For me, last year – 2020 – was a terrible year! Not just because of COVID-19 and all the rigmarole associated with it, but also because of this blasted cramping left foot/toes of mine. I’ve ridden a bike every year since I was 5 years old; but for the first time, I NEVER rode my bike at all during 2020…. I couldn’t because of the foot cramps; and also because I had found that, as my Parkinson’s has advanced, my balance is not what it used to be. So much so that I felt very uneasy trying  to balance on a ‘normal‘ bike. Tai Chi used to help my balance; but again, thanks to Ms. Dystonia and the cramping, I had to abandon that also for the time being. So late in 2020, after much thought, I reluctantly decided I might as well sell my beautiful Diamondback 21-speed Mountain Bike.

But I still love to bike! I missed the fresh air, getting outdoors, the dogs chasing me (no, not really), and the  exercise that biking gives one – even more for someone with PD. I had to do something – especially when I decided to get DBS GPi surgery (and hopefully get rid of the cramping toes!) But what to do? Well, after some research, I decided that I needed a tricycle. “What? A tricycle?? You mean like what kids have??” No no no… besides my legs would be way too long! No, I meant an ADULT tricycle (or trike as it is referred to). Yes they do make those  – maybe you’ve even seen someone riding one up and down the street.

So I did some research – turns out there are far fewer models of adult trikes to choose from than I thought there would be… and most of those were SINGLE SPEED! Who these days would want only one speed – especially someone with PD! (I can see myself now on a one speed, trying to get up the road on that hill in the neighborhood!! Ugh, puff, puff, groan) No way, I wanted at least a 7-speed trike – that should be enough speeds to get me going; besides, it appears that 7 is the maximum number of speeds available on adult trikes!

After doing my research, I found that the most recommended model of adult trike was… a Schwinn – specifically a Schwinn Meridian 7 3-wheel trike. “Schwinn?!?” you say, “I remember those from when I was a kid, do they even exist anymore??” Well, yes and no. You see, back in 1992, Schwinn went bankrupt; however, in 2001, the name/company/assets were sold to another company called Pacific Cycle – one of the most prolific bicycle suppliers in the world. 

Anyway, there was a slight problem – you know that we are beset with backlogs of items – mostly due to the COVID crisis. Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, masks… well, add to that: Bicycles! Especially trikes. I couldn’t find a Schwinn (nor just about any brand of trike) anywhere in my area… so what does a techie like me do? Yep, I turned to Amazon – they always seem to have everything! They listed the 7-speed Schwinn Meridian at their site, along with a bunch of Chinese-made knockoffs (which I didn’t want after reading the reviews!) Problem was, they seemed to be in a perpetual “temporarily out of stock” mode for the Schwinn, with no idea as to when they would be available. Plus, the only 7-speed listed as available  to order at that time was a color they call Periwinkle – an ugly light blue color (at least I think so). But at least it was a trike, so I bit the bullet and made a decision – I placed an order for the Schwinn, hoping beyond hope it would come in soon (and that I could stand riding a bike in that color!). 

That was in April of this year… and so began a frustrating waiting game. By June, there was still no idea of an arrival time – I thought it may show up in early July, but that was just a guess based upon a vague email Amazon sent me. I kept thinking, “Good grief, by the time this arrives summer will be over!“

I checked Amazon almost every day – not only on my order but just looking around to see what trikes were available for shipping. Then came Monday June 21, the beginning of Amazon’s 2021 Prime Day sale. That morning, I was scrolling through Amazon’s site via my phone, and just for laughs I looked again at the Schwinn Meridian listing… OMG! What is that?? A RED ONE?? 7-SPEED? $150 LESS THAN THE ONE I ORDERED? And it can be at my house IN 4 DAYS (Friday June 25)?? I couldn’t believe my eyes – I had to show it to my wife to make sure I wasn’t having my first Parkinson’s hallucination! Well, after I got over the shock and awe, I immediately  grabbed my charge card and ordered it before Amazon changed their mind, or it ran out of stock… once the phone said the order was really complete, I cancelled the old order for that Periwinkle one.

I stood by the front door with baited breath till that Friday – that morning my phone beeped with the message that the bike was on a truck for delivery! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy – and sure enough, late that morning an Amazon truck pulled up and dropped the box with the bike in my garage!

And let me tell you – that was a BIG box! The bike is made of aluminum, but even then it’s bigger and heavier than a normal bike (remember, it has three wheels), and weighs around 70 pounds! Thank goodness there were two people to bring it in from the Amazon truck! I eagerly began unloading the bike pieces from the box – yes, it has a considerable number of parts that have to be assembled – the frame was intact, but I would have to install things like the handlebars, wheels, pedals, fenders, etc.

However, there turned out to be a BIG problem – one that I wasn’t aware of until later on when I had a good portion of the trike assembled. As I unloaded the box, I noticed that the derailleur (the part that moves the chain to the various gears/speeds) was just hanging there on the chain, unattached to the frame. I assumed the instructions would tell me how to install it during the bike assembly. In my eagerness, I forgot one of my most important sayings: “Never assume anything“!

Not being the patient type, I started right in assembling the trike that afternoon. “How hard could it be?” I told myself. Yeah, right… In the end run, it really wasn’t that bad, I guess – it tried my patience a number of times – but with effort on my part, late that evening I had near 3/4 of it done. But one thing bugged me – there was nothing in the instructions telling me how to install that derailleur! It’s then that I went back and re-read the instructions in detail – yep there it was, one sentence in very tiny writing in the middle of a page, saying “The derailleur and chain have already been installed at the factory.” WHAT?? Obviously something was amiss – but since I have been riding and fixing up my own bikes for years, hey, I figured I could install it myself. That’s when I discovered an even bigger problem – the threads in the frame that hold the derailleur in place were stripped!! Oh no… Why?? The only thing I can figure out is one of two scenarios: 1. Some clown on the assembly line at the factory didn’t do their job during the build of the frame, stripped the threads by cross-threading the derailleur, then instead of fixing it, decided to just leave  it there hanging. Or 2. While packing the box (or during shipment) something in the box came loose and smacked against the derailleur, ripping it right out of the frame!

Needless to say, I was bummed… Now what am I going to do? I called Schwinn (Pacific Cycle) and talked to a down-right rude and uninterested support person who at first said she would send me a new derailleur. No no, that isn’t going to help, I really need a new frame with a derailleur hole that wasn’t stripped out. Well, she then told me they couldn’t do that – instead, I had to call Amazon, return the trike, and get a refund or replacement! ARGH! I was NOT going to completely un-assemble the darn thing, and then attempt to try to put it all back into the box and make it fit! (an impossible task if you ask me)

Again I asked myself, “Now what was I going to do?” A million thoughts went through my head… Should I try to pack it up anyway and return it? If so, I’d have to reorder it – I checked and by that time the trikes were once again showing as out of stock and unavailable till who knows when. Do I just give up and write it off? No, the bike wasn’t cheap – more expensive than a ‘normal‘ bike even from a warehouse or discount store. That left only one other option – try to fix it myself… but how can one fix stripped threads?

So I did what any good  techie does – hit the internet! After some research, I found some ‘kits‘ that supposedly will ‘fix‘ cross threaded, stripped screw openings. All, except for one, required drilling completely out the current screw hole. That made me extremely nervous – I had never done this before – and having Parkinson’s would most likely make it harder than I realized. And once I drilled out the hole in the frame, I was committed – no way I could return the bike then. But I had no other choice, I had to give it a try… So I went ahead, ordered the kit, and waited till it arrived.

The process in using the kit involves drilling the hole completely out with a slightly larger drill bit; then placing in something called a ‘Helicoil‘ which replaces the  threads in the hole with the correct size threads. With some help from my father-in-law (thanks Roger!), and after a deep breath, we drilled out the hole, re-tapped it, then inserted the helicoil as instructed. Hoping beyond hope, we attempted to screw in the new derailleur (the derailleur sent with the bike was, as the local bike shop told me, a Chinese no-name knock off, so I purchased a ‘real’ Shimano Acera  derailleur). After a few tense and sweat-drenched attempts, we managed to ‘catch‘ the new threads, and successfully attach the derailleur!! Whew, that made me feel much better – but I kept thinking, was it really installed correctly? Would it fall or break off while under pressure during a ride? The final true test would come later once I tuned up the gears and tried riding the bike for the first time!

So I finished putting the bike together as per the instructions – the fenders were a royal pain in the posterior region, let me tell you – but I finally got it done. After some more research, and tweaking of the derailleur and gears, the assembly was fully complete! Woo hoo!! And it looked pretty darn good, if I may say so myself!

Now for the big test – does it really work and is it ridable? Not only that, but was I going to like riding the Schwinn? You see, since I could never find one in a shop around here locally, I never got a chance to actually test ride the Meridian… I did test drive another model that our local store had, and found I could ride it, but didn’t like that particular brand (sting-ray handlebars are so out of style, I think). Therefore, I had to make the assumption that I could ride the Schwinn 26″ trike reliably and actually enjoy the ride. So, once assembly was done (and waiting a few days for the stupid rain to stop!) I did a final check on the trike, making sure all the bolts/screws and wheels were tightened properly. I filled up the tires with the proper air pressure, put on my bike helmet (remember what I said in my ‘Common Sense‘ post – always wear your helmet… especially if you have wires in your brain!) and bike gloves…  and then I got on the trike and stated down the driveway into the street.

And…. everything worked!! I was back among the ‘living‘  as far as bicycle riders go! Oh, there are still a few tweaks I have to make to the trike, but it works, and works pretty darn good! I had defeated Ms. Dystonia’s and Mr. Parkinson’s attempt at keeping me from ever riding a bike again!

As far as the Meridian goes, it rides pretty well, and the 7 speeds are a god-send. Not only that, but being able to not worry so much about Parkinson’s balance issues means I can enjoy the ride and yet be safe. There is one thing that anyone riding a trike for the first time needs to be aware of, though, and that is turning – on a regular bike, you lean into a turn; meaning if you are turning right you lean to the right. But NOT so on a trike – because it has the two back wheels, if you lean into a turn you are more prone to ‘lift up‘ the opposite wheel off the road causing you to tip over! And for us Parkies that could spell disaster! It’s something you have to remember when turning – hopefully after a time riding the trike it will become second nature to me…. But for now I have to slow way down when turning and remind myself of which way to lean!

I can’t yet tell you the reliability of the Meridian right now – only time will tell. But so far I recommend anyone – especially PD patients like me who may have issues riding a two-wheel bike – to try out the Schwinn Meridian or any other adult trike of your choosing. Finding one these days at a reasonable price is the big issue – just do what I did, and keep checking at various stores, shops, or internet sites; or place an order at  Amazon, and, if ‘out of stock‘, the company that makes the trike you choose will build more in a reasonable time.  I will say it isn’t as easy as I thought it would be to assemble it – depending on your Parkinson’s disease progression, it may be more or less difficult. But it sure beats not being able to ride at all!

So that’s my latest story on bikes for Parkies. Do you ride a bike? If you have Parkinson’s, how is your balance at this time, and would a trike help you to stay ‘on the road‘? Help out your fellow Parkies and give us your thoughts on bikes, trikes, and biking with PD via the comments section below.

I’ll see you on the road… Happy Trails!