For the past three years or so, my wife and I have been riding Catrike 700s each week, at least three to five times a week. We average about 20 to 30 miles a week, summer or winter. In the winter we wear two or three layers of clothes. Even though it isn't that cold in Mesa, it is colder when you are going almost 20 mph. For all you bike guys out there, here is the technical data on the Catrike 700L
• Wheels Front 16 " (349)
• Wheel Rear 700c
• Weight 33 Pounds (15.0 Kg)
• Wheel Base 45" (1143mm)
• Wheel Track 27.5” (699mm)
• Total Width 31.5" (800mm)
• Seat Height 7.00 " (178mm)
• Turning Circle 18' 4 " (5.59m)
• Turning Radius 110" (2.78m)
• Gear Inch Range 25” to 130”
• Ground Clearance 2.25” (57mm)
As we quickly found out, we are essentially invisible, even with dayglo flags. We have evolved a whole system of traffic avoidance, with signals for any car entering the street either from a driveway or from a side street. We avoid cutting any corners and will not cross a major road without a significant lead space from oncoming traffic. We also ride mainly on side streets.
We have ridden with a few of our compulsive addicted road bike friends and it is interesting to see them working away while you lay there on the ground looking up at them, hardly trying to pedal. I can get up to almost 30 mph on the flat for short sprints. I realize real bike riders can do much better than that, but I am old and gray and they are mostly young and athletic.
We get a good view of the sunrise almost every morning and get to see a lot of birds and dogs. Some dogs just stare at us. Others consider that we must be food and almost pull over their owners trying to get at us. If a dog is not on a leash, we ride by really fast.
We do see a few recumbents now and again, but so far, no one has ever ridden with us except a few of our bike friends.
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