ICE Blog
Welcome to our blog!
We'll be providing lots of entertaining updates about our bikes and trikes and life here at ICE.
Happy riding,
The ICE team
ICE welcomes Renu Cycle
Wednesday, September 05, 2012 - 04:42 AM
We are delighted to welcome Renu Cycle in Leduc, Alberta, as a new dealer of ICE trikes. Renu Cycle is owned and managed by Larry Hager, an avid rider and enthusiast of recumbents for over 10 years.
Back then Larry started cycling for fun and fitness, and later established a cycling club. Members from this group have taken tours all over western Canada and several exotic locations including Italy and Thailand.
When the only bicycle shop in his small town of Leduc, Alberta shut down he started to do basic bicycle repairs and business quickly flourished into Renu Cycle, where Larry’s passion for ‘bents shines through.
Larry extends a warm welcome to everyone wanting to find a fun and simple way to get fit and stay healthy.
Click here to read more about Larry’s cycle touring and the Godspoke Cyclists group.
Karen Darke - Believe: Getting in the right mental state for Paralympic handcycling races
Friday, August 24, 2012 - 02:41 AM
It’s probably a challenge for any of us to consistently believe in our abilities, or in the possibility that we may even have ability! My journey as a handcyclist to the London Paralympics has involved a roller-coaster from self-doubt to absolute belief that I can become a better athlete, and produce a performance worthy of a good medal.
With less than two weeks to go now until my
first Paralympic race, I’m resting quite a bit between training sessions with
plenty of time to think. The physical gains that can be made so close to the
race are small now – that work is done – and I find myself contemplating the
question that British Cycling Sports Psychologist Steve Peters asked our team
at a recent seminar. “On the day, how much of your performance do you think
comes from your physical condition, and how much from your mental state?”
Could it be 80% physical, 20% mental, or
maybe it was vice versa? Regardless, mental state on race day is critical, and
sitting here thinking about it all I have the usual facets of thinking going
on. There’s the part of me that believes I’m strong, in the form of my life,
well trained, well prepared and expecting a fantastic performance (I’m calling
this bit my ‘lion’); and there’s the part of me that knows I’ve never beaten
some of my competitors before, wonders if I’ve done enough, questions my
ability and worries about things going wrong on the day (I’m calling this part
of me my ‘mouse’). People talk about taming lions, but I’m practicing mental
techniques to tame the mouse and bolster the lion, because on race day, I need
to believe!
Thanks to Inspired Cycle Engineering for the
loan of a trike over the winter – my coach John Hampshire of Fit for Purpose
trained with me on it, and put me through my paces. Here’s what he says…“The
ICE trike has helped Karen learn how to hold a wheel. It gave her good practice
in the months of winter training in Mallorca.”
Fingers crossed it all pays off in 2 weeks
times! Races are at Brands Hatch, Kent on Wednesday 5th September
and Friday 7th September.
Karen
has a new book coming out in early September about the adventures that led to
her inspiration to train for London 2012. Boundless: An Adventure Beyond Limits
is available in Kindle already, and can be pre-ordered at
www.karendarke.com/boundless
RAGBRAI XL
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 06:24 AM
Robert Bailey of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
finished RAGBRAI XL (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa 40) in
Clinton, Iowa on July 28th.
It was his third time riding the annual ride through the cornfields of
Iowa. The previous two years he was able
to ride 350 miles plus (563 km), but could not finish. This year he was determined to finish the 471
mile (758 km) tour.
Robert lost both lower legs in a
tractor/bush hog accident in 2005. A
cyclist most of his life, he needed to find a way to return to cycling without
injuring his legs. Riding an upright
bike left him with repeated bloody blisters.
He discovered recumbent trikes on the internet. A U.S. Navy veteran, the U.S. Department of
Veteran Affairs agreed to purchase a trike as rehabilitation equipment. After long research he chose an ICE
Adventure. “The Adventure is steel,
folding trike and beautifully made.”
He came back from 2011 RAGBRAI determined
to train harder. The V.A. updated
several items to help the bilateral amputee ride the ICE, the most important
being a Q-Ring elliptical chain wheel set to help power through the “dead zone”
of his stroke. Over the two year period
he lost 80lbs and was training 3 hours a day, 5 times a week with specially
made cycling legs created by his “leg man” Jay Tew of Hanger Clinic, Baton
Rouge.
Robert returned to Iowa for the start of
RAGBRAI in Sioux Center, July 22nd.
His sponsors were Operation Rebound of the Challenged Athletes
Foundation and Hanger Clinic. He rode
with 15,000 riders each day as they headed east. The temperature the first four days topped
100 degrees F. The temperature dropped
20 degrees Wednesday Night making for wonderful riding weather the last three
days.
“One, Iowa is not flat. It rolls all the way across the State. Two; Iowa is corn, soybeans, corn, pigs,
corn, windmills and ….corn. It is small
town America. The pork chops on a stick
are heavenly. But more than anything
else you appreciate the people. The people are Iowa nice.”
Finishing the ride in Clinton was the end
of one road and the start of another.
There will be other adventures for the 53 year old amputee. He considers himself, “Just a guy riding a
cycle.” But he also was glad to show and
talk to others about riding as an amputee.
Many riders approached him in disbelief.
“Riding a cycle, especially a trike, is a perfect exercise for an
amputee. A trike puts very little
pressure on your legs. It is wonderful!”