Yesterday was a great day, fun and exciting, but it was full on leaving in the early morning to not returning to our hotel to eat in our room until about 14 hours later. We made it back just in time before a heavy thunder and. lightning, rain storm started and continued for several hours. Our room is quiet and spacious, a sanctuary from the storm, so we both tumbled in to bed tired and reflected on what lucky people we are to be able to attend such an event - and tomorrow we get to go again!
Once again the ride was a great start to the day and we enjoyed seeing velomobiles and various types of recumbents and uprights join us along the way.
We met this German family at our guesthouse. They had visited friends in Manitoba and will soon have family in Toronto as well.
As we were securing our bike when we arrived at Spezi, we could hear a strange sound of rthymic clanking metal coming toward us as well as the voices of two men speaking in excited voices both in a cajoling and disciplining way. We soon discovered that these men had brought their entourage of robots made entirely from bicycle parts which were making their way through the crowds.
Just a minute, perhaps we are on the set of a Star Wars movie watching traders (who are also dressed exclusively in items made from bicycle parts) herd their ungainly creatures through the market.
There is so much going on here that it is hard to capture it all, but this gives you an idea. There were about 6 of these walking robots.
Robot herder/ inventor number one - just love his hat made of saddles. He was most exasperated with his robots as they sometimes walked too fast or in a direction he didn’t want, so he would chastise them or praise them in an affectionate but funny way.
Note their outfits - liked the skirt made of tires and inner tubes, the fellow on the bottom left plays his part well and seems perpetually perplexed by the robots’ misbehaviour. It is kind of like herding sheep or trying to organize a new group of kindergarteners.
And then for something completely different...a barrel for a wheel. Perhaps not as smooth a ride, but it does work -and once again, it is puncture free!
Today, we headed first to the e-bike test track before going to the other areas. At this test track, we are given a wrist band and can stay a S last long as we like and ride whatever is available. Did I mention that this is a blast and fantasy come tuprue time? The day has become increasingly hot and humid. Waiting for a bike sim painful, but once you get on the track it is so much fun.
Barry riding a super fast trike from ICE (from Britain)with an e-motor. This bike is built for speed.
And here we are testing the Vox tandem. The seats were very reclined and super comfortable for our backs. The design of this bike has an interesting feature for breaking it down: the middle of the frame has a connector that you release and voila, you have a bike in 2 pieces.
So many bikes, tandems and trikes to try, and so little time...but we are doing our best. We think Spezi should be 3 days as there’s is so much to see and do.
Losing track, but I am pretty sure that Barry is riding the Catrike e-trike, made in the United States.
This year there is a 3rd test track just for kids. There were novelty bikes and serious trikes like this one. This is obviously not a first time rider, as he is very competent on the trike.
We are at the test track which does not have e-motors. This track is a mad dash kind of experience as you get 25 minutes to ride what you like and the number of participants is limited. The time goes so fast. We have seen these Elliptigo bikes on the road travelling and they are very fast-and what a workout. We have seen them with a motor as well.
Team Azub -we really enjoyed riding their trikes and tandem and really made a connection with their representatives. The nearest place we know at home to try Azub Bikes is in Colorado -so we do appreciate this opportunity.
We have been seeing fields covered with thin plastic protecting the vulnerable plants from birds. From a distance it looks a like an optical illusion of a swiftly moving river as the wind makes it ripple. Many Romanians come to this area to do the backbreaking work of picking the produce by hand.
We had dinner at the Italian pizzeria near our guesthouse. When we were choosing what to have the woman recommended the top pizza. We didn’t know what the word “Scharf “meant but we so found with first bite. The pizza was loaded with a variety of the hottest chilies we have ever experienced.
