First major trike ride.

Wednesday morning I had a Lasik screening at 8:15. I'd already told work that I didn't know how long it would take, and that I might not be in at all. The screening went well, and I'm an excellent candidate. However, I don't have the money set aside in my flex spending account. They offered me a deal if I do it before the end of June, since this is their slow time (see flex spending accounts). Figuring in the deal versus the flex account tax savings, and also the fact that I've broken my prescription sunglasses and would probably need a new set if I don't do it now, doing it now would cost me about $400 extra. We'll see. Plus, while I was in the waiting room and my eyes were dilating, I watched some woman undergo the procedure. I think that was a mistake, because it kind of freaked me out. I had shades of A Clockwork Orange running through my head as they inserted the eye speculum under her eyelids. They should probably draw the curtain when they're doing that. Ew.

So after I drove home and let the eye drops wear off, I decided to head out for a ride on the trike. My goal was to get a rear rack so I can use it for commuting. I first stopped by Hiawatha to see what they could throw together. It's such an odd bike that we weren't able to come up with a good solution. After Kevin took the trike for a spin I headed up to Calhoun Cycle via the Chain of Lakes. They didn't really have anything great either. They had one rack that probably would have worked, but it was the same price as the Sun rack and they could order the Sun rack and have it in a couple of days. I read somewhere that delayed gratification is a sign of maturity, so I decided to have them order it and wait a couple of days.

By the time I was done at Calhoun it was 3:00. I realized this is my normal leaving work time and I needed to get home to pick up the kids, pronto. So I hauled ass (helped by a nice tailwind) down the Greenway and picked up my normal commute route home on Minnehaha Ave. I made it home about 10 minutes earlier than normal, but I was also starting from a different location and had no red lights to worry about on the Greenway. I have no idea how fast I was going, but it felt fast. But I think there's something about being that close to the ground that heightens the sensation of speed. Because I'm not a fast guy.

When the day was done I'd put in 28 miles, according to the gmaps pedometer site. A pretty fair trial for the trike. And I did it with next to nothing, supply-wise. I took off with my phone, my cash card, and my garage door opener. No bags, no water bottles, no spare tubes, nothing. I covered bike paths, bike lanes and general on streen riding. And I enjoyed the heck out of the trike on all three. Now if I could only figure out a way to take it camping with me this weekend...

Date: June 21
Mileage: 28
Ride type: Shopping/Test Ride
June mileage: 245
Year to date mileage: 1707