The Dirty Truth

I arrived in Afghanistan and three days later the Rover got here! I couldn't believe it got here so fast. So, instead of blogging that it arrived and I assembled it, I've been riding it. Really it isn't my fault. The rover is just too much fun to ride.
Assembly (of course) was quite easy. I just followed the directions. I had it assembled and was riding it the afternoon it arrived.
The Rover has handled the terrain here better then I had hoped for. I have decided to order knobby off-road tires for the trike. Only about a third of the roads I ride on are paved and I think it would be kinder to the rims to give them a little more rubber between the rocks and the metal. I have to admit a get a lot of comments and questions about the Rover. People like it. I have let co-workers ride it and everyone of them comes back smiling like a little kid.

Riding at night: The bicycle flag doesn't make it. I'm sharing the road with army tactical vehicles that make dump trucks look wimpy. I needed a way to get a light up higher the normal vehicles (SUVs and Pick-ups). I settled for driver height for those vehicles and hoped it would get the attention of the military vehicles. My plan of action was easy. I got a broom handle, drilled two holes at the bottom about 8 inches apart and then drilled 4 holes near the top of the handle each about 4 inches from the next. The bottom two holes got tie-wrapped to the seat frame. The four holes at the top each received one fourth of a lime green reflective belt I cut up and tie wrapped to the pole. Just below the last piece of reflective belt is a very bright red LED tail light for bikes, that strobes in a very fast pattern. Then to the front of the left handle bar below the brake and angled upward to hopefully catch the eyes of really big oncoming vehicles is a bicycle headlamp set to strobe. The final piece is the headlamp I slip over my bicycle helmet. This one is fairly bright and I use it to actually see by.

How as it worked? Very good, even the largest vehicles not only move over as they pass, but actually slow down trying to figure out what they are seeing. Someone remarked that I looked like a UFO making a very low level flight. Hey, as long as I'm seen, I'll take it. Of course, no matter how well I think I'm lit up, I still pretend I'm invisible. It works for me on motorcycles so I might as well apply it here.

Pictures… will be coming. My next blog will be after I have tortured the Rover on these roads for about a week. I am doing daily checks of the hardware so I don't lose anymore. I lost the front reflector on my second day of riding. Completely my fault, I never tightened it even when I pulled it out of the box in El Paso, Texas for a test ride. Small price to pay for a big lesson, check your hardware before you ride.



Gotta go ride,



El Paso Bob