Recumbent Ramblings

My journey into the world of recumbent cycles was just that, a journey. I was a wrestler in high school and college (heavyweight) and was always in terrific shape. I am between 6'4" and 6'5" (when I stand up straight) and wrestled at 248 lbs. I was young, lean, muscular, flexible, agile, and had stamina forever. Bob Seeger said it best in one of his songs..."like a rock".

After I wrecked my knees wrestling in college and graduated to a desk job, I started gaining weight which aggravated the knees. I took up road racing in the mid-eighties, riding a ROSS Paragon and graduating to a Jim Redcay custom ROSS full-out racing bike. I loved the speed and the exercise without knee pain. I lived in Oklahoma City at the time and rode pacelines around Lake Draper. My weight dropped to below 230 and with that came the loss of knee pain. I began to run as well as bike and dropped to 207...very, very thin for me. I was riding three days per week averaging about 100 miles per week and was running 15 to 20 miles per week spread out over the other three days. I took Sundays off. I was in FANTASTIC shape.

One day while riding around the lake on a rare leisurely solo ride, I met two young fellas coming the other way on bikes where their feet stuck way out front, and they were setting behind a big plastic bubble, and had LAWNCHAIRS for seats! "Must be engineering students" I thought, and since I'm an equally anal retentive engineer too, I stopped them to chat them up about their bikes. I found out that they were riding 'Easy Racer' bikes and that they were getting ready to ride cross country. I was intrigued at the time, but it was just too weird for me to digest all of the whys and wherefores of why anyone would want to ride one of those things, but it stuck in my mind. I never saw those 'bubble bike guys' ever again. As a matter of fact, I never saw another recumbent bike until two years ago.

Fast forward 20 years and my weight had broken the 300 lb. mark by a significant margin, I was out of breath ALL of the time, my cholesterol was out of control, and by blood pressure was skyrocketing...and I deserved every miserable bit of it for not taking care of my only body. With the knees marginal at best, especially considering the weight gain and 20 extra years of normal wear and tear, I returned to cycling to regain my health.

I started looking at all of the bike shops in the Jackson, MS metro area where I now live and it was pretty much carbon-fiber, ultra high-tech, indexed-everything in both the mountain bike and roadie world, and EVERYONE was way too serious about the cycling in my opinion. Remember, I hadn't been on a good bike in years, and when I quit cycling Shimano Bio-Pace rings were the new rage and indexed shifting was for weenies who didn't deserve to be on a 'real' race bike. In a mix of confusion and disgust, I bought a Huffy Hermosa, a cheap cantilever-framed beach cruiser with six speeds (yes, INDEXED shifting) and took it home to begin my quest for health. Even with the big comfy seat, I could only ride about six miles before the numbness set into my wrists and hands, my rear hurt too much to ride any further, and by back was KILLING me. Forget the dream of restoring and riding an Italian Torpado!

I was just driving home one day and noticed a sign near the edge of the road about Ride South Bikes and Boats and noticed the shop setting back off of the road a bit. As I drove past, I noticed those funny 'bubble bikes' setting out front and immediately remembered my encounter with the two young men in Oklahoma. While I didn't remember much about the technical details of the 'bubble bikes' I DID remember those two youngsters blathering on and on about how COMFORATBLE they were. I turned my truck around and went back to the shop.

I met Jim Snyder who was the owner (and now a friend), and he showed me some DF touring bikes that I asked about and then led me to the recumbents (sly dog!). He let me try out a few and I ended up purchasing a Sun EZ-SPORT primarily for the chromoly frame to support my weight. Jim spent considerable time helping me get the bike configured to my needs and likes with upgrades like stronger wheels, lower gearing, fenders, rear rack, and numerous other things. Two years later and I've 'about got it dialed in the way I want and am looking forward to my 'dream bent'. I've narrowed it down to three bikes, and Jim will help me each step of the way.

I've ridden somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 miles over the last two years and the weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure were lower for a while, but crept back up when an all too busy work schedule kept me from riding. I'm now back on the bike and all are beginning to come down again. I've still got a way to go and I know I'll get there, but I believe that without Jim's help and my recumbent bike, the path I would have continued on would have been to an much-too-early and not-too-distant grave.

While the health benefits are great, the best thing about riding my 'bent is the camaraderie and friendship with others I've gained along the way. I found out that there were 2 or 3 other folks who rode recumbents in my own neighborhood! I had never seen them out! Now I've got riding partners and my two sons ride with me when my oldest is home from grad school. They're both young, lean, muscular, flexible, agile, and have stamina forever, you know..."like a rock". Jake used to ride my old beach cruiser and delighted in blowing past the old man on his "lawnchair bike", but now rides a converted mountain bike with HP road tires. My oldest son, John, bought a new Fuji race bike from Jim. We used to ride 10 to 15 miles every day after work and school and what a fulfilling way is was to spend time with my sons, rolling through the countryside basking in God's nature and enjoying each others company. The time spent with them has been one of the best things in my life.

I do remember my younger days when I could still ride those racing bikes and the thrill and satisfaction I got from it, but I'm different now. I often remember a line from The Desiderata, "Take kindly the counsel of thine years, gracefully surrendering those things of thy youth". I knew when Jim let me ride that first recumbent that my youthful dream of returning to DF racing bikes was over for good, that I'd never go back, and I was thankful for it. Even more so, now. Thanks for letting me share my experience. I can hardly wait for the next ride with my sons, greedy for their company as they will be gone to live their own lives in a few years. I am now building the memories that will sustain me for the rest of my life.

My wife has now expressed an interest in riding with me and the boys. I think I'll let her try out the 'normal' bikes she says she wants. Then I'll take her by Jim' place. I think I know how things will turn out. Sly Dog!