decide to put it back on for longer rides.

- A small bar on the front to mount some headlights.

- Played around with a bike rack that I already had so that it would fit onto the existing mounts. Greenspeed have made a rack specifically designed for their trikes, but they cost over $100 so I figured that I’d save enough and it really wasn’t that hard.

I also found a good place to put my camelbak water bladder in behind the seat and placed a clip on the side of the seat for the mouthpiece to go for easy access while riding.

Last weekend I decided to get creative and use the space behind the seat, between the seat and the rear mudguard. I measured the space up, and made a custom, waterproof toolbag to store allen-keys, spare tube, puncture repair kit etc. It should also have enough space to fit my rain jacket if needed when I’m not carrying the rear pannier.

The paper pattern draft…

Checking the fit…

A mock-up with scrap material…

Final pieces cut-out…

Zips in, now just the final 2 seams…

The finished bag…

Fitted…

Inside with Allen-keys in place…

So now I’ve got it pretty much just how I want it. The only things I’d like to do now are:

- Mount a forward flashing light on the light poles,

- Get a right-hand mirror (I’m pretty sure it was supposed to come with a mirror as standard. When I take it back for it’s 1st service in a few weeks I’ll get it put on).

- An internal geared hub. Increasing the gear range x3. Only when I start doing some serious solo touring.

So now it’s pretty well set-up and I’ve got around 200km’s in my legs on it, I can start some adventures. I’ll be sure to post updates when I complete some rides

I took the trike out tonight with the intent of getting some decent photos of it. Unfortunately the camera battery died just as I was starting to get into it. Anyway, here are a couple of shots that I managed to get.

I’m not entirely happy with these shots, but they’ve given me something to work with.

I’ll be sure to get some better shots soon enough.

Well, I have decided to start my own blog. I have avoided blogging as I never really thought other people would be interested in the day-to-day happenings of my life, but I now am the proud owner of a Greenspeed GT3 folding recumbent trike. I am planning on doing plenty of riding on this rolling reclined chair so figured I’d keep track of my adventures, hence this blog.

I am yet to capture the wonderful machine except for a quick happy snap that Jodi took a few mornings ago as I left to go to work so I will post some more pics of the trike soon enough.

If you haven’t ridden a recumbent before, you can’t knock it. They are by far the most comfortable way of pedaling your way around. It takes a little while for the muscles to develop and get used to the different position, but after a few weeks you can generally keep up with ‘normal’ bikes. Going uphill is a bit slower as you can’t stand up like a normal bike, but on the flat it’s pretty much the same but going downhill is just downright FUN!!! Imagine going downhill @ 50-70Km/H sitting only 6 inches or so off the ground. It’s freakin FAST!

Anyway, I bought this about 2 weeks ago but only picked it up last Tuesday. Since then I’ve hardly been off it. I’ve ridden to work most days in the last week and just want to ride it around whenever I can. I’m really looking forward to doing some nice rides on it.

Ok, well enough for now. Check back from time to time to see pics of my adventures