[OHPV-list] FW: Bike Couch Tour

[VanGundy]

Interesting - very different kind of bicycle.  Guess you could call it a
recumbent!!!!!!

Check it out

Edna

 

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From: CycleOregon at yahoogroups.com [mailto:CycleOregon at yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of mikeraz at patch.com
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2005 3:15 PM
To: CycleOregon at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CycleOregon] Bike Couch Tour

 

I posted this to another list and it's so good that Susan O. spent the
time to read it all.

http://www.bikeforest.com/cb/cb.php

This is bike run on a whole nuther level.

Some snippets to whet your appetite to read:

RCMP Constable Kevin Demeau was diplomatic. He readily conceded that he
wasn't sure how things worked where we came from.

As storm clouds loomed overhead, he and his partner surveyed our
bicycle. Ours was a lot like other tandem bikes one might spot on the
roads from time to time. It had two sets of pedals and very long
lengths of chain. The frame was welded together and made of light but
strong chromoly steel tubing. But what made our bike so special, and
also what seemed to be Constable Demeau's chief concern, was the couch.
It was an old leatherette loveseat. Our frame was built around it, and
Eivind and I were perched on top of it.

While Constable Demeau couldn't sight [sic] any specific laws or regulations
concerning wheeled furnishings, he put together some pretty solid
arguments against our chosen means of travel. Much of the trouble had
to do with the width of our contraption. At nearly seven feet across,
it was three inches wider than a Lincoln Navigator. This alone may not
have been such a problem had it not also been for our speed, which
could only generously have been described as pokey.

While the law had been merciful with us, the weather was not so kind.
Minutes after the RCMP cruiser pulled away, the rain started coming
down in buckets. We scrambled to cover the couch with our form fitting
tarp. Although it protected the precious faux leather fabric, it did
nothing for the two of us. In fact, because we sat on top of the tarp,
the water just pooled in the depressions where our wet bodies sunk into
the cushions creating a sort of mobile Mr. Turtle pool.

Eivind was sitting shotgun and had the map spread open in front of him
looking for our turn. The turn came quicker than we expected. Although
I had access to brakes for both sides of the bike, the excitement got
the better of me, and I only squeezed the left brake lever -- the one
that was mounted on the tiller. This threw our equilibrium off kilter
and the couch went into a high-speed wobble. Suddenly, one of the
wheels swung too far and jammed against the side of the couch. It
happened in an instant but it felt like slow motion. I felt the couch
lift up underneath me. I watched as my passenger was launched in the
air and pitched over the pedals. I hung on to the couch like it was a
rodeo bull. At the pinnacle of our trajectory everything seemed to be
balanced precariously on the two front wheels.

There's photos too.

-- 
    Michael Rasmussen, Portland Oregon  
  Be appropriate && Follow your curiosity
http://meme.patch.com/memes/BicycleRiding
   Get Fixed:  http://www.dampfixie.org
  The fortune cookie says:
You should go home.



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