Mike Burrows on the CTC

[Si]

http://thebikeshow.net/burrows-on-the-b ... laid-back/

...around the 8 min mark. As tourists we should all be on recumbents! Can't argue with that.

Also interesting comments on 'bents generally and on the Obree 100mph attempt.

[meic]

I dont know, you cant see much from down there.

[byegad]

I dont know, you cant see much from down there.

Yes it's really hard to see the tread on the front wheel while you're riding.

[meic]

You dont want to spend that much on a tyre and NOT look at it.

I suppose you get a better view of the (flying) birds and stars too.

[thirdcrank]

I dont know, you cant see much from down there.

i wonder if that's what ordinary riders said about the new-fangled safety bicycles.

[[XAP]Bob]

I dont know, you cant see much from down there.

No, the wind keeps my eyes watering


Personally I see more on the 'bent, because I'm not studying the tread pattern. That reminds me - I need to check my front left, think I picked up piece of debris on the way up the hill this morning...

[PaulCumbria]

I dont know, you cant see much from down there.

On a recumbent my head is at the same level as the vast majority of road users, and you don't hear many motorists complaining that they can't see the scenery!

[swansonj]

On a recumbent my head is at the same level as the vast majority of road users, and you don't hear many motorists complaining that they can't see the scenery!

No, but you do hear quite a lot of cyclists saying that part of the attraction is seeing more of the scenery than in a car!

[PaulCumbria]

On a recumbent my head is at the same level as the vast majority of road users, and you don't hear many motorists complaining that they can't see the scenery!

No, but you do hear quite a lot of cyclists saying that part of the attraction is seeing more of the scenery than in a car!

I've always felt you see more scenery when touring on a bike rather than in a car not particularly because you sit taller in the saddle, but because you tend to:
a) travel more slowly
b) travel on minor roads
c) travel all day

I tend to see more on a recumbent than on an upright because i'm not distracted by aching hands, wrists, arms, neck, back and bum, but there you go!

[swansonj]

I've always felt you see more scenery when touring on a bike rather than in a car not particularly because you sit taller in the saddle, but because you tend to:
a) travel more slowly
b) travel on minor roads
c) travel all day

I tend to see more on a recumbent than on an upright because i'm not distracted by aching hands, wrists, arms, neck, back and bum, but there you go!

Fair enough - I'd agree with all of a)-c) but I'd add d) being more aware of your surroundings because you're less isolated from them and e) being higher off the ground. Personally, I feel a very slight sense of smug superiority about all the comments about staring at your tyre on an upright,not because I ride a recumbent, but because I ride an upright with a reasonably upright position.

[zoxed]

I dont know, you cant see much from down there.

i wonder if that's what ordinary riders said about the new-fangled safety bicycles.

Somewhere I have a cutout from the CTC mag where they have a quote about how low these "new" bikes are, how unstable they are to ride etc. Only at the end do your see that the quote is 18?? and so they are referring to "safety" bikes, not recumbents !

[Si]

Did the ride over to my parents' house yesterday on the bent for the first time.

Before reading this thread I'd not really thought about it, but it's true - I did notice several scenic views that I'd not noticed on the upright before, mainly because when I get tired on the upright I do spend an amount of time staring downish only at the road in front of me.

Of course, it's try that there were sections where I couldn't see over the hedges, though last week riding over to Bosworth Battle Field I did notice that with a few hawthorn hedges where I normally couldn't see past them on the upright, I could see through them on the 'bent because the foliage was thinner lower down.

Each has their benefits and draw backs and neither is the all encompassing answer to life the universe and everything. But having done my longest ride for three years (or more?) and longest ever on the 'bent I feel a bit less beaten up and aching than doing the same ride on the upright.

[[XAP]Bob]

Courses, horses, for. Rearrange to form a well known phrase or saying.

I see more scenery out on the trike than I would not out on a bike...

[byegad]

I dont know, you cant see much from down there.

i wonder if that's what ordinary riders said about the new-fangled safety bicycles.

They did and thought them slow, cos' they had smaller wheels and harder to ride.