Painful to ride a Pashley Picador traditional trike!

Today, on the spur of a moment, I decided to hire a Pashley Picador. As I am used to riding a hybrid bike, I find it difficult to adapt to riding a delta trike.

Steering off course!

My first attempts were not encouraging. I was veering to the left and right as I cycled along the Yatton railway station car park. I could not build up any speed. The week before, I had seen a young man with Down’s Syndrome ride this same bike in a straight line while his college friends cheered him on. During a later ride, it sounded like he had fallen off, which I should have taken as a warning. However, being so used to riding a hybrid bike, I knew that I had a steep learning curve. So, I decided to persevere.

Don’t break the brakes on the Pashley Picador

Several hundred metres on, I was still not having much joy. Unlike the ICE semi-recumbent Adventure trike, I did not find it intuitive riding the Pashley. As soon as I built up a slight bit of steam, I found that I was soon veering off to the side again. The brakes did not seem to be effective, so it was lucky that I was not riding very fast.

Too selfie aware on a Pashley Picador 🙁

Due to my steering problems, I had to concentrate very hard to steer the Pashley. My original plan was to ride the trike to the village where the relative I care for lives. However, I felt that I could not safely ride the trike on the main road. I had so little control of the trike that I felt that I had to stop to let other cyclists pass me on the path.

My Discomfort on the Pashley Picador

The hard plastic grips on the handlebar were very uncomfortable. There was no padding on the saddle, which probably wasn’t doing my prostate any good. I could also feel the back wheels slipping on the gravel. It seems that I’m not the only person who has taken a dislike to the Pashley Picador, judging from this Cycling UK forum.

Next stop Yatton!

A runner overtook me. I was going so slowly that I was at real risk of arriving late at my relative’s house. Reluctantly, I turned back. I had more control of the Pashley on the way back, and I was going a bit faster. But I still wasn’t having fun.

Swapping horses mid-race

The folks at the Strawberry Line Cycle Project kindly let me swap bikes. However, this was very inconvenient for them, as they were so busy. It was the first day of a heatwave on a bank holiday weekend, so the cycle hire was very popular. Hopefully I didn’t take a bike reserved for another rider. The hirers gave me a Raleigh hybrid bike, which was a dream to ride.

No Congestion on the Road ahead

I had dreaded riding a bike on the roads near my relative’s house. They live on the corner of a very congested road. There are usually temporary traffic lights due to the building of a bypass for the village. However, I was very lucky, as there were no temporary traffic lights. Indeed, I wasn’t affected by the light traffic congestion while cycling. Although only one car can pass at a time at the narrow part of the road, there was ample room for a bike.

This gives me more confidence that I can regularly ride a bike on the final stretch to my relative’s house. Which is lovely, as it’s wonderful to ride in the countryside via the Strawberry Line.

I’ve got to keep trying with Traditional Trikes

As I walked a mile in my village close to Cambridge today, I saw two ladies riding tricycles. One of them looked to be a Viribus traditional tricycle, while the other was an electric Jorvik. Although my impression is that I don’t see many tricycles around Cambridge, there are evidently more than I had realised. I’ve also seen an old man riding a Jorvik in Weston-Super-Mare instead of a mobility scooter, which I applaud. So, I’m going to have to get past my troubles riding trikes to get the full benefit from them.

Cargo Trikes abound in Cambridge

Incidentally, I see mostly women riding trikes in Cambridge. However, these are mainly cargo trikes that they use to transport children. Cargo trikes are very popular in mostly flat Cambridge. I preferred to use a bike trailer to transport my child when they were younger. This leads me neatly on to my next article about inclusive bikes.

Kevin Mahoney