About Me

So you can know who I am, I have been a casual cyclist for many years. I 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. 

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.