Tricycling at Zilker Park
It was cold this morning. The weather person said it was going to be in the 30s, and we hadn't counted on it warming up so fast. So we were slightly overdressed, and especially when I looked over at the disc golfers and saw that they were all in T-shirts, I warmed up in comparison.
The set-up on the trike was a lot easier this time, since my assistant and I knew what to expect from not only the trike, but ourselves, as well. First thing we did was tightened the handlebar spindle down tight. Next, we had to adjust the handlebars in nearly a 90° angle. The reason we had removed the handlebars was so that it would fit inside my camper, and we lowered the seat, also, to get it out of the way. This time I raised the seat a couple of inches from where it was the last time, because last time I felt cramped, and I wasn't not getting full leg extension. So I felt more relaxed and energetic.
The final task before I was sent on my way, was to bind my right foot onto the pedal with two straps, one for the instep and the other for the toes. I wish I had pictures to show, but all I got was Chris's head under the handlebars. Since it is a fixed wheel trike, I had to make sure the right pedal was positioned at 6 o'clock. So we lifted the back wheels and turned the pedal till it was the correct placement. Because my spasticity is so troublesome and rigid, Chris had to force my need to bend and then it was easy to get my foot in place to cinch up my foot with the looped straps.
And finally, I was off onto the road which was really a one way going west, but since there was no traffic, except for an occasional dump truck, I had the whole road to myself. I pedaled down to the first two parking lots which took me about five minutes, and then I pedal back west almost all the way to Mopac. After the first lap I took the opportunity to shed some clothes, and I got rid of my fleece and just left my longsleeved T-shirt. My spastic hand, which is really good at gripping, held on tight and that allowed my right bicep to get a really good stretch.
In all, I rode for approximately 45 minutes of actual peddling. I'm really grateful to have Zilker Park right in my neighborhood.
It was cold this morning. The weather person said it was going to be in the 30s, and we hadn't counted on it warming up so fast. So we were slightly overdressed, and especially when I looked over at the disc golfers and saw that they were all in T-shirts, I warmed up in comparison.
The set-up on the trike was a lot easier this time, since my assistant and I knew what to expect from not only the trike, but ourselves, as well. First thing we did was tightened the handlebar spindle down tight. Next, we had to adjust the handlebars in nearly a 90° angle. The reason we had removed the handlebars was so that it would fit inside my camper, and we lowered the seat, also, to get it out of the way. This time I raised the seat a couple of inches from where it was the last time, because last time I felt cramped, and I wasn't not getting full leg extension. So I felt more relaxed and energetic.
The final task before I was sent on my way, was to bind my right foot onto the pedal with two straps, one for the instep and the other for the toes. I wish I had pictures to show, but all I got was Chris's head under the handlebars. Since it is a fixed wheel trike, I had to make sure the right pedal was positioned at 6 o'clock. So we lifted the back wheels and turned the pedal till it was the correct placement. Because my spasticity is so troublesome and rigid, Chris had to force my need to bend and then it was easy to get my foot in place to cinch up my foot with the looped straps.
And finally, I was off onto the road which was really a one way going west, but since there was no traffic, except for an occasional dump truck, I had the whole road to myself. I pedaled down to the first two parking lots which took me about five minutes, and then I pedal back west almost all the way to Mopac. After the first lap I took the opportunity to shed some clothes, and I got rid of my fleece and just left my longsleeved T-shirt. My spastic hand, which is really good at gripping, held on tight and that allowed my right bicep to get a really good stretch.
In all, I rode for approximately 45 minutes of actual peddling. I'm really grateful to have Zilker Park right in my neighborhood.
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