TARTAR

 A fellow KMX! This is Dan's ride and yes, that's a monster of a rear wheel - a 26"er. First I've seen live on a KMX. Looks like it can take on any terrain. I didn't get to see much of him on the ride. Wonder where he went.

The owner of this one let me take it for a spin. My test ride helped me determine one question I had on my mind during this hot afternoon, "Is it hotter or colder in there compared to on a naked trike?" Cooler. It's much cooler. The shade is great and the back of your head is covered. I learned that up to 10-12mph, naked trikes are faster. Once these velos reach the teens, the aerodynamic advantage offsets the weight drawback.

 At first I thought it was the Tandem KMX because of the square frame, but in fact it's a Rover - much higher up off the ground than a KMX would be. Doesn't look particularly styling, but it "does what it's suppose to do," according to Zack, the dealer who took this for his 2nd test run of this demo trike.

Lunch time at Subway sandwich. It was one of the few places that had outdoor parking and seating where we could watch our stuff.  This is less than half the group in this quick overhead shot.

 Not everyone wanted to be in the photo, but this is the first shot of 3.

 Second shot of 3.

 Final shot. Not everyone wanted to be in the photo and some people showed up late. This gives you an idea of how many people showed up. Some came from as far as Canada! We had some Oregon riders too!

 This is another thing I've never seen in person before. Apparently they never swap places. The wife always faces the rear and the husband takes the front. Guess they like it but I'd hate to be rear facing ride. Guess the advantage is you both get a decent view and the configuration offers tons of storage space you see in red btw them.

 Not quite a velo. It's home-built fully faired trike. The guy raced me (and beat me) last year at the Velodrome in his Expedition. Nice fella. He's the one that led us to lunch today.

What on Earth is Tartar? Not sure what it stands for or where it came from. All I know is that it's an annual bent ride vent where people come from all over. Yes, that means it wasn't just Bay Area folks. Lads from Oregon and even Canada came for a weekend of riding. Yup, they stayed in hotels and met up in Sacramento. 

I made the trek that morning excited to ride, only to find that my tire had a fat hole in it! A bit disappointed b/c it was 9:55am and I didn't think I could fix it in  the 5 minutes I had before the group would come by. Part of me was a bit excited though b/c I'd never used a tire boot before. (Tire boot = big fat sticker used to cover holes in tires). 

Just as I noticed the hole, I looked up and saw about 30 trikes come up. Ugh, I was going to hold everyone up! The public apology came next, but not before a fellow named Wayne came by to lend a hand. 10 minutes later, we were up and running. 

I was expecting a 35 mile ride, but that's the distance we rode one-way! Yup, we pretty much doubled that coming back. Luckily there weren't many hills. A bit of rolling, but nothing major. No flats from any riders as far as I saw.

The good news is that I started and ended the ride with both of my water bottles intact. Didn't lose any this time. Also wasn't going very fast either. I probably only topped out at 14-17 mph.








 I cannot say the same for this guy. This is one of 4 velomobiles that showed up and these things were cruising quick! In my opinion, this is the second nicest of the group. I wish I got shot of my favorite, but he ended up leaving early. I'll never forget this screen name though - Bendover.


UPDATE: 5/16/12

 I was looking back at BROL and a couple of the guys loaded some shots of guess who?

 Can you see that guy in the way back?