John Tolhurst
Zen MBB Master
"Those things don't do hills well." A fellow rider made that statement to me on the first Wednesday night shop ride I attended just this past week. The ride used to be part of my routine until last year after becoming too ill to ride. I didn't miss the ride like I thought I would, but since I have been commuting to work by bike since January and doing so exclusively on the Silvio since May, riding has become a need for my physical and mental well-being. Last Wednesday, I was forced to drive to work due to having an off site meeting in the middle of my day and I felt like something was missing. That something was my time on the Silvio. Luckily, the local shop ride was on at 6:30 and in the first time since 2011, I was ready to ride. The ride like most others divides into groups; A, B and C. Usually only four to five riders join the A group, twelve to fifteen make up the B group and an equal number make up the C group. I have ridden with ths A group only a handful of times, and the times that I did, I was always shelled off the back by the first long climb. People speak of their average speed as hovering around the 22 MPH mark. The B group will average around 19 MPH on a 25 mile course. I elected to go with B since I felt great and I have been averaging 17.5 MPH on the Silvio while commuting. First of all, the average speed was easy to maintain while riding 6 to 12 feet off the back of the paceline. Actually it was too easy as I found myself coasting and braking much more than the riders in front of me, but I didn't want to mix things up in the paceline and I kept my distance. Let's face it, recumbent riders face a bit of prejudice from the upright crowd. Secondly, this bike CAN CLIMB. I read so much about the Cruzbike as a climber, but it was mind-blowing how I not only kept pace, but would pass other riders on climbs. I think the one guy I used.to ride with forgot that I passed him on the first long climb. As we were rolling fast on the flats and approaching a hill, he said to me with a bit of sympathy..."this is where it gets hard for you; those things don't do hills well." I just smiled and let the Silvio do the talking. And that ride, we averaged 19.86 MPH. No pains, no numbness and I wasn't fatigued like I would have been on an upright.
