Riding a recumbent trike safely for fitness and enjoyment


I like my recumbent trike, and I get out early in the morning on most days. In fact, I like it so much that this morning I decided that I would take a break from it, but I went on a ride anyway. That's how you can tell if you're doing something for enjoyment - the fitness is a side-effect.

As someone who has done a lot of physical stuff all of his life I'm aware of the importance of safety. When I did gymnastics in high school I made sure that there were crash pads underneath the rings for when I fell (which happens!). I also protected my hands - you aren't gonna be able to do anything with blisters on your palms!

Nowadays when I get ready to ride and think "safety first", it goes beyond just wearing a helmet. I also have enough sunscreen on me (SPF 50 and 100) to protect my skin if the sun were to crash into the earth, I wear bright clothing (including brightly-colored shoes) to give people in cars the chance to avoid getting a "Brad-and-trike" hood ornament, that sort of thing. The machine is well-maintained, good tires, solid brakes, stuff that I've always just done on every vehicle I've ever owned. This is supposed to be fun! I have spare tubes, and an air pump, but I doubt that I'll be needing those - but ya never know!

I'm an old sports car driver, and although I never did motorsports, I like the expression about racing that "you can't win if you don't finish". I'm not racing, but I want to get home safely, and see my dogs.

That being said, I'm still getting some good light exercise out of my rides, which last between one and two hours. My quads are in great shape, and it even helps my calves a bit.

The pace of the trike is a light jog, about a 15 minute mile, which was my pace before my accident. It's not fast enough to impress anyone, but that's not what I'm doing. Like I say, this is for fun. Still, for a man who can't run, and has difficulty walking, my legs are in great shape. My upper body I train at home with dumbbells and resistance bands.

I like my trike. Highly recommended! Here's a video that I did today:

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