Reverse Gear

This rarely found used trike is now available for sale in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

This trike is ideal for weekend riders, commuters or even assisted touring.

The GT3 is a small trike with a big personality. Designed as an easily transportable trike - you can fold it up – to fit in your car or to take up less space in your shed. The quick fold is achieved with only a 6mm Allen key for the single seat bolt and one quick release for the frame hinge.

Watch the video on the Greenspeed site to see how it unfolds in less than a minute

For specifications check out the Greenspeed site here:

If you know anyone who is interested, send an email to Judi at REVERSE GEAR and I will send a PDF with photos and specifications.

REVERSE GEAR is always willing to help where we can.

In 2010, we told you the story of Reverend Johannes Myors the hands-on evangelist who was riding across America. In April of this year, Rev. Hans tells the story on his Pedal Prayers site of how he met Robert Bailey at an event in Louisiana during his travels.

Rev Hans called us to tell us that Robert knew the artist Vergie Banks and had been admiring our Jazzed about Triking jersey for some time.

We are proud to now be a sponsor to the very courageous Robert Bailey in his cycling journeys. Robert sent us this photo today with a comment that the Jazzed jersey “stops traffic”. While we are pleased to hear that it is being noticed, we think it is the rider that may be, and certainly should be, getting the attention. In this video, Robert Bailey talks about his perseverance after an accident that took both his legs in 2006.

We admire Robert for his efforts and want him to stay safe, and comfortable, while on the road.

For more inspiration, watch these words of advice from Robert as he prepared to ride the 450 mile RAGBRAI ride in 2011.

Robert we wish you safe travels wherever you are and look forward to hearing more about your cycling journeys. Keep on “stopping traffic”. You are an inspiration to all of us to keep on riding!

This winter REVERSE GEAR has been on the trails and highways in the south for our second year.

Our first visits were in Kansas to RANS and several bike shops.

The next destination was Texas for November and December. Unfortunately we suffered some health issues this winter, so we have not spent as much time on the recumbents as we had planned. However, our favorite cycling experiences in that state were in Dallas and in San Antonio (with the River City Bent Riders). We did make it as far south as Brownsville and as far west as El Paso.

As the weather got cooler, we headed west and spent January and February in Arizona.

We visited the following bike shops during winter 2010-2011:
City Cyclist, Fort Worth TX
Daniel Boone Cycles, Houston TX
Easy Street Recumbents, Austin TX
Hill Country Bicycle Works, Fredericksburg & Kerrville TX
Planetary Cycles, Houston TX
Plano Cycling, Plano TX
Richardson Bike Mart, Richardson TX
Ajo Bikes, Tucson AZ
Southwest Bikes, Peoria AZ
Sun Cyclery, Phoenix AZ

We are staying in AZ to avoid the snow for a few more weeks, and then heading back to Canada in March, with an expected arrival of early April.
We hope to see you on the road, Judi & Len

‘Complete roads’ is a term coined to describe roads which are designed to safely and conveniently accommodate public transportation, private vehicles, cycles and pedestrians. You may not know of too many of them, but judging from what we heard they are definitely on every transportation planner’s agenda. Influential legislators are also jumping on the bandwagon.

We were fortunate to be invited to a recent presentation from Bike Texas and the Adventure Cycling Association in San Antonio – one of some seven or eight such presentations across Texas. Both organizations are advocates for cycling, but instead of the usual litany of problems with which we are all too familiar, the speakers focused on some very positive actions taking place locally, state-wide, nationally and internationally to recognize the growing demand for bike-friendly and bike-safe corridors – for commuting, recreation and vacation travel.

The local audience was proud to hear that San Antonio was recently awarded the Bronze medal from the League of American Bicyclists. This will give further impetus to the bold plans the local bike planner is developing for council approval before the next local election. It will also undoubtedly provoke reaction in Austin and other Texas cities eager to be competitive for what is increasingly being recognized as a significant draw for affluent tourists. While still a small part of the $6.5 billion ‘tourism’ spend, cycling is growing rapidly in response to several societal vacation trends: active; sustainable, experiential and back to basics. Tax-payer funding for cycling activity is currently miniscule, although some very impressive outcomes are apparent. Increasingly, however, legislators are realizing the wide range of benefits which safe cycling brings to local and broader-based communities: improved public health, reduced traffic flows – requiring less new roads, better air quality and increased tourist – and tax– revenues.

Beyond municipal activity, however, the good news was that the states and federal governments are collaborating, not just on standards, although they are important, but also on inter-connectivity of cycling corridors, both on-road and off-road to eventually create routes analogous to the Interstate Highway system for vehicles. This is a trend which is increasingly making it possible to cycle across states, and across the country.

Jim Sayer of Adventure Cycling Association spoke of the more than 40,000 miles of routes now mapped for cyclists for over-night, week-long or extended tours. One of many such routes throughout the country is the Sierra Cascades trail, running from the Canadian to the Mexican borders. Like most of these trails it also features lots of less adventurous loops of shorter duration. Adventure Cycling’s four cartographers are continually revising and improving their maps using the latest technology and input from local and national sources as the infrastructure moves from concept to planning to implementation.

Visit www.adventurecycling.org to find out about their advocacy, their route maps and the other services they provide. It’s a member-funded organization, so give serious consideration to joining up and encouraging your bike buddies to follow suit. Your voices get heard at three levels of government. Beats paying taxes!

If you live anywhere near San Antonio TX, you will want to check out River City Bent Riders.

This cycling club was started in June 2010 by Jorge Tijerina and is growing. It’s obvious that Jorge is passionate about recumbent cycling. As soon as we arrived in San Antonio, Jorge called to see if we wanted to ride. We met him for lunch at the Blue Star Brewing Company and he took us on the riverfront trail to the Missions. What a great welcome to the city for us and to Texas hospitality.
Jorge’s organizational skills, gained in many years as a logistics officer in the military, are also apparent in what he has already done for this young club. He has:

• created a list of local rides in San Antonio TX and near-by locations
• mapped the rides using internet mapping software (there are already 20 routes)
• ridden the rides by car or bike to make sure they are safe
• talked to local police and sheriffs to determine safety issues related to the routes
• created a website
• promoted the club on numerous other sites like BROL or recumbents.com
• contacted local bike shops to publicize club rides
• convinced the local parks organization to create a video about safe riding on the trails
• published a regular newsletter, and
• acquired team jerseys.

His enthusiasm is contagious. He has a great sense of humor and will make you comfortable when you come out and join the club - whether you are a local or you have come from far-away like we did. He also shares his wealth of knowledge about San Antonio, gained from living in the area since he was a child.

RIDE #1 with RCBR:

We rode the Shertz morning ride on Saturday, December 11th and will join this enthusiastic group again on December 18th.

If you can make out to a ride, just want more information about the club, or if you want to be added to River City Bent Riders membership, contact Jorge directly… at [email protected]
The RCBR website has a lot of useful information about recumbent riding too.

Ride #2 with RCBR:

December 18th was a clear but cold morning so Judi was in full gear including her weather-resistant RG Woolybutt tights, a down jacket and gloves. She joined the group at 9 am to ride the 19 mi/30 km route called San Jose to Blue Wing. She managed to stay with the group until they reached the San Juan Mission. But - photography took priority over riding and she stopped to take a few photos. She stopped again at Mission Espada to take some more. By then the rest of the riders were miles ahead. So she rode the rest of the trip solo. The route was well mapped out and travelled along quiet country roads that were relatively flat. Overall it was a most enjoyable ride and our appreciation goes out to Jorge for organizing it and for inviting us to join them.

If you live in San Antonio, or are visiting, definitely check out this group via their RCBR website or contact Jorge directly at [email protected]

We found Prince Edward Island (PEI) to be one of the most relaxing places to ride. We rode for four consecutive days on parts of the Confederation Trail, on highways and in Charlottetown. We saw no recumbents while we were there but other people told us there was one other spotted during those four days. If you are planning a trip to PEI, take your bicycles for sure.

We had only five days in PEI so we decided to do a small sample of the trail on our recumbent tricycles and this is what we saw…

Day 1 - The day started rather ghostly but got better! As we started cycling on the Confederation Trail (see below for more details on this trail) from the old rail station in Kensington, Len realized that he forgot his video camera and went back. Judi kept going but a few minutes into the ride she found the Haunted Mansion on the right side of the trail and stopped to take photos. In the meantime, Len zoomed right by. She chased as fast as her little legs could go but he thought she was in front of him so he he also was pedalling as fast as he could, increasing the distance between us. She didn’t see him again until he stopped at the water in Summerside an hour later wondering where she was. Most of this part of the route goes through potato farms so you often only get a view of potato plants for miles on either side of you.

Good news - we found each other in time for lunch. In the city centre, we proceeded along the waterfront until we found Arsenault’s Fish Mart at Holman’s Wharf, where we bought 18 Malpeque oysters. From there we went on to find a

bottle of cold white wine, a lemon and some glasses. Added to the pitas and dip that we brought with us, you have the “perfect” lunch - beside the fisherman’s village at Spinnaker’s Landing - with a local busker providing music.

After lunch we went another 20 minutes to the west side of town before Judi decided it was time to turn around so that she could return to Kensington before 4 pm to buy a pair of sea-glass earrings at the Art Cooperative. We made it back to the station by 3:55pm. There are some great stores, art galleries, and a pub at the station - worth a visit, either before you go or when you get back (as long as it is before 4 pm). Next we rushed to Mary’s Bakehouse (just two blocks away off Victoria Street) to get some home-made date squares. We needed a sugar-fix after 3 hours on the trikes. Back in the car we enjoyed the ride along the coast through Malpeque and Cavendish to our RV park at Brackley Beach. This was our fist 17 km of PEI’s Confederation Trail, but actually it was 34 km because we did it in both directions.

Day 2 - We drove the coastal route to ride part of the eastern Confederation Trail, stopping for coffee at the Shipwreck Cafe in the fishing village of Naufrage. We arrived at Harmony Junction at noon. We missed the parking lot the first time because there is no signage. It is on the northwest of the trail so you have to watch for the trail crossing on the road and don’t go too fast or too far.

We started on the path and had lunch at the first picnic table we found (generally 2 km apart so we didn’t have to go too far). It was a good thing we brought our own lunch and some trail mix for snacking as there are no amenities on this section until the end.

Our excitement for the day was the crossing of a red sand road

where Judi’s trike got stuck. For 1.5 hours we saw no-one and just had a relaxing ride until we arrived at the very end of the Confederation Trail - which had been the end of the track for PEI. The trail was quite different from yesterday. It was more wooded (both coniferous and deciduous trees) creating a canopy which meant for a cooler ride in the heat of the noon-day sun. Along the edge of the path was a mix of wildflowers which attracted many butterflies. We cycled a similar distance of 16km (or 32 km both ways) but we encountered fewer crossings - road and private driveways. The path itself was two gravelly ruts with grass in the middle, which slowed the trikes down considerably but would be perfectly fine for a two-wheeler.

After eating an ice-cream at the train museum now located at the old Elmira train station, we headed back to Harmony Junction. But the path back was slow - it seemed uphill and into the wind. Len said “ice cream is bad for cycling” but Judi doesn’t believe him. She thinks her legs were just really tired of pedalling on the rough surface.

After cycling, we hopped back in the car and raced to the Colville Bay Oyster Shop in nearby Souris to get some top quality cultivated oysters “that have a distinctive aqua-green shell and meat that is plump, briny and clean tasting - like distilled ocean”. Our next stop was the Myriad View Artisan Distillery to see if we could get some locally-made vodka to splash on the oysters. Before leaving this area we also visited Basinhead Beach and East Point Lighthouse on the eastern tip of PEI.

If we had more time we would love to complete the other 240 km. of this trail, but at the rate we were going it would likely take more than 5 days to do it.

Day 3 - Rather than do another section of the Confederation Trail, we wanted to test the roads in PEI. Since Judi’s favourite pastime besides cycling is walking beaches, we decided to do both of her favourite activities. After a late brunch, we headed north for Brackley Beach. We rode 5 km on a local side road and then on Highway 15 to the PEI Provincial Park.

All of the roads in PEI are two-lanes with no shoulders. Albeit short, this was a challenging ride as there is no room for a trike to move off the road and stay stable in many places. We rode with one wheel on the white line and sometimes it was the outside one with the other two trying to maneuver grass or gravel off the road. All of the cars gave us a wide berth, crossing the mid-line to do so. It was only 5 km to the park today but we can imagine that it could be harrowing to ride trikes, and even bikes, on some of PEI’s busier roads, and most certainly at night if you don’t know where you are.

From the park entrance to the wharf, we cycled another 5 km, on a beautiful new paved trail. The trail looks onto the Brackley Marsh, is very flat, and is straight as an arrow. We only saw a dozen cyclists using it, which must be due to the fact that it is so new that people haven’t realized what a blessing it is yet. At the wharf, Len sat on his trike and read a book, while Judi did her other favourite activity - walking the beach for an hour taking photos.

The 10 km ride back to the RV Park was mostly uphill but we also had the wind on our back - for a change - so it went quickly. Judi noted that today’s cycling was 2/3 the distance done in previous days, but our average speed was at least 3 kmh faster. Besides the rolling hills, we attribute the increase in speed to the fact that it was on paved surfaces. We look forward to the day when so many people are using the Confederation Trail that the province decides to pave it too.

Day 4 - We always try to cycle in cities too. Being seasoned cycle-commuters in Toronto, it’s fun to compare how cycle traffic moves through other populated areas. We heard that Peakes Quay in Charlottetown had Sunday concerts in the summer so that was the destination for our last day of PEI cycling. We parked the car in downtown and went exploring. We started at Victoria Park and went past the Governor General’s home and discovered that the boulevard along the water was closed to car traffic and open to cyclists, walkers and the tourist-choice of vehicle - horse and buggy. We also cycled down to the waterfront

and along the paved boardwalk at Peakes Quay and took in an afternoon concert while eating COWS ice-cream. Charlottetown is charming on a Sunday afternoon with very little traffic. It is not without a few hills to make you remember the you have gears. Getting around is easy although many of their streets are one-way in the centre of the city.

About Confederation Trail
The Confederation Trail is the old railway line that ran from tip-to-tip on the island for 274 km / 170 mi. When the government removed the rail tracks they converted the line to a bicycle and walking trail. It is mostly packed gravel and in some places it is still the two rail lines with grass in the middle and along the edges, so do not expect to go as fast as you would on a paved trail. The trail is well marked with distance postings every kilometre. Picnic tables or benches are frequent. Parking lots and facilities are scattered across the province.

The Confederation Trail and its surroundings are well-described in a booklet availbale at all of the information centres. It is suggested that you can travel the full distance in 5 days. Some do it in a single day. or you can do portions as we did. The issue is really only how you will get to and from the trail with your bike of course. If you can arrange drop off and pick-ups for the entire route or on a daily basis it works well. If you are driving yourself then you may be forced to do double that distance in order to do the whole trail.

Judi just returned from 3 weeks in London, UK visiting her son. She didn’t have the chance to cycle there but her son does about 1-2 times a week. She was surprised to see so many commuters take to the road in such a busy city. They do have the advantage of being able to use the bus lanes which are prohibited to cars. However the number of buses means there is regular traffic behind or in front of every group of cyclists in the mornings and evenings. And some roads don’t have the specially marked bus lanes.

Everywhere she went there was evidence of cycling: on the roads in the city; along the canals on designated shared paths (walking and cycling); on some of the highways; and on cycle paths directly alongside many of the highways. Throughout London there was also plenty of evidence that it was a bike-friendly city by the number of bicycle racks everywhere, especially at major sites. Rumor has it that the new Mayor cycles - so there may be even more improvements in the cycling infrastructure.

She saw lots of people with folding bikes for convenience, but she did not see even one recumbent in the 19 days that she travelled.

If you are planning to travel in London, you may want to check out the new cycle-hire system which was just being installed. It’s a great way to see the city and is intended for short trips between subway stations. While it has been designed for locals, it can also be used by tourists. And it’s easy to use with a credit card. This site gives you information about cyling in London, including the new bike hire system.

If planning a trip to UK and you do take your bike over and/or have access to a cycle while there, you should pick up a copy of the book: Britain’s Favourite Pub Walks and Cycle Rides.
Judi bought it for her son because it had the word “pubs” in the title. It was very informative with a four-page description of each route and pub including photos and maps, of which there were sixty in total. It provided start and end points, routes, minimum time to do it, length, level of difficulty or danger, why you would want to do it. About the pub they told you directions, parking facilities, food, and they even told if it was a free-house and what kind of beer was sold. Each town / pub had a charming historical story as well.

If you go, let us know if you see any recumbents while you are there…