Me and my Velokraft

"This is the last bike I will ever need to buy!" How many times have you been caught uttering that little lie? For me, the first time was 1997 when I bought my first recumbent, the Ryan Vanguard. I loved it and still love it, but I had the need...the need for speed, and my Vanguard was getting me dropped from local bike club group rides.

So in December 2002, I found a nice used Haluzak Hybrid Race and started to train with the local "roadies" in spring 2003.

By the end of the season, I was able to hang on for dear life at the end of the medium group's pace-line. I was feeling fine with my accomplishment, and was once again feeling that I had found "my last bike." So what if I was getting whipped by low-racers in the 2003 HPRa events? I loved my under-seat-steered 'Zak.

But early in the 2004 season, I saw an ad for a used VeloKraft VK2 available just an hour away in the Lansing area. My mind started to race because just one week earlier, fellow MHPVA member Chris Evans had been kind enough to let me sit on his VK2 during the spring rally at the Metropark. I didn't even need to ride the thing to know how awesome it was. But my mind was trying to talk me out of it. "It's too soon for a new bike," it told me, "My wife will never let me spend the money!"

But you know how it is. It was all I could do to stop thinking about that bike. Somehow I was able to scrape together enough money to get it, and there it was, my third recumbent.

This is the story of how that bike, plus some tips from Chris, turned me from a nobody to a somebody in my local bike club. There are several other more "review-like" articles about the VK2 out there--but this is a story of how a superior machine can spur someone to do better than he ever thought he could--in just one season.

It was early in the 2004 season, but not too early. I had already been on several local club rides, and I was in about the same relative shape in which I had ended the 2003 season--hanging in there, but just barely, and often still getting dropped.

For example, there is a somewhat hilly 30 mile route that the local group calls the "half-fast" ride, every Wednesday. On this ride, I was able to hang on for 14 miles before they left me in the dust--there is a medium-sized hill there, you see, and well, recumbent riders have this issue with hills where we can't stand up on our pedals...

So I would get dropped. But now I had a new, more aerodynamic bike, and I had a new method to try--I had asked Chris Evans what his secret to high speed was and he told me I should work on mashing the pedals more to get more power. Up to that point I was firmly entrenched in the "spinner" mentality of high cadence with relatively low force on the pedals. He said I should try to put more "umph" into it and also try to build my leg muscles.

My first club ride with the VK2, and with my new "pedal-masher-wannabe" style, showed an immediate improvement. I was able to hang on with the local group far beyond any point I had previously, to the 21 mile point! Although I'm sure my new pedaling style helped, there is no doubt that the very light (about 22 pounds), very low VK2 provided most of this result. I wasn't nearly used to the new bike, having only taken it on one other 30 mile ride.

The following Tuesday was another chance to see what I could do with my new wheels. Twice a month, my local club (The Kalamazoo Bicycle Club) has a 10 mile time trial that is supposed to be a race against the clock...but of course, there is an element of competitiveness with the other riders that I know I have never been able to shake. (A personal weakness).

Just like the weekly rides, my 2003 time trial results were...mediocre. In three time trials in which I took part, I had finished in the bottom five riders out of the 20 or so who typically showed up. Again, it was time to see what the VK2 could do. It commanded quite a bit of attention from the other racers as we lined up, especially with its dark carbon fiber clear finish and its sleek tail box.

Again, the improvement was immediate and very exciting for me to experience! I went from a bottom five finisher to a top five finisher in my first attempt on the new bike. My average speed went from my 2003 best of 20.6 mph to 22.1 mph. I couldn't wait for the next time trial!

All during the 2004 riding season it was the same story. Things only got better as I got used to the bike and used to spending more time in "the big ring," which I almost never had done on my Haluzak.

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