The Tour Test Ride

Since we decided to have low power and less costly rear wheel hub E-assist motors installed on our trikes, we've enjoyed testing it's capabilities and decided that we'd like to try "multi-day" touring again! The LAST tour we did was a weekender in 2011 we are now 9 years older and riding "trikes instead of bikes"! (see the last photo of us on our recumbent bicycles).

We are now 65 and not strong riders but do miss getting out on the road and seeing the sights! So we needed at Test Tour, we decided on riding 50 miles south of Co. Springs to Canon City and spend the night and the highway has some good hills and uphill grades to test out the loaded up E-Trikes. We made the ride in a little over 5 hours and enjoyed it!! Mid 80F's Sunny just a perfect day for a ride, the only BUMMER was the highway has now been graded with "wake up rumble strips" and some places aren't wide enough to stay off the highway and not run out of pavement!! The worse section was on the newer concrete sections into Penrose, CO. for our lunch break at the Coyote's Den, the rumble strips where now rumble PATCHES 5 ft. wide and 3 ft. long so we had to really slow down to try to avoid hitting them but some times we missed it was a PIA to say the least!

After a good lunch we finally got to CO. Hwy. 50 W. and headed into Canon City, arrived at our motel and unpacked, covered and locked up the trikes and call domino's pizza for dinner, watched movies till bed time. The next morning we stopped and had a croissant with egg and bacon and headed back to CO. Hwy. 50 heading E. this time, we found the uphill grades were LONGER and much more often on the way back and the 90F and HOT temps made the ride a bit tougher but we did ok. We found a tiny bit of shade and stopped and had a brown bag lunch, then headed up the road got into Colorado Springs about 4:30 PM. and headed to the storage unit to put away the trikes, walked the mile home, got a shower and headed out for a Mexican Dinner! :) 2 days of good riding and we LOVE how the E-assist made the ride SO much more easier! It's kinda cool to actually upshift gears while heading UP HILL!! :) The conclusion, YES, we are now capable of multi-day touring, now we just need a FUNDING source so we can afford to do more tours!! :) 

One of the many up hill grades on CO. Hwy. 115

Arrugh those damn rumble strips a very bad idea!