It's A New Blog!

Welcome to HOUTrike! And please welcome HOUTrike to the web! I am glad you found me. This post is a bit of background, as I don't actually have a trike yet. That part of the fun starts tomorrow (more on that later). So you can know who I am, I have been a casual cyclist for many years. I

An old photo of me, but I don't look
that different now.

was a competitive cyclist in college, primarily in the mountain bike events. However, our team could get points for riders participating in any events, so I occasionally got put on a road bike for competition as well. After school, I rode mountain bikes casually for several years. After moving to Texas, I started riding the MS150, and purchased my first road bike for that purpose. After a few MS150s on a road frame, I did a few on a mountain frame (with road tires), and then went back to a road bike for a few more years. I think that I have ridden ten MS150 events total.

Last year I started breaking ribs on a regular basis - like every three weeks. I finally was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, an incurable type of cancer that grows in the bone marrow and causes osteoporosis. Due to the risk of falls, I was forbidden from getting on a bike until my cancer was under control and my bones had gotten stronger. Well, my cancer is at least somewhat under control, but it will be a couple years before my bones get stronger. In the mean time, I wanted to ride again. Thus, I mentally entered the world of trikes!

When I started looking at trikes, it didn't take me long to settle on the tadpole style trike as my objective. I then started considering almost every brand of trike I could find on-line. Sadly, in a metropolitan area of over 4 million people, Houston has one bike shop that stocks trikes. I did visit and sit on several of them, but cancer diagnostics the same day prevented real test rides.

Taking the data I learned from my test sits, I continued looking on-line at trikes. I started comparing equipment levels and prices, and made a big spreadsheet to try and quantify my preferences. I decided that price was a significant factor for me (after all, I was out of work for six months this year!). I included trikes from several manufacturers, including one manufacturer in Taiwan who has no actual presence (and only one dealer that I could find) in the US!

In the end I selected and ordered a Stowaway II from Trident Trikes. Between the price, the componentry, the included accessories, and the US presence, I found this to be the best vehicle for my introduction to trikes. I am eagerly awaiting the delivery of my Carolina Blue Stowaway II!

My intent is to start getting back into shape and then ride an MS150 on my trike next spring. I do not think that this is an unreasonable goal, barring unforeseen side effects from my ongoing cancer treatment. I will post some information about my trike experience, as well as links to my ride history, on this blog for my friends, family, and others to follow.