First Over-Nighter

Posted on July 1, 2013 by David Massey

As some of you may know, this September I will be riding with world-renown recumbent tricycle rider and author, Steve Greene. Steve has invited me to participate in the third iteration of his adventure from the Oregon coast down to Apple Valley in Southern California. Steve has named this trek the PCTA, Pacific Coast Tricycle Adventure. Use the PCTA links above to learn more about it. Steve also has information on his web site at Trike Asylum

In preparation for the journey I have been taking extended rides when I can, the latest being an adventure with the “Trike Boy” himself, Glenn Frank. Glenn has been posting videos of himself and the “Squadron” for years on YouTube. Use this link to see his latest, which he has entitled, “Trikes Along The Coast”.

Below is a map of a 52.6 mile loop I will be doing this Wednesday. I will leave at 7:00 am and hopefully arrive at the East Shore Recreational Vehicle Park sometime between 12:00 and 1:00 pm. At the end of the trip I will actually only be 8 miles from where I started, but I wanted to give myself a ride that might be comparable to what we will be doing on the PCTA. I will take short 30 second videos at 5-mile intervals along the way to let you know how I am doing. At my camp site I will shoot a time-lapse video of me setting up my tent for the first time. That should be good for a laugh, I’m sure. I will be making this ride fully loaded, including 1.9 liter aluminum jug of cold water which weighs in at 5.6 pounds all by itself.

Click the map for a larger view of it.

Here are the lengths of the segments in miles: A/B (4.9), B/C (19.5), C/D (2.6), D/E (3.2), E/F (8.6), F/G (2.8), G/H (6.6), H/I (4.4)

The last segment will be the toughest because I will be tired and the grade getting into the campground averages about 8%. Be on the lookout for video by this weekend. Reservations are made and I am excited; it should be fun. The temperatures down here have been hovering around 100 degrees, but hopefully by getting an early start I’ll be okay.

Mr. Green Beans

Posted on June 24, 2013 by David Massey

Check these beauties out. This is our second batch, and there are still more to come. Just steam and enjoy. Yum!

Green beans from the garden.

An Easy 21 Miles

Posted on June 23, 2013 by David Massey

Took this leisurely route last Sunday; I just enjoyed being out and riding the TRIcon.

sunday_afternoon_ride

Operation Cactus

Posted on June 23, 2013 by David Massey

I sent some cactus cuttings up to a friend in Washington. She is creative, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with.

cactus_cuttings

Good luck, Tatsuang.

Riding with the Trike Squadron

Posted on June 16, 2013 by David Massey

San Juan to Oceanside

It’s Sunday, Father’s Day, and I am recovering from a 6+ hour ride with Glenn Frank’s Trike Squadron. My legs were complaining mightily during the second half of the loop, but I made it through all the way to the end. No rider was able to displace me from my “rear of the pack” position. I saw lots of tail lights bilking, but it was an adventure indeed.

Check out those stats above – over 2000 calories burned. When I got home I found I had lost 5 pounds. Yikes! Enjoy the video below.

Veggie Surprises

Posted on June 10, 2013 by David Massey

One thing I really love about gardening is that you never know what unusual characters will appear in the garden. About three years ago we grew a tomato that could only be described as “rude”. I mean, this guy had no manners or decorum at all.

This year we have a few new surprises. The fruit in the photo below is actually a cucumber. The soda can is there for scale. I did not know a cucumber could actually get that big.

This baby weighs in at 2.2 pounds!

Looks like we’ll be having cucumber sandwiches. But wait: there’s more! The next ones are twins, joined along the side and growing from the same stem. Amazing!

Twins! Conjoined along one side.

Them comes my favorite: green peas. I love teasing them from their pods. Some pods have only three, some have as many as eight. iI takes many pods to get enough for dinner, but it’s worth it. They taste great right out of the pod.