30th March 2015 Czech trike builders: No Question.

*

Monday 30th. 40F, 4C, light winds, overcast. Forecast to blow to 45mph later on a 25mph base with sunshine and showers. Even worse tomorrow! I discovered a spoke had broken its head off yesterday while cleaning the trike. Having extracted the spoke I couldn't find any spares. I shall have to try an LBS. Meanwhile the nipple is having a noisy ride inside the hollow rim. I had better leave early to avoid the worst of the gales.

One of the handy pennants I consult on most of my rides. Useful for checking wind direction and strength. 

Riding at speed increases the sense of a headwind almost regardless of wind direction. The Danes are very fond of their flag. [Called Dannebrog] Many garden owners have poles and fly a pennant year round. While a full flag is rather more formal and used for more important events. Small flags are available everywhere and are used for marking a house for visitors to birthday parties and even the sale of plants or bric-a-brac at the side of the road. In the absence of all other clues the pennant tells the truth.


There was already a stiff wind for my walk.  Maintaining a vertical disposition proved problematic. Every time a Skylark took off it was in the next county before it could start singing! At least it stayed dry.

Which is more than I can say for my ride. I hit an effortless 27mph on the flat on my way. Coming back, sometimes in bottom gear, I hit a low of 6.4mph on the flat. This is where having close ratios really helps. With a separate gear for 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12mph at a useful cadence [pedal rpm] there is no shock to the knees with each change up. It rained on me three times and several more times while I was in the shops. Only 10 miles.






Breaking news from the Tricycle Association Website:

http://tricycleassociation.org.uk/tricycles-in-the-czech-republic/

Direct link to the website of a lady, international tricycle racer from Czechoslovakia:

http://www.ladaekrtova.cz/
Google will translate the website text if you are unfamiliar with Czech:  Google Translate

Her trike is particularly interesting as it has a unique rear axle design and frame and was built in Cz [in aluminium] by No Question Bikes:

http://www.noquestionbike.eu/en/frames/tricycle
 [Note the multilingual options.]

Click on any image for an enlargement.

*