Won't be Commuting for a While...

I was going strong for the last few weeks. 3 or 4 days on my bike riding to work plus our family Tuesday night ritual of riding to Chik Fil A for dinner and the library for Story Time (me hauling the boys in either the trailer or the Madsen).

However, I was notified Wednesday morning that my position was eliminated. So, now I've got to find another job. Hopefully, I'll be lucky enough to get one close to make bike commuting likely (that or get enough grit in me to ride further for work... my commute is honestly short compared to some).

On the brighter side, I'll have time to just ride while I figure out the rest of my life...

Madsen: Quick Update / Impressions

So, tuesday night, we (I) rode our boys from our house to Chik-fil-A (Family Night) and then by the Library (story time). Here's some various impressions:

1. Ride's great. Very smooth. Weight distribution takes some getting used to, but that's not a big deal.
2. Boy's LOVED not being sheltered away in the trailer. They especially loved being able to talk with my wife (mommy) when she rode behind us.
3. My youngest would occasionally lean back against me as I rode, which was pretty cool.

It's not without some things I need to tweak, though.

• I'm going to be putting Schwalbe big apples on it. More volume + kevlar belted should be nice (more cush + flat resistant).
• I, personally, need a different handlebar. Just felt kind of... cramped... with the default one. Not such a big deal at speed because the normal stabilizing effect of bike wheels at speed, but when going slower I had to consciously tell my self to relax. Kind of hard to explain.
• Need to figure out how to deal with my youngest nodding off. He's 1.5 yrs old, so on the way home he likes to doze... doesn't work so well with him on the bench, he couldn't get comfortable with where to lean against. I'm thinking about relocating the seatbelts lower down and padding the bottom of the bucket and sitting him down in it.

Oh, and the boys got a little chilly after dark. However, that was kind of expected. Apparently, Madsen is working on some sort of weather cover, and I can state without reservation that I'll be ordering one as soon as it's available.

Also, got to ask Madsen about the screws on the top tube and downtube. They aren't spaced for water bottle cages.

Madsen Came In!

Okay, so much influenced by Totcycle's review, I've been wanting to get a Madsen for a while. It showed up. I bought one on the scratch clearance for $200 off. Hard to tell where the scratch was...

Anyhow, we had a couple test rides as soon as we opened it. Handling's a bit "twitchy", some of that is likely because I was riding at fairly low speeds and getting used to it. We'll take a longer ride tomorrow....

Here's a slideshow, the Picasaweb Album has a couple videos...