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Many have been 'middle-aged' and new to bikes and now have a BF. They've asked how I accomplished this trip. In reality, the Dutch bike so much that my trip looks good only to people in countries where biking isn't common in an every day sense. Sure there are 'bikers' but the Dutch bike. I want to bike but will probably never be a 'biker'. I did the distance (1850kms) in 28 days. I started about 8-9am and rode until 3-4pm. I averaged about 13.1kms/hour with pulling about 50pounds in the trailer. It was flat, flat, flat! Without the trailer, biking around the local area I often went 17-20kms/hour and still teens passed me. After I got settled in the afternoons, I often had so much energy that I biked around locally without the trailer. My plan wasn't to sight see, just to go forward and get stronger. I've never done a long bike trip and haven't been into bikes for many years until I met BF. My legs were rarely sore. I drank electrolytes and Vit C +minerals in all my water. Most days, even after riding for 6 hours I had heaps of energy. Now that I'm in the UK and can't bike where I am, I've started to run! My success is certainly due to pedaling but absolutely my success is 99.9% due to my NWT. My life has been transformed by this bike. It's comfortable to ride, easy to get off of, has absolutely wonderful road manners so you don't feel many of the irregularities of the surface. It feels solidly built and I came to trust it. And the trailer travels beautifully. Without my NWT, I would never have done this trip and would never have accomplished what I have. I'm evangelistic about BF. Wintergreen, trustee |
JUST LURVE THAT LOW STEPOVER! Introducing BF to a 60 year old woman I knew this woman had broken her pelvis last year, falling off her bike onto the bar. The break was quite major which put her in bed for many weeks, on crutches for more. As of this year, she has been afraid to get back on her bike. Took my trusted NWT up to her house, adjusted the seat lower and suggested she take a spin for 10 minutes or so. I'm afraid if I open my mouth with a BF evangelistic approach that people will expect less from the bike and not believe it actually lives up to my raves. She came back and I asked her some questions: 1) Knowing that this was the first time for you to be on any bike in over a year and storing fear about falling onto a bar again, how did riding this bike impact that fear? 'I never thought about it.' Now that's a pretty strong statement. From the moment she got on the bike, she never thought about the bar which meant her 'fear' never peeked it's ugly head. 2) What did you like about the bike? 'It turned really easily. I could wear a skirt to work on the bike. I had to come off the bike really quickly because a car turned in front of me and I never thought about how to do it. When I stopped at intersections and had to straddle the bike, it felt stable and easy to get back on. It's a light bike and easy to maneuver. It could change my life because I've been thinking about how to use my car less'. That just about says it really. Hopefully she'll come in (sent in a card today) and take a ride and think it through. Wintergreen, trustee Common Knowledge Trust producing: The Pink Kit Method For Birthing Better® |
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