Reverse Gear Blog

Reverse Gear is proud to be a sponsor of the Ride Ataxia Dallas 2011.  You can ride 6, 10, 25 or 50 miles on well marked routes in Dallas area this weekend to support Fredreichs Ataxia Reserach Alliance.

Watch for our friends from the Texas Catrike team. Len Ashby of Reverse Gear will be riding with the team.

Judi is jazzed about her little red tricycle - seen here in the original unisex wearable art jersey

Easy Street Recumbents is once again holding the Heart of Texas Catrike Rally in Austin Texas on April 8 – 10, 2011.

Registration is limited to 30 participants so sign-up early by contacting  jane @ easystreetrecumbents.com or by talking to Mike at the shop at 5555 N. Lamar Blvd – #C105 or by calling 512-453-0438.

One of the great prizes at the rally with be the new Jazzed about Triking jersey, based on the original art of Louisiana artist Vergie Banks. We are “jazzed about triking” ourselves and REVERSE GEAR is proud to sponsor events which bring together other tricyclists.

Reverse Gear banner at first 2011 HRPA event.

The first HPRA event of 2011 was sponsored by Reverse Gear. It was held at Brian Piccolo Park in Florida  on February 26 and 27. The races went well and it was reported that everyone had fun.  They had 25 racers attend and about 30 spectators each day. A number prizes were given out at the final dinner. Congratulation to Chris and Shari who received REVERSE GEAR merchandise for their participation. REVERSE GEAR thanks the organizers for their effort in this successful season-starter.

Reverse Gear is sponsoring the 2011 HPRA Florida Challenge at Brian Piccolo Park – 9501 Sheridan Street, Pembroke Pines, Florida  on February 26 and 27, 2011. The race weekend is one week after the Sebring 12/24 hour race and one week before the Catrike Rally.
This the first HPRA race of the 2011 season. There will be two full days of racing.
For anyone not racing on Saturday, Atlantic Bicycle  has organized a group ride. The ride will be approximately 20 miles at a moderate pace.
This event will offer prizes (including a REVERSE GEAR cycling jersey and a pair of recumbent cycling shorts), displays and the opportunity to meet other recumbent enthusiasts and see an excellent variety of human powered machines and their engines.

Rev Hans in Howard MI wearing his Reverse Gear jersey

Rev Johannes Myors of the Pedal Prayers Ministry has now stopped cycling until spring. He and his recumbent made it to Savanna IL on November 23rd where he will work for the next six months. This was after travelling 8,559.68 miles (13,695.49 KM) since he started his 2010 journey on March 15th. An impressive accomplishment and some of those miles were done wearing Reverse Gear. We are proud to have been a clothing sponsor for Rev Hans, pictured here on one of his rides.

In February, 2010 just before he started this journey, we received an email requesting us to be a sponsor of his ride.  Because “The Cycling Rev” rides a ‘bent, he had seen Reverse Gear in the list of sponsors on Bentrider Online. He had also heard about us from the editor of The Recumbent Blog. This is what he had to say…

Len and Judi,
I am hoping that you might be able to help me…

Since February of 1993, I’ve been cycling around the United States with my ministry called “Pedal Prayers”. Even though I am an ordained minister, I consider myself as a Missionary Servant Evangelist. I am more of a “hands-on evangelist” than a “speaking evangelist”.

I have made 16 coast-to-coast crossings of the United States and have been in every state except for Alaska and Hawaii. I also cycled through three provinces of your country (BC, Ontario, Quebec). As of August 31, 2009, I’ve ridden over 196,000 miles (296,000 KM) in 3,350 days of touring. Along with performing ministry, I have been helping out after natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes) and promoting social action.

I have worked alongside the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the Salvation Army giving comfort to those affected and also helping to rebuild people’s lives through Habitat for Humanity, UMCOR, and other religious organizations.

I’m on my seventh bicycle. The last three have been short-wheelbase recumbents.

I am starting out on my next trip, which would be my 20th mission trip since February 1993, some time between March 15th and March 20th. …
… I am hoping that your company might be willing to donate a couple of your products and join me in my journey as I share the LORD’s compassion to who ever I meet along the way.

Thank you very much.

In HIS Draft, Rev Hans, “The Cycling Rev”

We hope the Rev Johannes Myors had a successful year and that he looked “presentable” in his Reverse Gear  jerseys when he showed up on his recumbent cycle at some of the churches and ministries that he visisted. We also hope that he was comfortable as he pedaled his 2010 journey.
For more information about the Pedal Prayers Ministry – go to: http://www.pedalprayers.org

Reverse Gear will be providing “winning yellow” jerseys to the winners of the 11th annual World Human Powered Speed Championships being held in Battle Mountain, Nevada during the week of September 13 – 18, 2010. Cyclists from around the world will gather to ride 200 meters on SR305.  This road was newly refinished in 2009, with a smooth surface specially prepared for human powered cycle racing by the Nevada Department of Transportation. Wouldn’t we all love to have a road surface like that to ride on? If you read our blog entry on PEI you will understand why we are envious. ;o)

Please let us know of any recumbent-cycling events in your area too and we will post them on our blog.

Day 1 – May 31, 2009

Sunday was departure day and it took all day to get going…

Packing the vehicles took all morning. After lunch we headed to Chatham ON to pick up the trailer that would be home for the next 110 days. I left getting lessons on how to stabilize the jacks and wheels and empty the septic tank to the boys and spent the afternoon playing ball and hide and seek with the owner’s 3-year old daughter. Someone had to do it.  First stop was Port Huron MI across the border from Sarnia ON. We had a late dinner of chicken in a panini. And we all crashed for our first peaceful sleep in new beds.

Day 2 – June 1, 2009

In the morning we trundled over to the Cracker Barrel Restaurant for gigantic American breakfasts and all compared our aches and pains from sleeping on poor mattresses. Except Aaron. I guess at age 20 – nothing aches – yet.

The drive was going well until we noticed that we had lost a vent on the side of the trailer. The detour to a Camping World for parts and a trip to Walmart in the resort town of Houghton Lake took more time than expected. The day ended with Anna’s great bbq ribs and a bottle of red wine in a campground by Lake Michigan, just past St. Ignace MI.

Day 3 – June 2, 2009

Needed to make up some time, so we had a very long day of driving through some very pretty country along Hwy 2 on south side of Lake Michigan. Just past Deer River MI, and 15 km off Hwy 2, we found a 64 year old fishing lodge with an RV hook-up for the night. Dinner was leftover ribs and potato salad. We ate inside the trailer where we still had to fight off hundreds of mosquitoes. Unfortunately we didn’t get them all and at least one found Judi’s forehead so she looks like she ran into a rake handle (again).

Day 4 – June 3, 2009

Woke up to the sun shining which deceptively hid the fact that it was few degrees above freezing. Got one last glance at the very scenic Tamarack fishing lodge before we hit the road – which would be a long open flat boring drive across the USA prairies of Minnesota and North Dakota. This gave Judi time to load the Canada maps into the GPS before we start cycling. With several crashes and slow download speeds that took most of the day. Dinner was sandwiches on the shoulder of Hwy 52 because there was no place else to stop after Minot ND.

Crossed border at Portal ND. Judi got her bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin for summer G&Ts. She expects to reward herself at the end of the tough hill-climbing days. Arrived in Estevan SK at about 11pm EDST (9 pm CST). The day ended with a beautiful prairie sunset. (It would appear that Saskatchewan does not move to DST.)

Day 5 – June 4, 2009

We went north from Estevan to Moose Jaw to pick up supplies and new walkie talkies so convoy could communicate better. After quick lunch at Smitty’s headed for the Trans Canada Highway. Highlight of day was seeing potash (or salt) blowing in the wind. It looked like clouds of smoke rising from the earth for miles. Dinner was snacks in car. Arrived at 11:30 pm and stayed in Campground overlooking Olympic Park in Calgary AB.

Day 6 – June 5. 2009

Had brunch in Canmore AB and drove to Kamloops BC. Beautiful mountain driving. Dinner was BBQ steak, baked potato and salad.

Day 7 – June 6, 2009

Arrived in Vancouver at about 3 pm and had lunch with Richard’s cousin. Camped in Delta BC and had snacks for dinner after the trailer developed an electrical problem and we ran out of gas so no cooking ability.

Len is cycling across Canada this summer with Blind-Guy Biking, to raise funds for a program that Richard created called Pedal for Medals. They have been planning this trip for many months and Len has been helping Richard acquire a customized Greenspeed tandem for the trip. Not sure how many x-country trips have ever been done in Canada on a tandem trike but this one will certainly be unique. The tandem arrived this week.

I was envious because I love to travel (the gypsy in me), love to cycle, and love meeting people. And they were going to be doing that for 3 months without me.  

But now – they are not – going without me, that is! Last weekend, I decided to join them. I still haven’t figured out all the details (leave from work, who will water the plants, etc.) – but those are only details. The decision to go was the “big ticket”. And I am so happy that I have made it. Life is too short to not being doing the things that I want to do.

There are two reasons why the decision was easy to make – besides the “fun” that I will have cycling/travelling some 10,000 km. The first one is that I have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. It’s genetic and I should be able prevent it from becoming diabetes through diet and exercise. But I was still shocked to learn that in spite of all the “right-living” I was already doing, that this was happening to me. So I need to do more “right-living” if I am going to stay healthy and this cycle-trip is one of those things that I can do for myself.

The other motivator was the recent passing of a friend. She retired on January 1st and by end of February she was dead. It was a shock to everyone. When I saw her in November we talked about how much she was looking forward to a new relaxed life with her grand-son (born in December) and doing some renovations. I was so sad, especially for her family. (My heart goes out to them.)

Today, I know I am blessed with an opportunity – this gift – to join Len and Richard and Anna and the team. While I hope to  contribute to the goals of Blind-Guy Biking, I am really doing this for Numero Uno – ME. And I am so happy that I have made the BIG decision to go…  

<< more to come on our adventure – they say that I have to start “training” today because we leave in a month – training yuch!!! I just do this for FUN!>>

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>>>