crunchysteve

First up, I'm not a very good "Buddhist." I aspire to Buddhism, but I get cranky and lose compassion. I guess that's human, and I aspire to compassion sometimes achieving it. I value lives equally. I acknowledge all life. But this is all to justify a silly title for a post about a material possession. That first line, right.

But the point of this, after years of making do with off the rack bicycles, voiding the warranty by retrofitting mods that made the nearest frame size fit my size-and-a-half body. Compensating for weaknesses of age by raising stack heights rather than spend on a new bike, because mortgage and bills. The sun is setting on slavery to the bank manager and due to a sad family occasion the yin and yang of life is about to allow for a recumbent trike, probably a Trisled Gizmo, but I may be convinced towards a Greenspeed GT-20. The Gizmo is lighter and Australian made, just "down the road" from where I live. The Greenspeed, while originally from Australia, is now owned by Terra Trike in the US.

The upside is that I've wanted one of these since I knew such a thing existed - roughly the early 90s. Back then there was only Greenspeed in "Oz" and they cost thousands 30 years ago. The late Ian Sims had a knack for the maths of Ackerman steering and his trike got a global reputation as one of the best. I've been lent and have hired GT20s for an afternoon twice in my life and there's nothing so satisfying to the inner teenager as hooning around, destroying a set of tyres doing donuts. Owning one was always beyond my budget.

The downside is that I need a trike because I need, for cardiac reasons, to reduce my cardiac workrate on the bike but slower riding is also harder work over distances much beyond 1 or 2 suburbs away, and I regularly visit my external partner equidistant on the other side of the CBD. A distance I used to find easy in a day, but now find as hard as 100km a day used to be.

Still, being only slightly heavier than my unladen touring bike before electrification (which now weighs more, since electrification, than my "cheap" Bakfiets), and being a recumbent, the Gizmo trike is eminently more efficient than a conventional bicycle because I don't have to have to keep muscles continuously flexing in the unconscious acts of balance.

So, thanks to efficiency reducing heart strain for a given cadence and cruising speed, I hope to get more stamina. Given that you can't stand to climb on a "sofa bike", I have to combine a bit of strength work with a spinning cadence to in order to manage steeper grades - light strength and cardio combined - good for the "meat pump." It will definitely be euro-style pedal assist, to enable me to step the boost needed to keep my MHR to 130. My medically imposed limit.

I used to be a 100km/day cycle tourist before my ticker went phut as an early Christmas gift in 2020. I've seen much of Tasmania from a bicycle saddle, including 5 days of the Tasmanian Trail. I've ridden much of Vietnam over a 28 day period in early 2015. I cycled from Melbourne to Sydney in 11 days later in 2015 and, a few years later, did the Great Ocean Rd from Frankston, via Sorrento to Queenscliff ferry, to Port Campbell, then up the hill to Colac, to catch the V-Line train home - just shy of 600km in 8 days over some mighty climbs. I want to get back to something approaching that sort of range, even 60km/day touring and sly camping would restore my rider's grin. Even if just one more time before I retire to "Fucking Beach Road on Sundays." I do love the riders on beach road, they are my siblings-on-the-wheel, but I hate the culture of Beach Rd - lycra, SRAM Red, Specialised, carbon fibre, middle class, middle aged, pretending it's Le Tour.

My aim is to ride steel into the sunset. That's how I'll flee the apocalypse, that's how I want to be remembered. Merino, Polartec and tactical pants, a seven day growth, cooking on a Trangia, eating the result with cooked brown rice out of a hermetically sealed bag. Sleeping behind a tree, behind the members' stand of a country cricket club or on the rubber matting of a sheltered playground (this box has been ticked - Glenrowan 2015), wrapped up in my camo bivi.

I'm probably as likely to be remembered for effusively swearing at a flat tyre, too, I guess. Lol!

As I wake on day 3 of converting my bike to e-assist, I ache all over from days 1 and 2. It's kind of proving to me I need this thing, but jeez, this DIY lark is moider.

So far, the front wheel is fitted. Yep, 2 days to fit the front wheel. 2 days of hauling the bike on and off the workstand. 2 days of rummaging in the bike shed for my old front brake because the mechanical/hydraulic hybrid front brake won't fit with a motor hub. 2 days of figuring out how to get a VERY large front wheel motor hub into a very sleek gravel bike fork. I have got there.

And I thought getting my bottom bracket (pedal axle to non-cyclists) was going to be the hard job. Please let it not be harder than the front wheel!

There's also the matter of the battery choice I made. A little buyer's remorse. It's fine. In fact, 15Ah, it's going to go all day on level or level 2 boost. Just... it's big. I have to rethink all the stuff I used to carry inside the frame's main triangle. My snack bag, my bottle cage (no more 2 litre bottles), my 3D printed and recycled bidon-mount toolbox! (scream emoji)

Oh well, back to a tailbag, rethink the taillight mount and rethink the tools I carry. All part of accepting that I'm no longer a part time randonneur. Heart attacks suck. Cancer was easy compared to having my wings clipped by my "widow maker" 3 years ago.

So today, I (hopefully) fit the pedal assist sensor. This involves tearing out the bottom bracket (which, in turn means remembering stuff like which side is left hand thread) and inordinate amounts of grunt and grunting. Bottom brackets are designed to tighten as you pedal, thus keeping the bearing just the right amount tight. This is the factory original on an 8 year old bike. I should replace it. I just bought an ebike kit... Expensive! later. Oh god, I've become that cyclist... squeak, squeak, squeak.

Still, this is worth it. Four years ago I was a rider capable of 100km a day for 3 days, 50km for a rest day, 2 more hundred k days, another 50k rest day, wash, wipe, sand, repeat coat. All with still enough grunt to pitch a bivi and forage for nourishment, either cooked from the best produce of the local shops or a hearty pub meal.

Now, I'm barely good for 20km in a day, then on my arse the next. I can walk 4km day after day. That's the same energy burn as riding 20km. While it's more efficient, clearly that efficiency was charging my heart with delivery duties. Hence all this gut busting to fit an e-kit. To keep my favourite bike going until the end, rather than weathering next to the hot water tank.

But a 4 day job?! Jesus! Oh well. Bottom bracket today, wiring loom and test ride tomorrow. Full leg-stretch 20k on Sunday if it's all good. Onwards, Stephen! Boldly onwards!