Not Your Dad's Tricycle

I had a great weekend. Not only did the daylight savings time gods grant me a magical extra hour of sleep, but I got to try out a new toy. It's called a Trikke, and it is good for a wacky good-time workout.
I was first exposed to the idea of Trikking while at a conference for recreation professionals in Salt Lake City. There was an expo with hundreds of booths full of vendors trying to show off their wares. Most of the exhibits were for things like playgrounds and shade sails, but a few featured cool new fitness toys. The booth that caught my attention was that of Trikke. A Trikke is a three-wheeled, man-powered vehicle that is propelled not by peddling but by carving. It looks a little like two razor scooters welded together. Here's a video of a Trikke in the hands of a pro:

Stepping atop one of their demonstration Trikkes, I was hooked. It may not look cool, but the thing just feels fun. I didn't buy a Trikke in Utah, but I thought about them the whole way hope. My wife told me that I kept bringing them up nonstop for the following week. After some thought, I went on EBay in search of a deal. If I can find a Trikke for less than 70% of the retail cost, I told myself, I'll bid on it. Sure enough, I won an auction and ended up getting a model for about 58% of its normal cost.

After a week of anticipation, my Trikke arrived last Friday. I eagerly put it together in our living room (my wife was thrilled) but didn't get a chance to ride it until Saturday morning. Tara's mom and sister were in town, so we packed the whole crew into the car and headed to beautiful Lions Park.

Holy cow was this a beautiful day. I got the Trikke set up (had to run and buy a tire pump) and gave it my first try. I had watched dozens of YouTube videos, so I felt pretty confident that I would do well. Confidence in some is warranted. Confidence in me is delusion. I swung my arms. I shifted my weight from foot to foot. Instead of forward movement I felt only shame.



I had to cheat and kick start myself the first time, but after a couple laps around the parking lot, I was doing better. I started to find the sweet spot in the movement which is a combination of twisting the handlebars, leaning the steering column and shifting your weight from foot to foot. I wouldn't say that I was going fast, but I was definitely improving.

After everyone had a few tries (my wife had some skills of her own) it was time to head home.

"Can I go on ahead and meet you guys down the way," I asked.

My sweet wife gave me the go ahead, and I was off. I managed to get past the softball field parking lot before I hit a pretty large hill. I was tire, sore and happy as a clam. We folded the Trikke up, threw it in the car and headed home.

When we got there, I pulled the Trikke back out and did another lap around the block. This thing is crazy fun. It literally works every part of your body from your feet to your arms and chest. By bedtime, I felt pain in my legs and shoulder, but it was totally worth it.

I think the Trikke is going to be a great tool for fitness. I'll keep you updated on my progress.