The Warmshowers.org season has started and we got our second batch of cross-country bicyclists this week, hailing from Deutschland.  Thomas and Micheal are biking indirectly from New York to San Francisco, or Brooklyn Bridge to Golden Gate as they explain.  Cold fronts drove them south thru Asheville, North Carolina and thence to Oklahoma, into New Mexico and into Durango.  They plan to hit Zion National Park after Mesa Verde in our neighborhood, before the run through Las Vegas, Sequoia National Park and up to the San Francisco Bay Area.  It’s always fun to have these folks drop in because we enjoy hearing their stories, comparing notes on gear and showing them Durango.

It’s unusual to see a recumbant bike around town and very unusual to see a full size recumbent with 700Cx28 wheels.  Micheal is a serious promoter of these models, extolling the comfort, distance and mileage you can get before needing a rest.  He’s managed over 325 km (just under 200 miles)-day on one of his former versions.  On this tour they’ve averaged about 100 miles a day (or about 30 days out of New York to Durango via Georgia), with a best day of 160 miles.  They are carrying less than 30 pounds of gear each including tent and full camping gear.

I had to ask if I could sit/lay in his recumbent, as I’ve never had the opportunity.  Definitely a different style of riding.  Note the steering is left-right levering rather than turning.