Les has been one of my cycling inspirations for some time. But rather than sing his praises, I'll simply let him speak for himself (by permission) below. You will note that one of these adventures happened when Les mounted his trike and cycled half the length of California to attend his 55th (TWO fives) college reunion. What follows is excerpted from a recent email that began with a note on a trip he took with his son.
Ian and I were were supposed to fly to Chengdo in China's Sichuan Province in early April, where we were to visit a panda preserve then go on to Tibet for a week, then to Nepal, Bhutan, and to Angkor Wat in Cambodia before returning home. However things went awry before we got started when, after granting us expensive visas, China said they wouldn't let us in because of rioting in Tibet. We adapted by adding a stopover in Hong Kong and extending our stays in Nepal and Bhutan.
It all went reasonably well, although we found ourselves in Kathmandu on Election Day when the rather nasty Maoists took over. The mountain kingdom of Bhutan was the highlight of this trip though the accommodations there were a bit Spartan. Beds sometimes consisted of a wooden platform covered with a thin layer of sponge rubber. However the scenery was spectacular and road travel was thrilling inasmuch as their "highways" had paving only about ten feet wide, so passing another vehicle often involved a negotiation in which one vehicle often had to back up while avoiding the cliff on one side that typically went straight down for 2,000 feet or more.
Our flight from Bhutan to Bangkok over the Burma delta was uneventful but a little while later a cyclone swept through and killed a lot of people. Then an earthquake struck at Chengdo, our initial destination, where it killed a lot of people and wiped out the panda preserve.
Shortly after returning home I rode my trike south over Hecker Pass to Monterey, then down through Big Sur and on down the coast to Pasadena to attend my 55th college reunion at Caltech, so that I could one-up my classmates. However shortly after I completed that ride, the Summit Fire closed Hecker Pass and burned a bunch of homes there. More recently two big fires burned much of Big Sur. I also had ridden through Goleta and a bunch of homes subsequently burned there.
Weekend before last I went for a hike in Castle Rock State Park and two days later it caught fire. Last Friday I did a coastal hike in Wilder Ranch State Park. It apparently hasn't caught fire yet, so perhaps the jinx is broken.
Addendum: Les is not the only cyclist to have risked life and limb in LA
This was my 17th ride from the San Francisco Peninsula to Southern California but my first on a trike. I switched to a Greenspeed X5 four years ago after doing a lot of damage to myself by hitting a speed bump going downhill. My theory is that this recumbent trike puts me just above the ground so the next time I crash it will be a short drop.
ReplyDeleteThe ride down the coast went well though the trike is about 10% slower than my bike because it weighs twice as much. Cars generally gave me a wide berth, perhaps because of the peculiar appearance of the tadpole trike.
Things changed in my ride through Los Angeles, however, where several motorists yelled at me to "Get off the road." They perhaps were frustrated by the creeping rush hour traffic that I was able to get through by bobbing and weaving a bit. The third time I passed one guy he threw a water bottle at me but fortunately had poor aim.
Things calmed down again as I approached Pasadena suburbs. Overall an enjoyable ride.
Couple of questions, mod0:
ReplyDeleteHow many miles a day do you cover on such a ride? Do you ride every day or do you take breaks? You've certainly put the Greenspeed to the test. How do you like it?
On the trike I do about 90 miles a day. On my bike I used to do 100 to 120, sometimes by riding a bit into the night. I don't take many breaks.
ReplyDeleteThe Greenspeed weighs twice as much as a conventional bike, so it is slow going uphill but goes downhill like a bomb, since it has low air resistance.
I remain happy with the trike, which I got when I was still partly disabled by my earlier crash. It is basically a lawn chair with wheels, so I can stop, sit back and relax whenever I want. I may someday switch to a recumbent bike, which would be a tad lighter, but I will never go back to an upright for long trips because of chronic butt soreness.
-Les
Inspiring. I have never gone quite that far in a day, but perhaps it's just for lack of trying. Average speed, of course, matters. On my north/south Oregon trip a couple of years ago I managed over 80 miles one day (with a two hour stop at the Lewis and Clark fort), but only by leaving very early. Nevertheless, I ended up with less than 15 minutes of daylight at the end of the ride--on a bike with no lights.
ReplyDelete