Bailie.com

Monday, October 08, 2007

Trikke, a treat

A couple of weekends ago, my grandson and I went to rent trikkes (pronounced trikes) up in Courtenay - remarkably, the only place in BC that handles them. (The good folks at Mansfield Wheels claim that this is because Vancouver bike shops are bicycle snobs; somehow, I don’t doubt it.) Because it was pouring rain with gale-force winds coming off the water, the fellow would only take us out for a brief lesson on a path shielded by a bank of trees, but I could have stayed out longer. (Good thing I didn’t because the next day, my extra-sensitive skin was windburned beyond belief.)

Anyhow, I haven’t had this much fun in ages, and with my declining sense of balance, I felt quite safe riding the trikke. That’s what motivated me: a stable alternative to a bicycle. The next day, my entire body was sore, but I’m sure that after wrestling with the trikke for a few weeks, I’ll have made it do my bidding and won’t feel it as much. There are lots of “cool” trikke videos but my style is more like this: