There's a good chance that, if you're reading this, you don't live in Germany and didn't attend the Spezialradmesse festival (I know adding "festival" is redundant). That's why you'll probably be interested in checking out the article over at Recumbent Journal where they're tracking SPEZI news.

I didn't just post this to do cross-promotion (I'm the editor of RJ). No, what I really wanted to do was draw attention to this bike:

It's a recumbent tandem that puts the captain in the rear. "So what?" I hear you say. "Hase Pino does the same thing." Yes, but the Pino has an upright seat in the back. As a Pino captain myself, I can confess that I've been on rides with my son where I've wished we could trade seats so I could enjoy some recumfort.

Hmmm, better add that word to the glossary.

The bike is the Novosport Cogito. We don't have any plans to carry Novosport, we just thought it was a cool bike.

We might have talked about the Musashi before, done a bunch of photos, et cetera. And you've probably seen that stark white Musashi on every recumbent site you've visited. But have you seen it... in blue? It's practically a different bike. So much so that I hereby dub this the Catbike Blusashi!

Dear Big Cat HPV, my amazing marketing skills are very much for hire. In fact, my wife would love it if you gave me a job and moved us all to Florida. No joke, she frequently asks me if you guys are hiring. 

Ha ha, just kidding Rob! Well, I am. My wife ... no, she really does ask that.

So, uh, how about some photos of that Blusashi? Our handsome bike model is Tom Hovan (aka steamer), shop regular and reviewer for some journal site. And while I typically try to avoid getting my car in the photos, it just seemed a natural fit today.

Could we interest you in a trike that will fit just about everyone in your family (without adjusting the chain), can break down into smaller chunks for transport, has a 5' turning radius, an easy-to-sit-in seat (18 inches high!) and sells for as little as $799?

Oh, sorry, we thought that might be appealing. That's why we went ahead and ordered two of TerraTrike's new Rover tadpole trikes. I guess if you're not into that, we'll just have to ride them around and, on occasion, use them as cool desk chairs.

Joking aside - TerraTrike has built a great trike for casual riders and folks that find it difficult to get down into the seat of typical tadpole trikes. Our Rovers will be showing up in the second half of May.

Check out some photos and video from TerraTrike:

 

What's the sound of two swords whirling through the air and then slicing through an industry to deliver a lethal cut of excitement?

It's probably ... "schikt" or "shiss" or if the swords are dull "splorch". The sound isn't really important. In fact, it's a bit of a distraction from the fact that we have two Musashis in the shop, one white, the other blue. What is important is the way Rob and I exclaim "MUSASHI" with the proper stress on the first syllable, yelling it like we're auditioning for a part in a James Clavell's Shogun mini-series remake.

We've assembled our white Musashi and have all taken turns trying to ride it hands-free. Of course, we have to put the hands back on once we hit the end of the parking lot.

そして今、写真！

If you were at the 2009 RBR Rally, you might have noticed Rich Sadler's SWB recumbent folder. If you didn't notice it, it's probably because it was folded so small you walked right by it.

Rich definitely hasn't been idle since then. He has formed a business in Butterfly Bicycle LLC and is now selling his folder for $2830.

Here's the irony, though - none of our photos show it folded. Want to know why? Because I can't ride it folded. And what's the point of taking a bunch of pictures if I can't ride it around when I'm done? I know, it's disappointing, but what isn't disappointing is the ride. This bike is smooth!