So, a little over 15 years ago, I used to do a good amount of bike riding. It was an activity that I enjoyed with my son (who was 5 at the time) and wasn't expensive for us to do. We were never real serious like the spandex guys. It was more about the trip and where we were going......not how far and fast we could go. We took our time and enjoyed the journey.
However, about that time I started having back problems and bike riding became painful. A few years later and I could not tolerate riding anymore. After just a mile or two, I was in pain for days.
In 2019 I had back surgery and had immediate and dramatic pain relief. I felt so much better after my back surgery that I only used pain meds for the few hours I was in the hospital after surgery.
Even though many areas of my life have returned to normal, I still could not ride a bike. Something about the angle of leaning forward on most all bikes.....even to this day my back does not like that angle.
So, consequently, I gave up bike riding. That is, until this year.
I have never heard of Tadpole Trikes, but stumbled across some pics of them on Facebook. So I started doing some investigating. It sounded like they are commonly used and loved by people with back issues. So I started doing some investigating on models / brands and decided I wanted a TerraTrike Rambler.
Kicker is, Trikes are EXPENSIVE. This is a less expensive model and they start at $3k. If you want to go with full suspension, electric assist, light weight frames, ect...... you can get into $15k for a trike on the top end with all the bells and whistles. But for me, this is just fine. I'm not racing or competing. I'm not a spandex guy who has to go far & fast. I take my time and enjoy the ride.
I found an amazing deal on a used trike that was only 1 year old and only used 3 times. I took it to the bike shop and had them work it over and tune it up. The bike shop admitted I got a great deal.
I finally got to take my trike out on Friday afternoon last week. I first rode it down our county road to see how things would go considering my back and how out of shape I am currently in. I was able to click 3 miles off pretty easily and had zero pain. It felt so good to be on the road again that I drove to my local town and rode our river greenway trail and had an absolute blast. In all, I was able to get 8 miles in and once I got home, I still had zero pain.
I am hooked. I got the AllTrails app and I have planned a bunch more rides. It's nice to be enjoying myself outside in nature again. I knew I missed it, but I did not realize how much so until I was rolling again.
So, if you have back issues, this may be a way that you can keep riding.
Obligatory pics of my wheels / ride below.....
However, about that time I started having back problems and bike riding became painful. A few years later and I could not tolerate riding anymore. After just a mile or two, I was in pain for days.
In 2019 I had back surgery and had immediate and dramatic pain relief. I felt so much better after my back surgery that I only used pain meds for the few hours I was in the hospital after surgery.
Even though many areas of my life have returned to normal, I still could not ride a bike. Something about the angle of leaning forward on most all bikes.....even to this day my back does not like that angle.
So, consequently, I gave up bike riding. That is, until this year.
I have never heard of Tadpole Trikes, but stumbled across some pics of them on Facebook. So I started doing some investigating. It sounded like they are commonly used and loved by people with back issues. So I started doing some investigating on models / brands and decided I wanted a TerraTrike Rambler.
Kicker is, Trikes are EXPENSIVE. This is a less expensive model and they start at $3k. If you want to go with full suspension, electric assist, light weight frames, ect...... you can get into $15k for a trike on the top end with all the bells and whistles. But for me, this is just fine. I'm not racing or competing. I'm not a spandex guy who has to go far & fast. I take my time and enjoy the ride.
I found an amazing deal on a used trike that was only 1 year old and only used 3 times. I took it to the bike shop and had them work it over and tune it up. The bike shop admitted I got a great deal.
I finally got to take my trike out on Friday afternoon last week. I first rode it down our county road to see how things would go considering my back and how out of shape I am currently in. I was able to click 3 miles off pretty easily and had zero pain. It felt so good to be on the road again that I drove to my local town and rode our river greenway trail and had an absolute blast. In all, I was able to get 8 miles in and once I got home, I still had zero pain.
I am hooked. I got the AllTrails app and I have planned a bunch more rides. It's nice to be enjoying myself outside in nature again. I knew I missed it, but I did not realize how much so until I was rolling again.
So, if you have back issues, this may be a way that you can keep riding.
Obligatory pics of my wheels / ride below.....