Posted 01/06/05

On April 5, 2005 I purchased an ICE T from PBW Enterprises in Chico California. I live in Davis Ca. which has several bike shops and thousands of bikes but no recumbent trikes. So I took a 2 hour drive and was very happy to be able to compare 6 different trikes. I am 56 years old and have had back surgery and now am not stable on a two wheeler. Soccer has always been my passion and it is hard to not get out on the pitch anymore to either play or referee since running is painful and all the kids need is a referee with a short temper. So my physical activity has been limited for the past several years. Davis has a wonderful system of bike paths which I have not used in 20 years. I have never ridden with clips on my shoes, I am not a bike rider.
Since I bought my ICE T , and a computer to find out how fast it goes, I have ridden over 650 miles (1,000+ kilometers) in about 6 weeks of time at home. I am retired but have started a metal sculpture studio so I have work to do after my morning rides around the bike paths of Davis. My welding experience is limited but makes me appreciate the work done on my ICE T. ( If you lived in Davis in the summer you appreciate the name: ICE TEA)
My wife rides her 25 year old bike with me when she is not at work. She was very jealous of how much fun I have been having. We ride through the arboretum on the UCD campus where I can stop to read plant labels while she had to hop off. This Monday, which was a holiday, we rode around town watching some games at a youth soccer tournament then went home. By the time we were home she had made it quite clear that she wanted her own trike! I called Hugh at PBW Enterprises asked what he had available to try and if we could do it TODAY. He asked how tall my wife is and said he had received an ICE L which was still in the box but he would open the shop and put it together for her to try.
We arrived about 2:45 pm at PBW and Hugh met us with a smile. He spent the next 4 hours with us while my wife decided which trike she wanted. It is hard to decide. I decided on an ICE T because the extra 4 inches of height made it easier for me to get in and out. My wife, Barbara, tried the ICE T first but when the pedals were close enough her heels hit the crossbar. There was a Greenspeed GT3 which she liked for the sportscar feel of the steering but understood that it would also be very quick to turn on a downhill. She tried a Catrike but the seat is not comfortable compared to the ICE and Greenspeed. She tried the ICE Q NT and was comparing it to the GT3 while Hugh put the ICE L together. When she tried the ICE L it was good but she liked the fact that the ICE Q had the same size wheels as my ICE T and felt like she could keep up with me better on it. So we now have two of your recumbent trikes! Our first ride together was this morning at 6am. We rode around some bike paths and put in about 5 miles or what, 8 kilometers. She kept saying it felt like riding in a gocart. Her smile did not stop and she wished everyone a GOOD MORNING! So THANK YOU! Here is a picture of our trikes on the front lawn.

The bike trailer is for the dog who will run about 7 miles with me but I hope Marcus decides that riding in style will suit him so I can keep going. We added our studio name onto the flag BARKEND STUDIOS (Barkend.com).

Barb & Kend Linderholm
linderholm@sbcglobal.net