Out on the Ice

  I just about remember the day I learned to ride a bicycle, on a paved walkway outside our flat in Germany, when I was about seven years old. I had what you would think of as a utilitarian, safety bicycle, which I absolutely murdered, riding off road and trying to jump. That one day changed my life and set out who I was going to become. The next time a bicycle changed my life was when my brother Pauly introduced me to Mountain Bikes. The humble Mountain Bike has been a feature of my soul ever since I was sixteen years old, other than a brief period when I had to go without at the end of my degree. I have worked in bike shops, I have worked as a Mountain Bike Instructor and a Guide. Mountain Biking was not just a hobby for me, it was a part of my personality. So as my mobility decreased and I lost my ability to ride, a part of my personality was lost with it. I grieved hard, those close to me will know how much I grieved for my sport. In 2021, I was sent to see a Physiothe...

 The second addition to our Ice Trike collection is a 2014 Adventure 26. Coming to us from Ipswich, having originally come from Bristol. Very good condition, but Jayne has already set out to make it her own.  So while the bike was rideable when it came, so the work starts on servicing, adjusting and sorting. Turns out the derailleur hanger was slightly bent, messing up gear changing.  The chain has been removed and cleaned, making it run better. And a shopping list is building of modifications.  Twiglet helps Jayne refit the chain. Neither the red or blue trikes came with rear brakes, both now have hydraulic disks. Twiglet is a friends cat that has come to stay for a few days. She prefers my posh Ergo-Lux HD seat to Jaynes mesh one, who can blame her. 

 Welcome to a new blog sharing our adventures on Ice recumbent trikes.  You may note I say trikes, at this moment we only have the one. This is the first of the fleet, an Ice Adventure HD that we picked up cheap due to it being sold stolen/recovered at a Police auction. While there are many choices of trike manufacturers, there is only one recumbent trike building company in the UK. That is Inspired Cycle Engineering, or ICE for short, based in Cornwall, South West England.  The first Ice trike is currently being repaired by my sweet partner in crime, the beautiful Jayne. Unfortunately it would appear that someone has jet washed the trike, this is a bad idea,  as what can happen is it destroys bearings. Hence us needing to replace the front steering hub bearings on both sides. We also tried inflating the tyres, only for one to pop like a balloon unexpectedly, while the other just slowly deflated. It seems the innertube rubber is breaking down. Luckily the tyres are O...