Kevin's New Bike

Anyone who has ridden in a bike event in Michigan knows Kevin Degen, at least by sight. Over the years Kevin and his trike have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities (the Kenny Foundation, MS Society, Make A Wish, etc.) He has ridden PALM over 20 times. One of the few times he missed PALM was when he was riding across the country from California to Washington DC. Having ridden with Kevin, I can tell you that everyone who sees him seems to know him. Having put his trike into his car I can tell you that not only is it old, but it is heavy.

Three years ago the St. Huberts youth group was on the PALM, met Kevin, and saw his bike. They made it their mission to raise enough money to get him a new bike. Some engineers from Toyota met Kevin while riding the MS 150 and volunteered to design it. At about this time last year they presented their first attempt. One of their main goals for the bike was stability, especially in turns. Kevin has taken many spills. He wears protective padding on his elbow because of this. Their design had two wheels in the front and one in the back for stability. But unfortunately when Kevin rode the new bike on a test track, it was apparent that this design wasn't going to work.

Even though they already spent hundreds of hours on the first design, the Toyota engineers were undeterred. They redesigned it, this time with one wheel in the front and two in the back. And last Sunday, they were able present it to Kevin at St. Hubert's. The new model has lots of nice features. It was a feat for Kevin get on his old bike. With the new model the top tube is low, there is a locking front brake, and the seat can be raised and lowered by a switch, making getting off and on the bike much easier. To make the bike more stable in turns (especially right turns) the frame is off center. Kevin rides using his left arm and leg only which means he rides off center. The frame compensates for this so the bike's center of gravity is where it should be for stability. Needless to say the frame was custom built.


The best thing was that Kevin got to take the bike right home with him. He's already has had it out for a 50 mile ride. (My first ride this year was 20 miles, but you know Kevin. ) Bring on summer!