I drove over to the San Gabriel trail head in Duarte and rode down the bike trail to El Monte and back. I wasn't too worried about my speed because it was so hot I knew I was going to ride slowly. I was more concerned with the comfort of my backside and shoulder. I'm very pleased to say that neither of them bothered me. It was a very enjoyable ride.
The width of the bicycle was a concern at first. I have about a foot on either side of the front wheels while on the bike path. I noticed a distinct power-wobble - when I applied power I moved an inch or so from side to side. It was disconcerting when I had so little room for error.
It seems I was over-steering. The steering is so sensitive that all you really need is a little pressure on the wrist pads. I didn't really need to hold the steerers at all. When I realized this I found it very easy to follow a smooth, straight line. I only needed to use the steerers on very tight corners.
I'm used to two wheels in the same line. Dodging potholes on the Dumont is almost impossible. At least one of the three wheels is going to go over any moderately large hazard. Thank goodness for suspension and Schwalbe tires.
Even though it was far hotter than my comfort zone, I found the action of the wind along my entire body was quite refreshing and kept me feeling cooler than my regular bike would have. This effect might not be so great when it's cold, though. The sweat, sunblock, and recumbent position turned me into a giant fly paper. I was covered in them.
My ride started on the flat and I held 15mph with roughly the same effort that would have got me 17mph on my bike. There's a steep descent (6%) that got me over 25mph quickly. I would have gone much faster but I had to limit my speed due to unfamiliarity with the trike. I came back up at 3.8mph which is probably about the same speed I would have climbed on my bike considering it was now over 95F. With the gears available on the Catrike, the climb was not strenuous.
The seat was incredibly comfortable compared to the recumbent bike I used to own. I put a bath towel on the seat to protect it from my sweat but I doubt that improved comfort. It's a well designed seat and the suspension and fat rear tire (32mm) improved it even more. The rear tire can go up to 50mm with the mudguard and more without it. That would be a very plush ride.
The Dumont has a pouch under the seat for a small bike pump like the Topeak Morph and a second pouch for flat repair and small tools. Carrying food, clothes, etc is going to take some thought. The bottle mounting position isn't very good - I can't see ever being comfortable using it while riding in a group. You can buy a side mount bar that you can mount bags or water bottle cages on. That would be really convenient.
It was almost 100F by the time I got back to Duarte. Yuck.
I'm going to try my Night Audax 200k in September on my regular bike. If I have any shoulder pain I will be buying one of these beauties.
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