Winter in the Versatile. (4157 km)

The roll-bar behind me...

Winter grips the Versatile tight.
21st of December and winter makes its entrance. The temperature this morning was around -6 degrees C. I started out under a splendid starry sky. Orion, the Pleiades, ... and a whole multitude of twinkling stars among them. In Sombeke we have very little light pollution.
The flag in its holder, lights on, and I roll onto the dike. The bushes are white. Water vapor from the Durme and the Schelde lies heavy on the landscape.
The first meters feel fresh. Just warm, pedaling. In places where I might have slipped with the recumbent, I feel myself more secure on three wheels. The roll-bar behind my head acquires a wintery design as the moisture from my breath freezes on it. Despite the low temperature, everything functions as it should. I don't set the parking brake in this weather.

frozen inside

After a half hour of riding, the water vapor is frozen to the inner side. But it doesn't feel cold in the Versatile. You always stay warm from the riding. I zip the 'skirt' nearly closed, so that less cold air passes over my body. Glasses with clear lenses protect my eyes.

winternose

I have to keep my head properly warm. It's always outside the Versatile and has to face the icy wind. A fleece head-warmer over the chest/neck piece (black) and on top the helmet. In a Cab-Bike or Leitra, that isn't supposed to be necessary, but the windows sometimes freeze up. After a quarter-hour riding, it's nice and warm. A long-sleeved shirt and a thin, long pair of pants are sufficient.

Computer. Tyre pressure. Mist.

After a day of rain, when between 20 and 40 liters of water per square meter poured downn, the “panorama” computer failed. I stopped in at a bike shop in Dendermonde and had a new battery installed, but to no avail. I e-mailed Johan Vrielink of Flevobike. It seems that the thing can be sensitive to moisture. After drying out for a few days inside, the screen still refused to light up. Johan had told me that I should then send it back, so I did that on Friday. Curious whether a new one will arrive soon by mail. In the meantime, I count up the kilometers on paper. Right now, I’ve ridden 3670 km.

I’ve pumped up the tyres a bit.
The ride had gotten noticeably slower. You gear down lower than usual for your route. The tyres had gotten down to a pressure of 4 bar (58 psi). Pumping them up to 6 bar (87 PSI) yields a 3-4 km/hour increase in speed. It feels like a lot. It is almost the difference with the Quest... Although the Versatile has three-wheel suspension, you definitely notice a difference. At 4 bar, it rides very soft, but somewhat slower; at 6 bar, you feel the unevenness of the pavement, but it goes better with the Vredestein slicks.

mondag, december 06, 2004


Mist
In the mornings there is often a thick mist over the fields. Visibility falls off sharply, as does the speed. The light from the Versatile rests on a white mist and reflects back. Careful riding is the order of the day. Especially since now and then an unlit rider comes toward you and passes. I’ve already twice ridden a bit off the path in the curve, despite knowing the way well, but it completely disappears ....in the thick mist.

In the velomobile, it is now comfortably warm. Passersby also seem to realize that. An older lady on a bike says to her companion, “we really ought to have something like that.”

The post.
Around 11 o’clock, the mailman brought a package from Flevobike. The replacement for the computer that gave up the ghost. Some time with the manual, putting in the settings, and then testing it in the velomobile. It works. I can see again how fast I ride. I velomobile, therefore I am...

To the KBC branch bank in Elversele to make a funds transfer. “Oh no, sir, for foreign funds transfers you must go to Waasmunster.” The technology is lacking... The transaction must be postponed to tomorrow.

Today, my arrival at the school (12 o’clock) at the time the pupils are coming out. That results in some extra chatter, but in a friendly way. That’s nice. It’s not yet an everyday experience, such a “bike.” Usually, I take care to arrive or leave outside the “rush hour.”

This afternoon, I go with the teachers to play mini-football against other schools. One contest won, another lost. Other teachers complain somewhat of fatigue after the game. By commuting every day with the Versatile, you can stay in great shape, and you don’t put as much stress on your joints as with walking. Crossing a bridge now and then provides some interval training.

At the end of the week, it will be more than 4000 km. At 5000 km it needs to go back to Flevobike in Dronten for its first major tune-up.