It's finally Coming!!!

It's a good news/bad news day. The good news is they are shipping my Quest on Monday. I am sure it will be worth the wait. The bad news is it's -15 degrees C. and we are getting another 15 cm. of snow to cover the freezing rain we had Thursday morning, I rode my recumbent the first 3 days this week to and from work. I tried to ride Thursday morning but only made it to the end of my very short street and I could not see anymore. My glasses were coated in such thick ice I could not see though them. I had to turn back and walk my bike home. Friday the roads were still very slippery. I can only hope by the time my Quest gets here the streets will be clean. The cold temperatures don't bother me as much as the ice and snow. The Quest will be warmer  to ride than the recumbent bike and more stable when it's slippery.
        I am not sure how long it takes to ship the Quest from Toronto to Winnipeg by truck but when I get to uncrate it I will post the pictures. Are Velomobiles like ships? Do you have to name them? Do you have to Cristin them before you launch them? Ships and spacecraft are both named and launched. Would it be fair to think a velomobile is in the same class?

As you can see by the picture I have 3 very happy sled dogs when it come to snow. I hope next week to post some Quest pictures.

Winter and snow is here!

Last weekend we had 27 cm. of snow dumped on us. Saturday night I hooked up the Huskies to the dog sled and took them for a run though our snow covered streets. The snow plows and sanding trucks were not out yet and it was still snowing. We were the only thing moving around our suburb. They had a great time. Sunday was spent cleaning the driveway and part of street with the snow-blower.  I mounted my studded snow tires on my SWB recumbent but I could not ride it until they got the streets cleaned out better. It's a much slower ride on these wider low pressure tires. And you have to be more careful on the icy roads.
       Here is a picture of the bike on the stand in my shop/garage while I'm changing over to the winter tires and rims.  You will notice the open space where the Quest will be parked when it arrives. I received another email today from Bluevelo to tell me I have to wait longer for delivery. They are waiting on some part for my Quest XS  from Europe to arrive. I'm sure the wait will be worth it. While I wait the wife has a list of stuff for me to do :(  and the Huskies need their daily 5 km walk. No rest while I wait.

Big Snow fall is coming first!!!

Big Snow Fall is Coming First!!!

I’m still waiting for my Quest Velomobile to be shipped. Most other Velomobile owners know what that is like. Blue Velo said my Velomobile should be ready to ship November 19, But the weather forecast is for 20 to 30 cm of snow overnight and into tomorrow. That amount of snow should stick around, so when my Quest gets here I’ll have to mount winter tires. This is where my wife thinks I’m crazy, for I already have a pile of tires for my Quest waiting for it. We don’t have a large amount of recumbent owners here in Winnipeg so none of the bike shops stock recumbent sized tires and tubes. I ordered the Quest with Durano tires, but with the snow and ice, I’m switching to Marathon tires on the front and a studded tire on the rear. Of course I also ordered  3 spare Durano tires and tubes to have on hand for the Brevets next spring. So now I have 6 tires, and 12 tubes and no Velomobile yet.

            I also cleaned out my garage/shop to make room for the Quest. It was something that was long overdue. I moved out most of the summer stuff and brought in the snow blower and dog sled from the shed. Yes the Quest will be pampered in a heated shop parked beside the snow blower and a dog sled. At work it won’t be so lucky, as it’s too big to hide in the shop I work out of. It will have to be locked and chained to the bike rack outside under the watch of video cameras. I went out and bought an extra large snowmobile cover for it as the bike shops were all out of Quest covers here. ( I don’t know if anybody really does make them.) I’ll post some pictures when my Quest get here.  At least the Huskies will be happy when it snows tomorrow.

The long wait is almost over!

This first blog is being written as I am still waiting for my Quest XS Velomobile to arrive. I live in Winnipeg (sometimes known as WINTERPEG) , which is a city in the middle of Canada. When my Quest gets here in November the roads may be covered in snow and ice by then, but so far the weather is holding out. I'm still riding one of my recumbent s to work. Most people who read this know that riding a bike can be fun and that's why I ordered a Quest-(more FUN).
        Many years ago I used to be a car person. Then fuel shot up in price a lot. I got mad and said I'm not paying that price. I felt like I was being robbed. So I started to ride to work. It was not far, just 25 km round trip. I was slow and out of shape riding a mountain bike. The first couple of weeks I hurt when I got home. As time went on it got easier and I lost some weight, (30 pounds the first year) and I felt great. A friend got me to go on a 160 km charity ride over two days and I made it on the mountain bike. The next year I got a road bike and it got easier and faster. A few years went by and I was doing longer rides for fun. I read some where that recumbent bikes were faster but nobody sold them in my city then. Hey maybe I could keep up better if I got one I thought. I just had to convince the wife I should get one.
       Before I could mention the subject some thing happened. We were at a charity event having some drinks afterwards and my friend said his brother the doctor kept teasing him. His brother said if he rode his bike too much he could get Erectile Dysfunction. My wife looked really worried and said "oh I wouldn't like to see that happen to you. You should get one of those funny bikes (recumbent bikes)!"  The next day I was on the internet buying one. Since then I ride it everywhere and I'm faster too.

      I followed the ROAM blogs and Youtube videos last year and made up my mind I wanted a Velomobile. I read BROL and follow a few blogs. There are quite a few velomobiles been made out there but only the Quest and the Milan are being made in Canada right now. I decided on the Quest XS as my first choice for my commute based on its suspension and our rough roads we have here. Now it's just a few more weeks until it shows up. The wait is the hardest part...