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Updated 2007-01-10
I ride a recumbent in Tokyo. To work and back home again. Every day if it doesn't rain, which is a lot. I live near the train station, but hate to take the train. The 25 minutes on the bike clears my head and relaxes me. It reduces stress tremendously. I take all back streets. (Map coming)
The word RECUMBENT means to lie back, because that is what you do on a bike like this. I bought the BikeE from a store here just after they went out of business, and got it for about half the normal price (it cost me 50,000 yen, or about $400). See an FAQ about recumbents.
I got my picture in a magazine called Fun Rider when I bought the bike. They wanted to know why I bought it and how I use it (commuting).
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| Kevin standing in front of his house in Kawasaki, Japan, with his BikeE recumbent bicycle which cost him Y50,000 (about $400), about half price of what it was before the company went bankrupt. He has had no problems with it in the 6 months since he got it. | Kevin rides the 10 Km (6 miles) to work when it is not raining. He gets noticed a lot more since switching from a tradition "wedgie" bike. Without suspension, this bike is hard with the bumps but otherwise much more comfortable than his previous Mongoose Cross. |
Recumbent riders call their bikes "bents" and like them much more than the traditional "wedgie" bicycle that wedges up between your legs and, according to recent findings causes an increased chance of impotence. I ride about 600 kilometers a month (down from about 1,000 a month when I was working Tuesdays out in Hino, a 35 mile ride each way). I don't want to risk impotence. Life is too short.