Flying Feet First and Holding On
Ninth Annual Midwest Recumbent Rally
By Barry & Peggy Acker
Flying feet first over smooth, rolling backroads, the steady whir of wheels under us, pedals spinning quietly with each push and pull, we climbed through a long, upward-curving tunnel of large shade trees. Shooting out from the cool darkness, we hurtled into the sunlight and down the hill with shoulders pressed back against our seats and chins tucked in. The best plan at this point seemed to be to just lay back and hold on!
We soared two feet above smooth blacktop and over miles of gentle rolling hills. It was nothing but soft, feather-blue skies above and beautiful green countryside all around for miles. We just kept smiling and pedaling. Clean, sweet smells of country corn and grass (with the occasional whiff of cow) blew across our faces in cool breezes. It was truly cathartic, and one great way to clear out mental cobwebs.
We spent our vacation this year at the 9th Annual Midwest Recumbent Rally in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Seventy to seventy-five (at my last count) gathered to enjoy our favorite hobby/sport and each other's company along mostly flat, winding roads in the middle of Wisconsin in mid-August, 2002. We were a varied group of individuals riding atop an even greater variety of mostly recumbents, trikes, tandems, tandem recumbents, and tandem trikes of every imagined shape and size. Temperatures hovered in the 80s most of the time, dropping to around 60 in the morning and up to a high of around 88/90 or so in the early afternoon, with little to no wind. It was perfect riding weather. We had a great time and quite an education to boot!
Friday: Arriving in Stevens Point Friday afternoon, Aug 2, we picked up our packet at the Hostel Shoppe [a bike shop which specializes in recumbents], made our way to the hotel about five miles away, unloaded and biked back to the shop for the first gathering.
The Ice Cream Social Ride kicked off the weekend around 4:30 pm and was a nice ice-breaker. We rode 20 miles or so, winding through the streets of Stevens Point. About 30 bikes cruised to stop, filling up the parking lot of a little corner ice cream shop. We slurped ice cream and slushes together for about 30 minutes. It set a nice, easy-going note for the weekend rally. There was music in the park starting at 7pm, but we were a little bushed after our two-day road trip and biked back to the hotel after the social for a hot shower, a soft bed, and an early lights out.
Saturday: Out of bed early Saturday morning, we ran into a few other riders in our hotel lobby and rode together toward the morning gathering at Bukolt Park. It was a beautiful morning. The ride over was quiet and relaxing. It had dewed pretty heavily and was cool. There was just enough wetness to add a nice shimmer to the streets and shrubs and give the air a clean smell.
Bukolt Park is in the center of town next to a lake. When we coasted in, there was already a crowd of brightly colored jerseys beginning to mill around. Amid the songs of the birds and chatter of squirrels racing and playing along the trees was the sounds of introductions, discussions, greetings, and story-telling that was beginning to fill the air all around us. After we stopped, other riders by twos, threes, and fives began gliding into the area from all directions. Kickstands were clicking down onto the grass and pavement. Helmets and gloves were clattering as they were removed and fastened to handlebars. Soon riders from all over were examining, laughing, sharing, and exchanging ideas, the latest innovations, and fixes.
It was a large park and the area was clean with plenty of room for all of us. From long-time touring veterans with great road tales and seasoned advice to those still adjusting their seat distance and planning their first long ride, they were all free spirits looking for the next adventure. Lots of good energy.
Around 8:00 am, Rolf Garthus, owner of the Hostel Shoppe, grabbed a megaphone, found a large rock to climb on top of, introduced himself and welcomed everyone. A couple different distance routes were offered along with maps. Two leaders were provided for each group. At first it seemed we moved down the road as one large group. Then, as if choreographed, the large group began to divide like a river into two streams and each cruised off toward our own appointed route.
We took the 30-mile route in order to get back early for a seminar we wanted to hear in the early afternoon. The ride was a blast. Someone took a shortcut (and/or read the map wrong) and we ended up making various alliances and forging some unknown city road and eventually ended up where we were supposed to be. Everyone seemed to have a good time. J
Various seminars were offered in the park during the day for those who wanted to attend. Everyone sat on cement picnic tables and came and went as they wanted. The seminars were very informative and interesting. One of our favorites was Recumbent 101 given by Rolf on the history of the recumbent bike and it's impact on human physiology. Very informative and entertaining; good for those that already ride recumbents as well as those new to the recumbent idea and simply curious. Mark Colliton of Bacchetta spoke and gave some good information about some of the new designs. There was some discussion about the latest racing designs with increased potential for speed and efficiency reported in the latest time trials for the racier crowd. Mark Mueller of Mueller Fairings discussed design and efficiency for various fairings on different frame designs. There were a few seminars we missed due to several trips to the food pavilion. They had lunch catered and they did a good job.
After lunch the latest recumbent bikes & trikes were made available by several vendors (Rans, Bacchetta, Burley) to anyone wanting to take a spin around the test track. I think we rode every one of them!
Sunday: We were up and out early to gather for the Amhearst ride, just a short way from Stevens Point, with a stop in Scandinavia for ice cream. We rode 45 miles but actually were supposed to have only ridden 30. I guess we stopped to smell the flowers, pet the cows, etc. once too often and got a little off track. But, as it turned out, we weren’t alone. We regrouped forces and resources and got there in plenty of time to eat ice cream. The country roads were paved with very few cars. The drivers were polite enough.
There were much longer distances offered for those interested in more of a workout. Most of the group stayed at a range of a moderate 10-14 mph pace with some of the more low, light, and fast, ground-huggers and fairing-wearers averaging 18-22 mph, taking the lead early-on. But, since we all had maps and group leaders, there was no pressure and everyone rode what was comfortable. They also provided sag, should it be needed. Keeping recumbents to a strict route is sort of like herding cats, or so I’ve been told. Eventually, we all made it back to the Amhurst school for a lunch of sandwiches, salad and cake. While we ate we visited with some really great folks. One person brought some wonderful photos of a ride she did in Nova Scotia (one on our list).
We were on our Trek R200 (Barry) and Barcroft Virginia (Peggy) recumbents for this ride. There were three other Trek R200s there. All were interested in the Trek's chain-flop-fix and impressed with the kickstand bracket that we'd ordered from an independent on the Internet. It was the maiden voyage for the Virginia and she did beautifully. There were a few rolling hills and one or two grunters. (Thanks Larry W. for the hill-climbing training. More work is definitely still needed for both of us, but getting better with practice.) We said so long and took off for the hotel after lunch.
We did four days of driving to enjoy three days of riding, but it was a blast and well worth it. Met lots of great people, came away with some wonderful ideas and a backpack full of suggestions for rides to other wonderful places in the future. Click the pictures link below to see some photos we took at the rally. It was great fun but it's also nice to be home.
...pEg & BaRRy
Life's a trip, enjoy the ride!
Oklahoma Bicycle Society:
NW Tandem Ralley
created by John Wente
last modified:
February 24, 2007
URL: http://www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com