[Whirl] hello, and questions about riding recumbents in this area

[reedchrisj at aol.com]

Suzanne,

I commuted to work on a bike (not a recumbent) for many years and would sometimes combine cycling and riding the Metro subway when the weather was bad.  I would cycle from home to the closest Metro station where I would leave my bike in a Metro locker outside the Metro station.  Metro has bike lockers at many Metro stations that you can rent for a reasonable amount of money for lease periods of months or a year.  The lockers are great because you can park your bike in the locker with all your related equipment (helmet, reflective clothing, lights, etc) and not have to worry about the property being exposed to the weather or thieves.  Metro also has bike racks at most Metro stations that are free but they tend to fill up with bicycles early.  With a Metro bike locker, you have a secure, reserved parking space for your bike.  Metro bike lockers are designed for regular diamond frame bikes that will fit in a space that is narrow on one end and handlebar width on the door-end of the locker.  A short-wheelbased recumbent bicycle would probably fit in a Metro locker as well as a diamond frame bicycle.  See Metro's web page for more information on their bike lockers.

The condition of bike trails in the area is good until it snows then the trails are often impossible to cycle on.  Arlington County has been trying to plow the bike trails in its territory in recent years and that helps, but other jurisdictions might not even try to clear trails.  Trails that are not promptly plowed tend to get packed down by foot traffic and become icy.  Most trails are also shaded so snow and ice tend to stay on the trails much longer than you would expect.  My rule of thumb is if I can see any snow on the ground in my neighborhood, it is safe to assume the bike trail will not be fit for cycling.

Christopher Reed ( a Ryan Vanguard recumbent and diamond frame bicycle rider in Arlington)


-----Original Message-----
From: Suzanne Ito <suzanne.ito at gmail.com>
To: whirl <whirl at bilton.us>
Sent: Mon, Jan 2, 2017 8:55 pm
Subject: [Whirl] hello, and questions about riding recumbents in this area

Hi everyone. Does anyone on this list ride a recumbent trike in DC? I'm wondering if you feel safe doing so. I just moved from NYC where it was decidedly NOT a good idea, but now that i'm close to so many great bike trails and paths, I'd love to finally buy one for my commute between Falls Church and the Shaw area.

I'd also love to know if there's any shops in the area that specialize in recumbent trikes. I've demo'd the HP Gekko and Scorpion FS and a TerraTrike, and definitely liked the HP better, but would love to try the new Azub Ti-Fly before I make a final decision.

Many thanks for any insight you can provide,
Suzanne
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