Reverse Gear

Reverse Gear is disappointed that we will not be attending this year - as we were sponsors of the first two events in California. However we offer our continuing full support to Recumbent Cycle-Con (RCC) presented by Recumbent & Tandem Rider Magazine. We hope that many of you will get a chance to visit the trade show and expo in its new northern location - whether you are involved in the recumbent and/or adaptive sports industry, or are a member of the riding public. There is something for everyone!

This year Recumbent Cycle-Con 2014 with Adaptive Cycling Fair will be held at the DuPage Expo Center in St. Charles, Illinois (3o miles west of Chicago) - on October 10, 11, 12, 2014. With many large recumbent shops and events in the mid-west, we think this is an excellent location to offer the benefits of this unique recumbent-specific event.

If you are a member of the riding public, you can meet technicians, engineers and designers from the major manufacturers. You can attend hands-on seminars, demonstrations and training sessions. Or just visit the booths to see some of the latest equipment and take it out for a demo ride.

We hope everyone has a great time at the Recumbent Cycle-Con 2014 with Adaptive Cycling Fair this year. Click here for registration details and schedule.

To register for the event, click here.

To follow the event on Facebook, click here.

Reverse Gear is proud to be a recumbent cycle-clothing sponsor for the 3129 miles of the Stephan Challenge when Mark Stephan rode his tricycle from April 15 to July 1, 2012 from California to Florida.
What made this ride so special is that Mark is a quadriplegic who was told he would never walk again. He didn’t accept the prognosis and has not only walked - but has now ridden his tricycle to raise funds for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Click to read Mark’s story.
For a glimpse of Mark wearing the Phoenix jersey n Hwy 86, check out this video which documents the first week out there.
You can also see the Phoenix and the RG jersey in this inspiring and heart-warming video coverage of his story by Mike Leonard on the Today Show.
Congratulations to Mark on his courage and success in this great achievement.

Mark - This story is such an inspiration to all of us.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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.

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 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.

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]

The 2010 U.S. Handcycling Season Finale - which takes place in Greenville, SC — includes a U.S. Handcycling Series Time Trial on Saturday, September 18, and the Roger C. Peace Hospital-Rehabilitation U.S. Handcycling Criteirum Championships, presented by Paralyzed Veterans Racing, on Sunday, September 19, 2010.

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

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.

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.