I fell in love at the 2013 Recumbent Cycle Con.  My beloved is British; long & lean; a red-head, like me.  I don’t mind telling you that it was love at first sight.  And, as love affairs often go, now I am expecting (best guess is 2-4 weeks).  I keep finding myself daydreaming about what to call her, because so much is in a name, you know?  I’m so excited I can hardly stand it, so full of hope and that giddy flush of anticipation.

In a few weeks I should be the proud mother – AKA new owner – of a 2014 ICE VTX!

ICE – Inspired Cycles Engineering – has revolutionized their go-fast model.  The transformation from the 2013 Vortex to the new VTX is, in my opinion, a record-setting leap forward.  Absolutely. Remarkable. Design.

On my first test-ride of the VTX at RCC, I was simply stunned.  Just really, truly, could not believe it.  My brain couldn’t compute what my body was communicating.  How could it be that a light-&-fast trike – the breed of which is rather notorious for being rough-riding – was, in fact, almost as comfortable for my ouchy body as a trike with suspension?  On my second test-ride of the VTX, over much more varied terrain and about three times the distance, I actually cried.  With Joy.  And with an overwhelming, soaring sense of gratitude.  Because I knew that the ICE VTX would change my triking life dramatically for the better.

I never thought I’d be able to ride a trike without suspension ever again; never thought I’d desire to.  With suspension comes additional weight, though, and the heavier a trike is the more energy I have to expend to move that weight forward (especially uphill), and the more weight I have to bear whenever I’m lifting the trike into/out of a vehicle, as well as around/over any obstacles in my pathway while riding.  Since I’m balance-challenged (thank you, MS!), lifting something heavy is always a fall-risk for me.  The heavier something is, the more likely I am to be thrown off balance.  Even a few pounds can make a big difference when I’m lifting-and-moving something.  So, while a suspended trike is better in terms of comfort to my bad hips and spine, the extra weight of suspension taxes an already-fatigued body and makes manhandling the trike more dangerous for wonky-me.

I have what can be described as a pain-riddled body (thank you, MS!).  So when I say that I never dreamed I’d be riding a trike without suspension again, what I mean is that I never imagined that a suspension-less trike would exist that I could ride without enduring severe pain.  I didn’t think it was possible.  Everybody told me it wasn’t possible.  The wisdom has always been that fast & light comes at the expense of comfort.  The new ICE VTX changes all of that.  Especially for me (and for others like me).  Because of ICE’s transformational design of the VTX, I will be able to ride longer and farther, and faster.  Most important of all, whenever I pick my new trike up, I will be at much less risk of a fall.

Now do you understand why I was crying?

I took several dozen some pictures of the VTX at Recumbent Cycle Con, but Bryan Ball of ‘BentRider Online already has his VTX+ for review and was able to get exponentially-better photographs.

Bryan’s full review, with many more lovely shots of this 3-wheeled beauty – can be found HERE.  You can read the official ICE press release for the VTX and see even more photos HERE.

My current full-suspension trike – a 2011 Vortex FS – weighs roughly 10 more pounds than my “new baby” will.  I’m already dreaming of flying across flats, practically floating up hills, tossing her (gently) into the back of my Subaru Outback as if I possess the strength & stability of Wonder Woman :0)

Now, I have to come up with a name!