Hello and welcome to the 2011 Rickshaw Season! This season has been a bit odd because it had a soft start. The pedicab was still seeing action in the “offseason”, though not at the levels of a rickshaw season. Still, I used to take months off during the cold part of the year, but that didn’t happen over winter 2010/2011.

This year’s kick-off ride was a few days ago with Bryce on the back. We went on a long ride from the 25th and State area to the Greenbelt, through Boise State, to the Park Center bridge, and back home. I took the pedicab through some shallow water under a couple bridges along the way. The south side of the Boise River had claimed the shallow section around the Park Center bridge so we rode around that.

I did get an upgrade for the pedicab in the off-season. There’s a new, larger top gear in the front of the pedicab. Bikes2Boards dropped it in there for me. I believe the old one was a 44 tooth, and this one I think is a 38 tooth. The moral is simple: The pedicab is now faster, but the lowest gearing has been left intact.

Welcome to the 2011 Rickshaw Season.

What a wonderful day in Boise, Idaho. The temperature was over 60 degrees. Kelly mentioned me picking up some pizza for the family, and Bryce was to go with me. He thought, unprompted, the way to pick up pizza was with the Rickshaw. So, that’s what happened. I aired up the tires, Kelly put a child seat on the back, and off went Bryce and myself to the land of pizza (Papa Murphy’s). On the way back, I talked with a guy who has a project rickshaw which sounded interesting. Once back at home, it was photo op time.

Rickshaw, kids, a pizza (on the back seat) and construction

Faye hopped on the back, and Kelly decided it was only fair that she got the ride back to the garage, so Bryce was deported shortly thereafter, and Faye was in the car seat. This should prove to be a short term problem, thankfully.

Goals for the 2010 Rickshaw Season

1. Go at least 100 miles
2. Have fun
3. Get the child seat assembly done

Goals 1 and 2 are both probably going to be met, unless something surprising happens (like last year). The third, the child seat assembly, is the fresh goal for this season. It’s a board with two child seats mounted on it that replaces the bottom seat board on the back. I have a hunch it’ll be done before the midway point in the season. I already have the materials, it just needs to get done.

It was around 65ºF or so, and time for that first ride of the season. I didn’t do any adjustments on the Rickshaw, and sure enough the chain wasn’t dead on. I’ll go over everything with a wrench before I ride next.

That first ride is always the worst. Months of Rickshaw inactivity let my lungs get a little lazy, but another ride or two and I’ll be doing well again. The legs were doing well, however.

We went from the house to about 20th Street on the way to Hyde Park. On the back (as pictured) is my Mother-in-Law and Bryce. They enjoyed the ride, and I’ll enjoy the rides more as the season goes on and my performance improves from the sluggish early season levels.

Ah yes, springtime! The canopy was put on today, and though there’s still some issues to resolve, it goes on and it was time for the first ride of the season. I pump up the tires, Kelly and Faye hop on, and off we go. We went a little over a mile if I had to guess, just a loop south of the house and back home.

Training paid off:
I’m in way better shape beginning this season, no comparison. The training rides have paid off. I made good time, had really good power, and wasn’t tired or notably winded when I hopped off.

Canopy is coming along:
It isn’t perfect but has come along nicely so far (see picture):

• The front sags down a little low
• The Velcro is not sufficient. We’re gonna need more to hold that puppy on.
• The battery boxes for the lights (which are integrated into the fringe, click on the thumbnail for a larger view) need to have a home. They’re hanging loose right now.

Summary:
I’m stoked about the 2008 Rickshaw Season. There’ll probably be some annoyances with the upgrades taking place while I’m hoping to ride, but so far that has been minimal. Getting the wheel trued early was a good idea. It is nice to not have the back wobble as you roll down the road.