Today was a momentous day. First, I went to Jack's Bicycle this morning, to address the issue of the premature wear on my front tires that cropped up yesterday. I had last been there three weeks ago, on September 3, and gotten new tires on that day. I had only put about 200 miles on them, so something was very odd that they should be wearing so quickly. My friend Doug suggested alignment, so when I took it in I had a note explaining the situation, and asking if alignment could be the problem. They checked it, and at first told me the alignment was "spot on," but then a few minutes later came and informed me that it was backwards ... the front wheels are supposed to be slightly toed in, so that they will straighten out when I sit on the trike, but instead they are toed out, so that sitting on it only worsened the alignment. They corrected it, and put on new tires, all as a warranty item.
With the original diagnosis of acceptable alignment, they said they couldn't figure out what was causing the problem, and we'd have to wait to get an answer from TerraTrike (the manufacturer) ... but until then, they suggested that I just enjoy riding on the new tires they had given me.
Next, when I got home, I was confronted anew with the challenge that transporting the trike is. Disassembling it, folding it, and placing it the car OR removing it from the car and reassembling it is not a task well suited to the faint of heart (or the non-mechanical musician). In the process, I knocked the bell off and broke it (this is a relatively inexpensive item to replace), and also knocked off the taillight (which I had never figured out how to turn on anyway), and was unable to see how to reattach it.
Then the ride itself went quite well. In lovely fall weather (80° sunshine), I rode the 10.3 miles of my Bicentennial loop in an hour even—considerably faster than I have ever done it before, though I wasn't conscious of pushing especially hard. I'm sure this was because the technician who assisted me today said that my left brake was grabbing or dragging a little, and he adjusted it so that the wheel would now spin freely, and "you won't have to pedal nearly as hard."
One interesting facet of the ride, however, was that almost halfway in, the middle joint began to fold up. This is always disconcerting to have happen while riding, because one's midsection begins to dip down toward the ground, while the outer ends of the trike (rear wheel, and the part with one's feet, in front) begin to fold upward, so that you are kind of sandwiched or accordioned while riding. I managed to retain control, however, brought it to a stop, and hopped off to reengage the locking pin—only to find that when I stopped, it healed itself. After checking quite thoroughly to ensure that it was secure, I continued on.
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