Out on the Ice

 We have been exploring the idea of using my daughter Alice's work base to safely leave our vehicles while going for rides on trikes and bikes. She works for Bucher and while usually out on the road, her branch is based in Avonmouth, near Bristol, South West England. You can watch the long version of the ride on Video, or read the brief highlights with images below. This trip was an afternoon exploratory ride to see if we could access the severn way and ride past Severn Beach, passing under the M4 severn Crossing, and maybe getting as far as the M48 first Severn Bridge.  The first couple of miles followed the main A403 trunk road that links the large trading estates and business hubs of Avonmouth and the surrounding area with motorways in all directions. Not the sort of road that makes riding a trike enjoyable. While I have much respect for the driving skills of the 44 Tonne Artic drivers, sharing a narrow road with them does not fill me with confidence. While the path is mark...

 First the technical bit - We got the two e motor kits from  Lascycle-EU   via Amazon as after much searching, they seemed like the best source and offered a choice of options. -  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0DY4QZMYH The Motors are at the time of writing this, the latest 48v 250W (British Legal) Can models.  AKA-  MM G340.250.C  mid-drive motors-  https://bafang-e.com/en/oem-area/components/component/motor/mm-g340250c We also paid extra to have the DP C010.CN controllers -   https://www.bafang-e.com/uploaded/manual/BF-UM-C-DP%20C010-EN.pdf Along with 48v 20 amp side mounted batteries, I chose to get an extra battery in order to be able to cover longer distances. We also went for the option of the mounting plates, leading me to also need to buy another mounting plate to carry the second battery. The shopping list also included extending the power leads and speed sensors, as the standard ones are not long enough for either trike ...

Had my first ride on what I have christened Rogue III, my Ice Adventure HD. Just around the block as not properly set up and we are still to add some  electrical assistance. We were also waiting for a couple of new ahead bearings to arrive, which we think were damaged by the result of jet washing the trike.   We have also purchased a tow bar rack, It's a four bike BuzzRack,  While not designed to carry a trike, Rogue III sits on it nicely. It gives us the means to carry both trikes to go on adventures. .  Nice to see Mint Sauce rides again. This is an old friend of Jayne's, from a well known mountain bike cartoon series. Nice to see that he will be coming on our future rides. We have also built a jig in order to help us work on the trikes. The image shows it in an old workmate, it is a bit wobbly, so a new one has been ordered  to insure the trikes have a secure platform to work on.