First some quick stats: I’ve been on the road for 9 days and have biked 587 miles, not counting today. You can see more on my new Stats page, which will have interesting and useless numbers on it.
Now the egg bike. As I was crossing over I-79 on PA 358 I encountered the above “bike.” We spoke briefly and I learned some more later on the internet. The cyclist is Frans van der Merwe, and he is riding what he calls a pterovelo. He is part of an approximately 50 person tour across the country called ROAM, or Roll Over America Velomobile Tour. They started in Portland, OR on July 28 heading for Washington, DC. Velomobiles are basically recumbent bicycles with aerodynamic shells. They’re much more popular in Europe and this tour is designed to raise awareness for “human-powered” vehicles here. Looks like I know what I’m replacing my car with.
You can find Frans’ blog at http://pterovelo.blogspot.com/ or checkout his website http://www.pterovelo.com/.
More information on ROAM is at http://www.rolloveramerica.eu/.
Gibbs:
Jeff’s Dad here. Have fun. Use the down hills. Here area few things you might want to do and check on your bike. Check the length of the seat to the pedal; it should be your inseam + 3 or 4 inches–that’s the pedal in the lowest position to the top of the saddle. Handle bars’ height should be where it is comfortable, but the distance from front of the saddle to the handlebars should be from your elbow touching the saddle to your fingertips touching the handlebars. This might help some of the pain in you hands and change positions on the bars every 10 min. if you can.
If you can clean your chain really good, get a large candle and melt it into a coffee can or something so you can get the entire chain into it. Put a string through a link of the chain so you can pull it out of the can. With the wax melted into a liquid, put the chain in it keeping the wax hot. When you pull the chain out wipe the excess wax off the chain. Try to only leave a thin coat on the chain, let it cool, and put it back on the bike. A waxed chain collects less road grime than most other lubes. WD 40 collects a lot of road grime. Try to use a silicone spray if you don’t want to try the wax. If you can get a spare chain, that might be worth the extra weight if this one breaks. Always clean the rear derailleur and get the gunk off the gears so it shifts well.
Have a great ride, enjoy the sights and the people you meet. Good luck.
P.S. Jeff says the dinner will be paella!
Thanks for the advice, I’ll check the measurements. I can’t wait for paella!
From Jeff’s Dad:
An Egg Bike for those of you who don’t know is the bike that comes before the Chicken Bike, or is it after the Chicken Bike?
hehe!
Gibbs, how are you getting enough food on the road to keep your energy up?
I’ll answer that in today’s post.
YOU MISSED THE EARTHQUAKE!!!!
Dammit, I love small earthquakes.
In related news, San Francisco and Los Angeles just called us all pussies.
Most of my employees in Ohio said they felt it…
I, nor anyone in the McDonalds I was in, felt anything. Was pretty far west of Akron.
Well extra reasons to be glad you are in Ohio!!!! We felt nothing thou they did evacuate a few buildings at Lafayette!
Velomobiles are the coolest! I love Frans’ pic of all the egg bikes in Chicago. I’m with you, Gibbs. I’d like one of these bad boys some day! That’s what I’ll use when it’s my turn to ride cross-country. ;P