The 321 refers to selling three bicycles: a 2009 Giant CRX-Zero, a 2008 Birdy Anthracite and a 2007 Cruzbike Sofrider V1 to get one Silvio.

I used BikeExchange.com.au and basically priced each bike at around 50 per cent of what I'd spent on it. All three sold quickly and went to good homes. Two in NSW and one in Victoria (Giant). I'd bought the Giant to see if a no-expense spared flat-bar road bike would make a difference to the way I felt about "conventional" bicycles. Alas, no. By the time I had ridden the Giant 10 km back from the shop I had a numb bum. I tried several saddles, to no effect, and I included these in the sale of the Giant. The purchaser was pleased, but probably puzzled. In the for sale advertisement the photograph showed an additional seat, with original post. Yes, I'd tried a suspension post too!

The Birdy remained unfolded most of the time, but was a nice piece of machinery. It was a different type of bicycle to ride compared with a conventional, Diamond Frame (DF) bike, but not particularly difficult to master. Riding no-hands is probably impossible on a Birdy

I had bought it because trying a folding bike seemed like a good idea at the time. I thought I was on a quest for a bicycle that I could travel with. More of that later!

The suspension on the Birdy made it a pleasant ride, and I couldn't see any point in ever getting another bicycle without suspension. Something else to include on my quest for a bicycle I could travel with.

While I still had issues with the Sofrider V1, it was so much more comfortable to ride. As a short person, I would have liked it if the seat was a bit closer to the ground. As it turns out, that was one of the modifications in the Sofrider V2 frame: a curved down tube and a lowered top tube.

I had bought the Sofrider from the website, sight unseen as it were, and spent a month of Sunday's learning to ride it. Everything clicked when I met Kim Tolhurst and he made suggestions on setting up the Sofrider. By the time I sold it, I was calling it a V1.3 Sofrider (Head stem extender - better knee clearance, Triple chain ring and Vittoria Randonneur Pro tyres - higher pressure). Down at the Geelong "test" track, I rode the Sofrider V2, under Kim's watchful gaze, and everything started to click.

The die was cast when John's prototype Silvio arrived in Geelong for Kim to show to prospective buyers. After a 10 km ride along the Barwon River trail, that was that. I had sold all but my Cruzbike Sofrider V1.3 at this stage, but when that had been sold, and Kim came up to help me pack it, I had no excuses, other than a heavy workload.

Shortly before Christmas 2009 John came over from the West, and I met him and Kim at the Cruzbike "showroom" in Geelong, ostensibly to ride the new Sofrider, the Quest and the Sigma. Imagine my surprise when Kim announced we were going to ride to lunch. John gratiously surrendered "his" Silvio, and away we went. I hadn't been on a bike for a month or so, but the joy of riding the Silvio came back instantly. I left Geelong that evening with Frameset CBSV-070.

My Silvio build was delayed by Christmas, parts, overseas visitors and a heavy January workload, but it all came together on Friday 12 February, when I went for my first ride on CBSV-070.

As finished, my Silvio had a compact double chain ring with shortened cranks (153 mm), and a bar-end mirror, which didn't add to the aesthetics or aerodynamics of the finished product.

I have since ridden the 20-inch Quest (Quest 451), and I can see that in my future as the ideal Cruzbike to give people the Cruzbike experience, and it folds. A Cruzbike with suspension (of course) that folds. It doesn't fold in the same way as the Birdy, it's more of an optimised disassembly, but it will suit me. John Tolhurst designed it in a suitcase, or at least that was the boundaries he set in the design program for fitting together the components.

It stacks up quite well next to the Silvio and without road tyres I think it will be an ideal rail trail bicycle.

As a 2011 update, a Quest 451 V2 - as seen in the Better Homes and Gardens video, the actual bike, without the child seat - is now part of the Box Hill Cruzbiking stable.

The GT1: basic folder. Designed as an easily transportable trike that you can fold up to fit in a car. 

Thanks for the opportunity to borrow it for a weekend Pete.

The Stowaway. A narrow track width of 640 mm means it goes through internal doors easily!

Thanks for showing me around the workshop Michael.

 The Giro 20 ATT and a custom Strada 20 were both taken for a short spin in Canberra.

Thanks for the opportunity to sample the range of recumbents on display Ian.I helped a friend buy a Giro!

In 2011, my Silvio has a headrest, a click-stand (thanks Dan) and a CamelBak Better Bottle with (insulated) hands-free tube (thanks Doug).

I parked it at the finish line of the MS Summercycle and attracted some interest, as I did on the ride.

The Bike Snob (Eben Weiss), who writes a column in the US magazine "Bicycling" has a collection of these writings published in a book - Bike Snob: Systematically and Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling. He presents a taxonomy (Velo-taxonomy) on The Various Subsets of Cyclists. He seems to have a soft spot for the "Lone Wolf", because I suspect at heart he is one, and their cousins, the "Contraption Captains". Needless to say, Contraption Captains are recumbent riders who "... mean no harm, and they're simply operating machines they feel are superior to regular bicycles because they're potentially faster and they don't require the rider to sit on a narrow saddle."

He also says "The recumbent strikes fear into the hearts of nearly every non-recumbent-riding cyclist. ... Cyclists all notice one another. so when we see something that looks like a bicycle yet places the rider in an odd position with his feet kicking the air like he's defending himself from an attacking eagle we become confused and disoriented. And when animals (including humans) don't understand something they become angry and defensive."

I don't think I could have put it better myself.