Louisville's Relaxed Recumbent Riders' Group

                       Dedicated to the idea that cycling can be comfortable!

2003 Summer Heat Rally

Some of our group managed to attend the Summer Heat Rally, hosted by our neighboring club, the Bent Trail Riders, who enjoy being next to the Little Miami River Rail Trail System.  The official count was forty-five attendees.  Several folks brought multiple bikes to "show off."  I, of course, took my flamboyant bike.

I took pictures this time.  Several pictures.  About three dozen pictures.  Some of them even look presentable.  Here is a sample of what I saw.

The rally was held at Shawnee Park, a block or three away from downtown Xenia, Ohio, and right on the arm of the rail trail system that leads from its hub north to Yellow Springs and eventually Springfield.  Bent Trail Riders got use of the lovely old (by which I mean it looks almost Victorian-era) pavilion, shown here.

For those who are not familiar with the Rail Trail concept, such trails are linear parks made on abandoned railway rights of way.  Think of it as a narrow road with no cars, but with pedestrians, skaters, cyclists, and the occasional dog.  And the rarely-seen human-powered four-wheeled vehicle, as shown here.

This creation was the hit of the rally, and rightly so.  The owner, seen driving it in the dark shirt above, made all of the aluminum fittings with a band saw, a drill press and an assortment of disc sanders.  Same goes for the glued-laminated main frame rails, which were then covered in fiberglass and epoxy resin, much as one would a fine wood canoe or kayak.

As I set out to ride with whoever was close by, I rigged my little tripod to my handlebar to try to take some pictures while I was riding.  One example is the shot above of the pedal-car coming toward me on the trail.  I rode with Bill and Kate, who were enjoying their tandem.  Bill had brought his digital video camera, and I hope some of the time it spent capturing events was productive.  In the fine tradition of Doctor "Gizmo Dog" Larry, we decided to mount the video camera to my bike for a while.

We'll see if Bill posts anything about online availability of his video "footage."

Another interesting ride was this home-built streamliner.  I hope the owner will forgive me, for I didn't take the time to write his name, and my memory lapses are getting more frequent as I get older.  I have managed to retain that he rides with the HPV race team with Frank Geyer, though.  Perhaps he will see this, and remind me so I can give proper credit for this way-cool ride!

There were a couple more home-built rides on hand.  I had to share these two detail shots...

Note the Shimano internally-geared rear hub, with an old derailleur mounted to maintain chain tension when the front changer is used.  Note also that the owner doesn't have toe clips or clipless pedals, but still enjoys the opportunity to hang his feet on the pedals when he's coasting!  Imaginative, to say the least.

And of course this tandem that looks to be one of Bill Cook's Barcroft Columbias.  Maybe, maybe not, but if it isn't a Columbia, it looks like the builder had the Barcroft in mind.