Bike fun for Christmas

The "Tree Huggers" entry in the Santa Claus parade in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario shows off some imaginative cycling options, several of them from Bike Forest:



I particularly liked the back-to-back tandem/sociable!

Trike trains

We were out riding around Minneapolis on Veteran's Day with two "delta" recumbent trikes (one wheel in front and two in back) hitched together, when we encountered two different folks with trikes that could hitch on to make a 3-trike train. Both of them enjoyed the fastest trike ride of their life, and we had fun making new friends.

We rode the two linked trikes on the St. Paul Classic ride on September 9 this year, going just over 50 miles (80 km). I rode the rest of my 100 miles (160 km) for the day on a two-wheeled recumbent to complete my fourth "9/11 Century" ride.



In the still photo above, the front trike is a prototype of the Greenspeed Anura, the second one is an older-model Kettwiesel from Hase, and the third one is a SUN EZ-3. In the video, the third trike is a newer model aluminum Kettwiesel. Linking trikes like this is a great way to let people with visual or mobility impairments enjoy cycling. As many as a half-dozen blind riders can ride with a sighted leader this way. People whose strokes have left them with one-sided weakness and poor peripheral vision can safely ride in groups or traffic. Other delta trikes that can be linked in this way include those from Lightfoot and the Sinner Comfort. Hase in Germany, which introduced trike trains, has taken it to greater lengths than anyone else, with its 2007 chain of 93 trikes. (Trike train videos on YouTube)