ECD – Enthusiastic, Crazy or Dedicated?
by Bruce Whitely

    Depends upon who you ask.  The folks who sold me the bike think I’m enthusiastic, my wife thinks I’m crazy and a friend who is a competitive wedgie thinks I’m dedicated (a wedgie is a rider of a traditional two wheel, light weight, high performance racing bicycle).  As for me I just think I’m having a blast.  For the rest of you, I can sum it up with the numbers 8, 963, 80 and 15.1.  As of this writing, in the eight weeks since I bought my Greenspeed GT-1 trike from the Trike Shoppe in Ft Lauderdale, FL, I’ve ridden 963 miles culminating in last Sunday’s ride of 80 miles maintaining an average speed of 15.1 mph.  I’m clearly diagnosed as terminally ECD, but prior to buying the Greenspeed GT-1 trike, I owned a two-wheel Bike-E recumbent and for 12 years enjoyed the bike.  I rode it regularly, four to six times a month, and long rides were about 30 miles.  My passion, however, was running, which I did three to four times a week and long runs were the New York Marine Corp and Disney marathons.  Need-less-to say, ECD is a label I’m accustomed to.  

    Eight weeks ago, I went with a friend to the Trike Shoppe in Ft Lauderdale, more for moral support than any serious interest.  He knew I owned a recumbent and wanted my opinion.  We got there and the shop was closed, so we gazed at these fancy tricycles through the store windows and were just about ready to leave when one of their employees, Sergio Agramonte, rode by on a tandem with his 10-year-old grandson.   We talked to Sergio for a few minutes.  One thing led to another and with the permission of the store owners, Cynthia and Steve Doroghazi, Sergio opened the store to let us try one out.  OMG! OMG!  My friend and I rode two floor display trikes in the adjoining neighborhood and by the end of the ride I knew I’d never ridden anything like it before!  It was incredibly comfortable, fast, and maneuverable.  

    With any two wheel bike, recumbent or regular, you can never completely relax.  Whether moving or standing still, your body is always working to keep the two wheeler vertical.  On the other hand, with the GT-1 if I need a moment to relax, it’s as easy as sitting in my recliner at home.  The seat, with its built-in lumbar support, is incredibly comfortable.  I do find it easier (and safer) to fully relax when at a standstill, but even when moving your only energy is for steering.  The head rest keeps your head pointed forward so - and this assumes your eyes are open - it’s easy to see where you are headed and with your arms relaxed, down by your side it’s easy and effortless to maneuver the steering handles. On a two wheeler, your arms are always being used to support some of your body weight and even with my old two wheel recumbent my arms were raised in front of me, which got tiring after a while.  

    But I digress.  This bike isn’t about relaxing, it’s about riding!  And riding it is pure pleasure.  The pedals are slightly above the lowest point of the seat.  For most people your legs are your most powerful set of muscles which means even a novice can push the pedals with enough power to get the trike up to cruising speed quickly and maintain that speed comfortably.  Think of it in terms of moving a heavy dresser.  Ever try to pull it away from the wall while standing?  Did you then sit on the floor, back against the wall and push with your legs?  Probably made you feel super human it was so easy.  It is the same idea with the Greenspeed trike.  If you add toe clips to your shoes to lock your foot to the pedal you can push and pull the pedals, which in turn reduces leg fatigue.  I know I’m ECD, but what I quickly realized and accomplished were much longer bike rides.  My last 50 miler was 46 years ago when I was 13 and rode for my Boy Scout Biking merit badge.   After just five weeks, I rode back to back 50 milers (Saturday and Sunday) and three weeks later, I did 80 miles.  I will admit I took a power nap when I returned from each of these rides, but I did not have any stiff or sore muscles.  The only body reaction I had was some stiffness in my knees from pedaling for five hours straight and even that was gone by dinner.   

    After three weeks my wife got the bug and we bought her a Greenspeed trike as well.  She needed the shorter frame and had to have the beautiful cobalt blue.  At the time, that combination was only available in the GT-3, so I used the opportunity to upgrade my GT-1 gears (Nexus 8 speed) to a GT-3 (Shimano 9 speed) by swapping the gears with my wife’s Greenspeed GT-3.  My wife says I now have a GT-13 and she has the GT-31.  I did this, because I found while trying to maintain 15 to 17 mph it felt like I couldn’t push hard enough and the extra gear made a big difference.  We also added a canopy to my wife’s GT-3 to help shade her from the sun.

    Yes I’m ECD.  And yes I love my Greenspeed GT1, but you have only to take a short ride on one and, unless you’re an ECD wedgie, you’ll find the Greenspeed trike a blast to ride.  Cynthia and Steve Doroghazi from the Trike Shoppe are very accommodating and dedicated to the sport of cycling, with a niche in serving those with some physical limitations.  Their shop mechanic, Mike Ecker, is very talented and more than willing to help fine tune and customize the trike to your specific needs.  I’d encourage you to visit their shop and test ride a Greenspeed.  You’ll never ride a two wheel bicycle again!
 
PS.  I have found cars give you more room than on a two wheeler due to being lower and getting their attention because of the unique design, but I also found that in South Florida the real dangers aren’t the close encounters with the cars, but the wildlife. 
    
For a review of the GT3, visit here.

Click here to view the Greenspeed collection.