Reverse Gear Blog

We wrote about our first experience cycling in Florida on February 1st. By then we were in the Tampa Bay area and planning to do the Pinellas Trail. Weather and flat tires conspired against us - so we only caught glimpses of that trail as we drove by sections close to the highways or bike shops in the area. Then we moved on and stayed near the  Withlacoochee State Park, at the recommendation of Pete whom we met through one of the Florida recumbent forums. We liked the area so much that we stayed a month to ride the Withlacoochee Trail and attend the Catrike Rally on March 6 and 7.  The weather remained cool with most mornings just above freezing. But we had finally decided that we would not allow weather to keep us cabin-bound, that is hibernating in the RV.
We rode the section of the Withlacoochee Trail from the Sandy Oaks RV Resort  in Beverly Hills to the town of Istachatta. We did several variations of this trip or sections of it. We rode it:  with Pete as a guide, by ourselves, with fellow RVers from Sandy Oaks and also with the Catrike Rally ride sponsored by Regis and Cindy of Hampton’s Edge. The ride we most looked forward to was the Moonlight Ride organized by Hampton’s Edge on the Saturday closest to the full moon each month. Since the trail is normally closed after dark, this was going to be unique. So we donned our thermal long-johns, our Moonah and  Woolybutt bottoms and lots of layers, including down vests on top. We found our ski gloves and winter toques. And off we went to the shop at 6:30 pm. But alas no-one else showed. So instead, we joined Regis and Cindy and some locals at the pizza restaurant that would have been the destination for the ride.  We left before their next Moonlight Ride but we hope the weather improved for them. If planning to be in the area, check out Hampton’s Edge Trailside Bicycles for information on rides and trails or drop by their trailside location and  say hello. They now carry REVERSE Gear and KangaTek bags too.
Another trail we rode with the RVers from Sandy Oaks was the canal ride near Crystal River to Gulf of Mexico. It was a short flat ride that was perfect for the cool and windy day we had.
On the weekend of March 6 and 7, we attended the Catrike Rally. On Saturday morning about a hundred Catrikes, and a few hanger-ons like us, gathered at the park on Lake Apopka in Winter Garden. The group self-divided into 3 sub-groups to cover varying distances of the West Orange Trail. Then we all returned to Winter Garden for a bite to eat before descending on the Catrike factory for a tour. Before the tour started everyone enjoyed sunshine, refreshments and exhibits in the parking lot and Paulo Camasmie explained the technology, research and testing behind Musashi, the new Catbike. The next day, Hampton’s Edge organized a ride of the Withlacoochee Trail for any riders staying in the area. About sixty people attended and went for lunch at Frankie’s Grill where REVERSE Gear had a draw for a free jersey. It was an impressive sight on both days to see dozens of trikes wending their way down the trails. We would like to thank Regis and Cindy for their hospitality and for dinner where we met Larry Varney from Bentrider Online (see Larry`s review of the Greenspeed jersey). This ride concluded our stay and our cycling in Florida - for this year.
We had so much fun and we look forward to visiting this area again.

It poured rain for most of the day and I decided it was too wet to go for a bike ride. So I sat around and caught up on email instead. It may have been a weekend of responding to Reverse Gear requests, but for me personally, it was actually one of ‘inspiration’. 

At the Toronto Bike Show we recently received two requests to sponsor upcoming events and Reverse Gear has agreed to provide prizes for:

1. Tour BC  an annual 7-day bike tour that will have about ten recumbent riders participating this year.
2. Cycle for Sight- 100 cyclists will undertake a 133 km journey from Toronto to Collingwood to raise funds to support research aimed at restoring the gift of sight to people living with vision loss on Saturday June 20th, 2009.

 We would love to support Cycle for Sight by riding as well - but this year we cannot - because Len will be riding across Canada from June to September with Blind Guy Biking. Richard has asked Len to be a Captain on his Greenspeed tandem tricycle as he cycles from BC to Newfoundland to raise funds for Special Olympics. Reverse Gear is also the clothing sponsor because we want the team to look good on this ‘big ride’. Watch for details on the blog this summer.

This weekend Reverse Gear  also received a request to sponsor another ‘Big Ride’ from Lee Kelly.

During September 2009,  Lee plans to take a very special journey for a very special cause. His journey will be by recumbent trike from Cleveland, Ohio to Dallas, Texas. Over 21 days and about 1,200 miles. He is riding to raise funds and awareness for returning disabled soldiers and their families. He hopes to encourage any veteran with a disability to set their goals higher, and to accomplish them one way or another. Lee rides to help him recover from a major accident that left him in a coma and later in a quadraplegic state.  To learn more - go to: http://www.mybigride09.com/

Reverse Gear is proud to sponsor all of these events. And these folks are certainly inspiring me to spend more time on my own trike than in the office… << more to come>>>  

Our first blog told you how we got started - with the support of many friends along the way. We would be remiss if we did not thank a few others that have been involved in the launch of Reverse Gear Inc.

Our first customer was in PA. We want to thank Rob Gentry and Alicia for organizing a great recumbent cycle event, and for allowing us to showcase Reverse Gear clothing for the very first time - at both the pub night and the RBR rally. Rob’s site has many great photos of the event. While the cycling was great - the evening get-togethers with the other riders and sharing stories was also a wonderful way to get us back into the NA cycling scene (after being in Australia for 8 years). And of course there is the infamous story of BentJay with a squirrel in his lap. It’s going to be  a challenge for anyone to top that one.

Our first on-line customers found us because Bentrider Online featured the REVERSE Gear^TM launch - now relegated to the June 2008 archives. Len and I find it hard to believe that we’ve been around long enough to be “archived”. (Actually I meant REVERSE Gear^TM - not us!!!) Thanx to Bryan Ball for our first product review.

While the on-line orders were testing the REVERSE Gear^TM website, we were tearing across the USA landscape - state-by-state - on our way to CA. We cycled in a few wonderful places like Vail, CO which whetted our appetite for more. But we were rushing to get to the first Bent-up rally. So we were a first at a first, and Bent-up became the first dealer to carry REVERSE Gear.  We want to thank Dana and Neal for their hospitality and for encouraging us to take the cross-country tour to ride along the beaches. I love beaches and found the route along the boardwalk from Will Rogers to Redonda Beach is outstanding. I hope they do a second annual Bent-up Rally and we can go again.

On the way home we stopped at several dozen recumbent shops to meet fellow ‘bents and cycled in many states. One of those memorable rides was in Chicago from the Amlings location to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Even though it poured rain the entire time the ride along paved bike paths, which Joe and Julie at Amlings had recommended, was most enjoyable. Later that day, Amlings became dealer number two. Thanx Joe and Julie.

We then returned to Canada to manufacture the fall line. And in those following weeks, the folks at Neighbourhood Transportation Recumbent and Foldable Bikes found out about us and became our third dealer.

 In August, we headed west again to WI and the 16th Midwest Recumbent Rally at the Hostel Shoppe. Again we participated in rides and displays of REVERSE Gear^TM . And before we headed home, Hostel Shoppe also decided to carry the REVERSE Gear line in their shop.

 We would like to thank Rob, Dana, Joe, Bruce and Rolf for supporting our early endeavours in this new adventure. And thanks to all of our customers in Canada, USA, France. Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Japan and Australia. We know we won’t always be able to “give thanks” to individuals but we wanted to acknowledge the ones that we can.

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. ”
Henry Van Dyke