Cyclist and Bike - Riding the Snake 2023 - CycleBlaze

Cyclist and Bike

I turned 62 years old during this tour and bought an America the Beautiful lifetime national park pass when I got to Grand Teton National Park. You have to be at least 62 to qualify.

I'm now officially a senior citizen.
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Charmaine RuppoltI got one also - you probably got it when it was less expensive - lucky you! The cost of it went up soon after I was eligible.
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5 months ago
Wayne EstesIt was $80. My wife (older than me) bought one 3 or 4 years earlier for only $20.
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5 months ago

I weigh 190 pounds when dressed and fed. The loaded bike weighs 60-70 pounds depending on how much water and food I carry.

May 2022 during my Brigham Young's Promised Land tour.
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End of the tour in Jackson, Wyoming.
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This is my 27th multi-day tour using a 2007 Bacchetta Giro 20 short wheelbase recumbent. All of the tours are documented here at cycleblaze.com.

Under the seat are a Terracycle underseat rack and faded Arkel RT-40 recumbent panniers. 1.5 inch wide Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires are suitable for pavement and gravel.

My previous tour ended with a cracked front rim. The bike now has new front and rear wheels. Also new seat pad, grip shifters, cables, and housings. I replaced the chainrings for the first time and replaced the 170mm crankset with a 155mm crankset to match the Bacchetta Titanium Aero that I ride at home.

The 16 year old bike is performing well. Chain is quiet. Shifting is snappy. Brakes are powerful and quiet with little cable friction. Nothing rattles or creaks.

The 62 year old engine is slowly losing strength, endurance, and ability to recover. We'll see how well it performs...

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Kelly IniguezWhat prompted you to stay with the 155 cranks? I know they are popular with the recumbent crowd, especially those with bad knees. I rode Jorge's P-38 perhaps a half mile and it had 155 cranks. It felt like I was pedaling tiny little circles. He gave me the pep talk about their advantages, but I was not sold.
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11 months ago
Wayne EstesTo Kelly IniguezI have short legs and like to spin. 155mm is good for me but surely not for everybody. It took a while to get accustomed to starting from a standstill with the shorter cranks, but when cruising the shorter cranks immediately felt better to me. Less peak sprint power, but better average power because of less dead spots in the pedaling circle. I feel like I can apply power for 100% of the circle. If you're more of a slow cadence rider,traditional long cranks are probably better. I'm glad we now have choices.
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11 months ago