Are THREE Wheels Better that TWO? My Recumbent Trike!

After many years, and thousands of miles of BI-cycling, I have switched to TRI-cycling! As the image below indicates, I've changed my T-shirt message from "Got Bike?" to "Got Trike!"

MY "CATRIKE" 27-SPEED "VILLAGER" RECUMBENT TRICYCLE
I purchased a used 27-speed recumbent trike from a nice couple in The Villages, had the local Village Cycle shop install a luggage rack, and mounted my laundry basket (for my water aerobics stuff) to the trike with bungee cords. The brand name is Catrike, and, quite fittingly, the model name is Villager.

MY BALANCE PROBLEM DUE TO PARKINSONS DISEASE
I made the decision to quit Bicycling due to a tumble in January (from which my right knee is still a bit stiff) and a second fall in February. Actually, my Bicycle falls started back in 2011, when I fell four times, twice during an otherwise wonderful bike-barge trip in Belgium from Brussels to Bruges.

The following year, 2012, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which is due to insufficient production of Dopamine in the brain. My symptoms include poor balance, tremors, and loss of the sense of smell. I've been taking a medication (Carbidopa/Levodopa) that helps with the tremors, but my balance has declined a bit year by year. Indeed, from 2012 through 2016, I've fallen from my bike once or twice a year, usually when making slow right turns. This despite taking extraordinary care, such as walking intersections and not cycling with large groups. Nevertheless, until this year, I have continued to Bicycle 30-40 miles per week, accompanied by close friends who put up with my antics.

In my younger years, I just hopped aboard and off I went. However, after my second fall this year, I found it increasingly hard to get the bike going. I'd adjust myself on the bike seat, keeping the bike upright with my left foot. Then, I'd put my foot on the right pedal, push it hard to get the bike moving forward, balancing as I tried to raise my left to it's proper place on the left pedal. However, my left foot seemingly "did not want" to leave the ground, and that foot had a heck of a time "finding it's position on the left pedal". It usually took me two or more tries to get going. Very frustrating!

Much easier with the trike!

And, perhaps best of all, my Catrike is MADE IN THE USA (actually right here in Florida!)

SOME BICYCLES I HAVE OWNED AND RIDDEN IN YEARS PAST

My Girl's Bike

Us "Old Dogs" can't raise our legs as high as we used to, so, a few years ago, I switched to a GIRL'S BIKE (images above and below), which is much easier to mount! I purchased it new from WalMart for around $150. Read about it here. Notice the laundry basket for my water aerobics stuff on both my Girl's bike and its predecessor, my fold-up Bike Friday.

I had the great pleasure of riding on my Girl's bike with our granddaughters Samantha and Michaela when they visited in 2015 (image below).

And my bicycling is memorialized for my 70th birthday, in 2009.     

Bike Friday Fold-Up

Here is me doing a bit of "surfing" on my Bike Friday on the hard-packed sand at Daytona Beach, back in 2008. Read more about it here.

By the way, Bike Friday is also MADE IN THE USA (Oregon).

 

Rental Bicycling Adventure in Egypt

Back in 1997, Vi and I visited Egypt, which was quite an adventure. Read about it here.

In Luxor, after our morning escorted tour that included the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut where several dozen tourists were to be mowed down two weeks later, I rented a bike for $5. For an hour I rode around Luxor, all by myself (image below). At one point, to get off the heavily traveled main street, I strayed into a lower-class residential area with dirt streets. I was wearing a hat that had "NY" on it and children called out to me, in English, and said "hello" and "welcome". 

One boy grabbed hold of the rear of the bike and I shouted "La-a" which is "no" in Arabic, but he held on until I shouted "don't touch!" in English. The dirt streets were winding in and out like a rabbit warren with many dead ends. I had trouble finding my way out and back to the main street, but, eventually I did, with no harm done. I felt quite comfortable during that ride.

Two-Wheel LONG Wheelbase Recumbent

Carpal tunnel effects caused my fingers to become numb, so, in 1990, I purchased a LONG-wheelbase Recumbent bicycle. The steering is under the seat, with a multi-link connection to the front wheel, which makes for a a bit of a lag between moving the bar and the wheel actually turning.

(I had Carpal Tunnel surgery on both wrists which is how I was able to go back to an upright bicycle, my Bike Friday, see above.)

Here I am in Ireland riding my Recumbent. 

The story of my trip to Ireland was featured in our local Binghamton newspaper in 1991.

My Mountain Bike

In 1987 I purchased this mountain bike. I joined the wonderful Southern Tier Bicycle Club (THANK YOU AUGIE MUELLER!) and rode with them most Saturdays. I also rode it to and from work a few days a week.

The First Bike I Owned

As a child, my Dad taught me to ride on a bike we rented. He, my Mom, and I would occasionally go out riding on rental bikes. We lived in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, NY and sometimes rode along the Boardwalk between Brighton Beach and Coney Island (allowed early on Sunday mornings when there were few people). Other times, we rode to Sheepshead Bay and along a bike trail to Canarsie.   

In 1956, when I was in high school, my Uncle Harry, who worked at Macy's, arranged the purchase of an Raleigh "English Racer". We took it home on the subway because my Dad did not have a car. 

I rode that bicycle all around our Brighton Beach neighborhood and along the Boardwalk and the Sheepshead bay trail during my high school and college days. (I lived with my parents and younger brother in Brighton Beach and commuted to Brooklyn Technical High School and the City College of New York by subway.) 

I took it with me when I moved out of the house in 1961 to take my first professional job in Norwalk, CT. In 1963 I took my second professional job in North Plainfield, NJ, Although I had a car, I sometimes used that bicycle to go to and from work.  

While working in Connecticut and New Jersey, I pursued my social life in Brooklyn, spending most weekends at my parent's house. I met Violet Stark, my wife-to-be, and taught her to ride a bicycle and drive a car (and we still got married in 1964 :^) 

In 1965, when I got my job at IBM Federal Systems in upstate Owego, NY, we bought a farm in Newark Valley, about 12 miles from work. I gave up bicycling and my ancient Raleigh was left to molder in a corner of a barn. 

In 1978, we moved to Apalachin, which was only 6 miles from work, but I still did not take up cycling. It was not until 1987 when I resurrected my ancient Raleigh (image below) and thought about using it to commute to work. However, it had only three speeds and our house was up a steep hill, so that old bike was not right for the task. Which is why I purchased the mountain bike described above. 

Ira Glickstein

Tablet Computer Aids for People Who Cannot Speak Clearly

I presented How iPad Text to Speech Might Help People Who Cannot Speak Clearly on September 28th to Gary Ingram's Parkinson Fight Club at The Villages, FL.

Some people with Parkinson's Disease or other speech deficiencies have difficulty speaking loudly enough or clearly enough to be heard. They might benefit from free or low-cost computer apps that allow them to type text or click on already composed phrases and have the machine talk for them. You may download my Powerpoint Show by CLICKING HERE.

As you undoubtedly know, Stephen Hawking, the world-renown cosmologist, has long used a computer aid to compose his scientific papers and to allow him to speak to others. The advent of tablet computers and free -or low cost- application programs has made this technology available to nearly everybody.

As a member of the excellent support group called the "Parkinson Fight Club" I am aware that Parkinson's is a progressive, incurable, degenerative disease that, despite the the best medication and physical therapy, may rob victims of the ability to speak clearly. The founder and leader of our support group, Gary Ingram, has mentioned Stephen Hawking and wondered if the technology that he uses to communicate could be applied to help some of our members.

In response to Gary's request, I searched for "text to speech free" for apps that would run on my iPad. Dozens of free apps were offered. I only had the time to check out a few of them, two of which I demonstrated to the support group. There may be other iPad apps that are better, particularly the ones you have to pay for. (And, be aware that most of the "free" apps will try to sell you upgrades that offer more functionality. Some of these extra features may well be worth the money if you need them. Fortunately for me, my speaking voice is still strong and clear despite my Parkinson's.)

In addition to iPad apps, I'm sure there are many available for Android tablets and other devices, including smart phones. 

The purpose of this posting is simply to make you aware that this technology exists and that it may help you or a loved one speak clearly.

In addition to Text to Speech apps, there are others that utilize a visual system. A friend who has taught special needs children put me onto a picture-board app, called SoundingBoard. This app has some intriguing features and may be just the ticket for users who are not adept at typing. (Thanks Terri!)

At our most recent meeting, I demonstrated two Text to Speech apps, plus the SoundingBoard app. (The logos for these apps are shown in the image above). 

Text to Speech - Voice Synthesiser for iOS, Gwyn Durbridge.

This app is simple and easy to use, but has limited capability. You just type your text message, click on Speak, and the app does its job, speaking the message. The user may press Speak again to have the tablet repeat the message. The user may edit the message and have the tablet Speak it again. To enter and speak another message, just click on Clear and repeat the process.

A neat feature is that you may use sliders to control the Rate and Pitch of the speech. You may also choose from some 36 different voices for different languages (including US and UK English).

Most important YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET to use this app. This is a considerable advantage if you will be using this app on your tablet in areas where an Internet connection is not available. (The other apps I tried would not work properly when there was no Internet connection). 

The biggest limitation of this app is that it does not have the ability to store useful phrases or sentences you may wish to use repeatedly. There is only one message stored at a time. You have to type each new message from scratch.

mText2Speech - Text to Speech with Auto Translate, MarkelSoft, Inc.

This App is easy to use and has the very useful ability to store and have the tablet say a number of pre-written messages, such as: "My name is Ira and I live at

", "Yes, I agree", "No, I do not agree", "Please help me get to the nearest restroom", "Please call my wife at

This app also enables the user to type a new message and have the tablet say it. Once spoken, the new message will be remembered unless the user clears it. Unfortunately, if you are not connected to the Internet, the program may get stuck on one of the recent messages and say it over and over, preventing you from selecting a different message or entering a new one.

This app also has the ability to translate from one language to another, so you can, for example, type a message in English and have it spoken in Italian, French, or a number of other languages.

SoundingBoard, AbleNet.

This app takes a non-text approach, which makes it attractive for users who cannot type well. It comes with a considerable number of pre-recorded messages that the use may activate by pressing virtual keys on a picture board.

The user selects from a list of categories, such as Clarification, Emergency Help, Shopping, Social, Yes/No, and so on. Selection of a category causes display of up to nine images on a picture board. When the user touches an image, the tablet speaks the associated pre-recorded message.

For example, I demonstrated the following sequence starting with the Shopping category: "Excuse me", "Can you help me?", "Where is the ..." (that automatically brought up a new picture board with supermarket items), "Cereal", "Milk ..." (I pressed the back arrow to the previous picture board) "How much is that?", "Thank you". 

Under the My Emergency Information category, the user may select: "My name is ", "My phone number is ", "My home address is

", "My medications are ".

The free version allows the user to Edit the response associated with each picture, but the changes I made were not stored by the app. They offer a "Buy Board" option, so I guess it costs extra to have Edit capability (and may well be worth it).

Conclusions

This speaking aid technology is available and useful. The iPad and other tablet computers are relatively low in cost and portable and may be operated by many people who have speaking deficiencies.  If you need this type of device, I hope this introductory information may prove useful, and I would love to hear from you if you wish to post comments to this Blog thread.

Ira Glickstein