Louisville's Relaxed Recumbent Riders' Group

                       Dedicated to the idea that cycling can be comfortable!

2002 Rally

We added a Saturday ride this year, in hopes that our rally will become a two-day event next year.  As it happened, only a few local riders came to this one, but we had a great time!  Here's the lineup, from left to right, as you see them:  Jon, Patsy, Andree, Bill, Charlie, Tom, and Leslie.  We met near Waterfront Park, and rode to Iroquois park, taking time to have this picture taken with the city skyline as a backdrop.  Thanks to Donna for taking the picture!  We haven't completely converted her yet, and likely won't, but we still let her ride with us.

 

This year's rally was held at Thurman-Hutchins Park, just up the road from our venue of the last two years, the Louisville Water Company's pumping station.  It was convenient to the route we used last year, but the weather was a bit cool for an outdoor event.  It would have been nice to have an indoor room for socializing and eating.  We'll plan farther ahead next time.  Even so, we had shelter for the rain that came our way.

The rain kept many "out-of-towners" away, but the folks who came to our rally still had a good time.  Leslie may have hit on a logo and catch-phrase for our group with the cake decorating she did, pictured here.

One tandem captain thought it was still October, and arrived in costume.  His wife seemed to not want to be recognized.  That's okay, Kate, we won't tell them it was you and Bill...

We had some exposure in the Courier-Journal again this year, and as before, it brought out a few folks who were "recumbent curious."  Perhaps more than a few...

Rallies such as ours often turn into a chance for us to show our bikes to the curious, and explain some of the benefits of recumbent cycling, as Patsy is doing in the picture below.  

Folks also get to try riding recumbents, as shown here.
 

Some folks are amazed at the sheer size of some of our bikes, like Jon's "Jolly Green Giant."

Part of our rally is a ride, of course.  Here are shots of Rick, from western Kentucky, and Larry, from LaGrange, out on the River Walk.

Most important of all, though is that folks have a good time.  Who wouldn't be having a good time, when riding such cool bikes?  What's more, we add to the fun by having a pot-luck chili dinner to warm folks after a chilly ride!  

Since I work in a bike shop, and since the shop where I work sells recumbents, I get to bring new bikes for show and test-rides.  Two years ago, I got one of the pre-production prototypes of the then-new 2001 BikeE CT.  This year, I got one of the coveted 2003 Bacchetta Stradas for folks to ogle.  It made for a nice display to have the new Strada, the Giro, and my own Strada on hand.  

 I brought a bunch of bikes, including my two and five from the store.  Bill helped me load, and hauled one of the bikes.  Here I am with the six I hauled.  My Vanguard is on the near side of my trailer, with a BikeE E2 and a RANS V-Rex.  In my truck, there are the three Bacchettas mentioned above.

Our rally also gave some of us the chance to show off our creativity.  Tim brought his high racer, and you can see that it bears strong resemblance to the Bacchetta design when compared to my take on the Strada.

Yes, Leslie, I did find a picture of people admiring and discussing my new toy!

All too soon, we got rained on.  Once the rain let up a bit, it was getting late enough that it was time to load the bikes and go home.