Cycling is a year round activity here although it tapers off a bit in December through to Lent so folks can focus on Carnival fetes. There are a lot of cycling clubs in Trinidad, lots of well organized rides and regular national and regional competitions. Some international riders come to train during their winter. We have excellent bike shops but no bent dealer. And no one else has taken the plunge into the bent world. Road surfaces are not great. Roads are narrow and we have way too many vehicles. There is not a single bike path or bike lane but there are a few off road tracks for the mountaineers.

The balance on the bent was quickly mastered but it took longer to smoothly transition toes to peddles from a standing start on an upgrade. I soon joined the second skin club as I had no prior experience with high pressure tires on a wet road! Newbies beware of the bumps with platform peddles! My feet bounced off the peddles on my first ride on rough road and in traffic – that threw off my balance as it was unexpected. A scary moment it traffic after which I headed to the bike shop for my first ever clipless peddles. They add a lot of security to riding.

Reseach can be limiting. Having read that bents are not great on hills I developed an early mental block against hilly rides (and we have lots of hills). My first attempts at hills were a disaster until I realized that the challenge was mostly in my head not lack of legs and lungs. I now regularly do hill rides for concentrated training when I don’t have time for longer rides. Newbies should set a goal of mastering a challenging hill – a little more each time up and don’t get frustrated. If you are reasonably fit and can down shift quickly to meet the gradient its mostly mind over matter and more fun to spin outdoors than in a gym.

On my first ever century ride at age 61, I started to cramp up going thru the central range of Trinidad but made it over without walking (he brags). Later in the ride I was surprised to keep pace on the uphills with younger riders on DFs standing on their peddles. It soon dawned on me that they were standing up to rest a sore butt and not for speed as we were about equally fit!

As the guy on the strange/weird bike I get a lot of shouted comments riding past the rum shops. Everyone driving by with a cell phone camera has to take a picture and yell some comment out the window. I have started to record them. The most irksom comment was, “Is that a girl’s bike?” proclaimed to the guffaws of his pedestrain cronies. My challenge to Mr Loud Mouth try a circuit on the hill I had just completed was not accepted and the guffaws blew back on him as I headed up again. On a century ride coming out of a rest stop a DF rider rode beside me for a while taking in this strange sight and finally asked, “Is that some kind of bike”? I launched into my elevator speech on recumbents as we rode together. Trinidadians tend to say what is on their mind with no thought of being politically correct. After my bent spiel he then asked, “Why do you ride that? Do you have an imperfection”? I assured him that I was well and whole in both body and mind? The bent makes riding look too easy. I get lots of comments from the DF crowd about sleeping and my comfortable looking office chair. Not sure who they think is pushing the peddles when I pass them. But some ask if the bike has a motor which does wonders for my ego.

I now wish I had bought something lighter and faster, but the Giro 26 is a great touring bike and a good starter. The balance is a challenge in the granny gear on a steep hill, particularly when I am weaving my way through ruts. My wobbling and turning can cause heel and brake contact and loss of control (ie. stop and re-start or fall over). Maybe the newer disk brakes reduce heel contact but it was not available when I bought. (Don’t know why the front caliper brakes weren’t mounted on the back side of the fork)?

A touring cyclist travels about the same pace as a horse and rider. On rural roads lined with tropical trees and plants and few vehicles, you get a sense of discovery as new vistas are revealed turning corners and cresting hills, a sense of what travel was like here in the early 20th Century, a more leisurely time. The view sitting upright is great and its green all year round with only two seasons. It is either hot and dry or hot and wet. And best of all it never snows!!!!
I hope you enjoyed my tale from the tropics.
Trinbent.

Thanks,

Jim