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T.Ryx (pronounced "tee - rIkes") is a play on both the words trikes and T. rex (the dinosaur). Sure, it's a cheap play on the trike name, but the dino connection is really fitting. As an environmentalist, I truly believe in conserving our natural resources, including non-renewable fossil fuels. Of course we can't expect to scrap automobiles across the board and go back to pedaling our way everywhere overnight. But bicycles and trikes are an obvious solution for many of our local transportation needs. We've just got to change our mindsets...wean ouselves off petroleum and away from two tons of steel and plastic for running local errands.
Mission
I began riding recumbent bicycles in about 1990, having built an Easy Racer from plans I purchased from Gardner Martin of Tour Easy, but fell in love with recumbent trikes in 2006. My personal preference is the delta-style as made by Hase (I ride a Lepus myself). I love the products so much that I began T. Ryx in late 2006. I now sell both tadpoles and deltas, quality models from Hase, Greenspeed, ICE, Catrike, and Wizwheelz.
Although there are few, if any, other shops out there that sell exclusively recumbent trikes, the mission of T. Ryx is specifically not to out-compete any other dealers. On the contrary, our goal is to make more people aware of the benefits of recumbent trikes, alternatively known as HPVs (human powered vehicles), and to increase the ridership everywhere. Most other shops that sell recumbent trikes are mainly bicycle shops, although some specialize in recumbent bicycles. Most sell only one or two trikes. By selling and promoting only recumbent trikes, T. Ryx will also further its mission of encouraging a more cycling-friendly San Diego County and Southern California initially, and ultimately more national with our affiliation with National Bicycle Greenway and other organizations. If you want to hear a lot of my rambling, go to NBG's Web Site at http://NationalBicycleGreenway.com/ and listen to my podcast. I actually thought Martin Krieg would edit a lot of the "ums and uhs" out...sorry. I never promised I was a public speaker.
http://nationalbicyclegreenway.com
Philisophy
We are a "Green" company at heart. Sure, we reduce, reuse, and recycle. That's a given. But like everyone else, we slip up now and then.It's easy to throw away a piece of paper or a cardboard box when it's in the way and it's not convenient to recycle or reuse it. I (Hoppy) am probably a little eccentric in my ecological spirit in some eyes, but even I slip up at times. That being said, our philosophy is to leave the earth in better condition than it was when we got here, since it was already trashed by those who were here before us. We can't just "not do any more damage". We must clean it up before it's too late. Since OPEC isn't going to stop producing until we stop consuming, we've got to at least reduce our consumptio n if we're going to clean the air at all. The auto makers are not willing to proactively "green up" our vehicles because we consumers want BIG, POWERFUL, TANKS that can do the work of swiss army knives.
T. Ryx is sure that with our many options in human powered vehicles (HPVs), including high quality recumbent trikes and potentially velomobiles in the not too distant future, consumers will realize that we don't need to destroy our environment and our health to enjoy the quality of life that these petroleum powered beasts have provided for the past century. For those who can't live without that extra boost, electric assist motors are even available, such as the BionX and others, on trikes, bikes, and velomobiles.