Category Archives: velomobile

review of the hood (race cap)

Daniël asked me if I wanted to write a review of the hood (or race cap), which I use on my Quest. Well, because I think it’s a good idea and Wim Schermer consistently writes his blog only in Dutch, here it comes;

I bought the hood that is sold by velomobielonderdelen.nl and I decided to choose for the “tour“- model which is divisible in two parts. With this model you can stow away the hood inside the back of a Quest and ride convertible !

I have used the hood on my commutes all winter. In freezing cold, misty, rainy and stormy weather. And I don’t regret I buying it. It gave me a lot of comfort during my commute. Overall, I am very positive about the use of this hood.

It didn’t keep me dry though, because I came out sweating like a reindeer ! But always nice warm sweat, like in a sauna ;-)  You look like a real sportsman when you climb out of your Quest (advantage) !  But when the wind outside the Quest starts evaporating your sweat, you feel like Amundsen on Antarctica (drawback). 

Another thing you have to realize is that you’re putting your head in a sound box when the hood is on the Quest. So I can turn the volume on my radio down from 10 to 4 (advantage) and I had to find ways to reduce the rattles en shakes of the chain (drawback).

When it’s cold and foggy the screen gets steamed up. A deflector keeps the inside clean and clear, but when the fog forms little drops on the outside of the screen, the only way to keep sight on the road is to open the screen.  Just a minor inconvenience which happens only a few days a year ;-) .

There’s just enough space around my head to look right or left, to scratch my head, to drink out of a bidon or just to smoke my cigarette ;-) .  I use an astray inside the cockpit, because the hood prevents getting it outside the Quest (the ash will come right back into your face and hair). I realize that I may be the only smoking velomobilist ;-)

There’s also a hood made by Sinner; known as Da Hood .  But this model is not divisible and I never tried it on my Quest.

Overall, I think it was a good investment because it made my Quest more comfortable than it already was …. 

I failed …

… to reach Hoorn. Not because I was too tired, or wasn’t in good shape. I had troubles with my skin around my genitalia. It was soft and sweaty, so that the skin turned red and became very very painful. I used some lip-balsam (I always have it inside the Quest) but it worked only for a few minutes. Anyone has good advice, please ? Standing at the ferry to Velsen-Noord, I decided to turn around and go back home. I arrived back home at midnight and had done 375 km. according to GPS and 402 km. to Cateye.

It was a good ride, I saw many cyclists on my route. Unfortunately I felt a headache coming up (due to the exhaust gasses ?) but it quickly disappeared when I cycled through the Dutch dunes with clean and clear sea-air.

click here or on the map to make it inter-active;

A short impression on video of the speed bumps between Kijkduin and Scheveningen.

And now for something completely different …

… a trip from Vlissingen to Hoorn and back.

I ordered a new  lexan-visor of my velomobile. Normally it would be sent to me in a parcel by UPS, but I decided to be my own “messenger”. It means 500 kilometers on one day in a velomobile …

The weather will be nice tomorrow, so what keeps me from trying …. Velomobiles are designed for long distances !

I like to smoke …

…. while I’m cycling in my velomobile. People don’t understand; cycling and smoking doesn’t seem appropriate. This old advertisement shows otherwise ;-)

I’m not the only one …. see here for a short slideshow.

Kwets …

… on two wheels. Hayco is showing why his Quest is called Kwets in this video (long time ago).

Seattle Snowpocalypse

This will work in the Dutch snow as well as in the Seattle snow …  ;-)

I always have some of those zip ties in my velomobile and only my rear tire will need some of them …..

via Seattle Snowpocalypse.

my commute during sunrise

Chris and his skills …

Always nice to follow other blogs. Chris Luxembourg is still busy to realize his amazing dreams. The first is an old video he made a few years back …

But this winter he made the next one …  He writes;

“The finished vehicle I called Lowracer Hybrid Speedbike.  By law it’s a like an electric bike, but the size is more like a little car. “

I admire his craftmanship and wondered if it is simple to make everything yourself …   he answered ; “Of course it’s simple, you only need a few skills!”

We need more guys like him …

Somehow the music in his videos seem to fit with the images, although I like the classic rock more  ;-)

 

Velomobile TV

This unmistakable USA-guy discovered recumbents and velomobiles and is very enthusiastic about it. In fact, he is so excited that he started a website/blog last December. Now he also added a TV-channel on YouTube.

I hate don’t like the presentation , but hey ; we are all just amateurish on YouTube. I just hope the T-shirt will be gone next episode  ;-)   and there will be less talking and more original photos in the background. 

recumbents

Updated my recumbents-page .