What recumbent bike will be my first build?

I ride my Surly Long Haul Trucker bike to work 20 miles each day. I also rode 1400 miles from Vancouver to San Francisco down the Pacific Coast Highway. So I know what it's like to be in the saddle for a long time.

I'm not sure what got me interested in recumbent bicycling.  Believe it or not, I have never even rode a recumbent bike in the past.  And now, here I am, building them.

All I know is when I see somebody else riding a recumbent bike, I wish I were riding one too.  I don't particularly like the bikes that have you practically lying flat on your back with your neck tilted up to see forward.  I like the look of the recumbent that has you slightly reclined in the seat. Also, I don't want to be 2 inches off the ground!  More like 18" off ground where cars can see you more clearly.


I discovered this great website called atomiczombie.com, where you can buy plans to build your own recumbent bikes.  The plans are easy to read and understand.  They say all you need is a few basic tools and a welder and you can build about 30 different types of recumbent bikes.

So the first bike I will build will be delta trike.  It will be similar to the Deltawolf Speed trike like shown below.  I say similar because I won't be following the Atomiczombie plan to the letter.  I want it to be unique and different. So it will be a cross between a Deltawolf and a Hase Kettwiessel Tour.

Think I am crazy!  Well, wait and see!