When I started out riding my trike a 2-3 mile round-trip ride was enough to get me slightly winded. I was, and still am, very out of shape. I’ve made an effort to ride 2-3 times a week and doing my best to make one a weekend ride of around 3 hours. I’m up to 18 miles in a 3 hour window without being exhausted. As I work in increasing my average moving speed (I spend too much time sightseeing) I will build total miles quickly. I’ve been testing some smartphone tools to work as a cycling computer, I think I’ve settled on Endomondo, it’s nice and does what I think I need. But because it took me so long to pick one and switching around I lost track of my mileage so far. My current estimate is about 175miles. A paltry sum I plan to build on enormously.
So what’s the point? I ride mostly on paved trails like this one:
I’ve gone a few hundred yards on some wide dirt paths (flat as a board here in Houston) So my trike has been pretty gently used so far. But the other day in the middle of a ride down a wide pave trail through the Heights my steering yoke started to wobble from side to side. Tightened the nut the runs through the frame that I thought might be loose. No change. So when I got home I took off the seat to see how I could tighten up whatever was loose. The handlebar was deflecting about an inch up and down on either side and that’s really annoying. It’s a new trike so some things have worked loose as I’ve ridden cables have stretched, brakes needed adjusting, all the things I expected. But under the seat I discovered this:
The weld on the Steering Brace seems to have failed. It’s been gently used and doesn’t have that many miles on it so far. I’ve never abused the steering yoke. I dismount by grabbing the top of the front tires and standing up. I sit down in a similar fashion. So it’s not from me pressing on one side other the other with a lot of weight. I discovered this just a week before an organized ride with a cycling group I just joined and this isn’t a part I can pick up at the local bike shop. Its a key part, of course, in keeping control of my trike and I don't want to risk it failing the remainder of the way while riding.
So first thing Monday I called up TerraTrike to find out what part, how much, Is it possibly under warranty, etc? Can I even get it by this Saturday? They told me I could get it by then for $66 Plus $11 for shipping. But since I bought it through UtahTrikes and I wasn’t in their system I needed to call them for warranty replacement. I’ve had a great experience with the guys and gals at UtahTtikes so far so I called them up. I don’t know who I talked to that day, but he asked me to take some pictures of the part and the trike to show the damaged part and that the trike was undamaged. So I did that and emailed them off. By the end of Tuesday I was getting worried about potential shipping delay making it impossible to get the part by Friday so I resolved to just purchase the part warranty or no and get it overnighted. Since they said it was in stock and I had already been talking to them I called up UtahTrikes again and explained to Ashley what I needed. I didn’t even mention that I had talked to someone else about possible warranty replacement. But he had seen the email and guessed that it was me. He was confused as to why the folks at TerraTrike handled things this way and said that he would ship me the part if i send the old on back to him. he said he could weld it back in place in 2 minutes and powder-coat it back to original condition. I believe that would be easy for them. Go have a look at the custom trikes they do. Awesome stuff.
Anyway, the part came today and I've go to get it on before its too dark, I don't want to be messing with this the night before the ride.
it has a reflector and a hellishly bright red light that can be set steady, flash slow or epilepsy inducing flash. I also hung a pair of 
on my highly reflective PurpleSky flag on the back. They also have flashing and steady modes. They are easy to hang anywhere and if placed against something, (backpack, seat back, etc.) they will light up a good sized area to add to overall visibility. I still want to get a second rear light the 
probably, its really popular too and should make for an impossible to ignore combo with the Radbot. I attached the rear light with zip ties on the rear rack using the mounting bracket that comes with the Radbot, the are well attached and don't move. I still plan on more reflectors and maybe some down-lights under the seat or frame. I may be paranoid, but I will be noticed.
