Last post of the day.  It seems like this has become a clothing store lately.  It's true I'm really excited about the gear and logos, and I'm hoping people will like it enough so we can add more choices when we come across something interesting.  But this began as a neck rest blog, or at least a trike parts blog, and there's a bunch of interesting stuff happening with these as well. 


Tomorrow the new curved neck rest prototype goes off to Kirk.  I mounted it on Msafiri this morning intending to go for a ride and try it before mailing it off.  The sun was out and it was in the 50's...until I was ready to leave.  Then the temperature dropped and it rained the rest of the day.  So I'm sending the neck rest to Kirk completely untried.  Frankly I have no idea how this will turn out.  Will he like it?  Will it be better or worse...a toss-up?  I guess I'll see.  I think I may make another one for me to try as well.  After all, I'm still riding with the first prototype on Msafiri.  I ought to at least try one made with latex.


Last week, totally by surprise, I got an email, a gift, from Pat Franz, the owner of TerraCycle.  He packed it so full of helpful suggestions and resources I felt like a kid turned loose in a candy store.  His kindness epitomizes my experience with recumbent folks.   My very first experience with incredibly generous and knowledgeable recumbent people was more than 20 years ago.  I'd bought Gardner Martin's how-to book on how to build an Easy Racer and before long I had a bunch of first-timer questions that had me totally stuck.  So I called him.  I wasn't buying an Easy Racer.  Maybe he'd made a buck or two from the sale of the book I'd bought.  And yet he stayed on the phone with me until he was sure I had all my questions answered.  He even answered questions I wasn't smart enough to have asked.  I built that bike, named it the Load Warrior, and rode it first from Minneapolis to Seattle, the next summer from Minneapolis to Maine via Ottawa, and a couple of years later spent a month on it touring New Zealand.  I doubt I could have finished it without his help, and I've never forgotten his kindness. 


I had the same experience with Pat last week.  I've never met him, either in person or through the web, and his friendly email was totally out of the blue.  I know him just by the quality of what he makes.  Our Screamer has one of his stems and under-seat racks.  And Msafiri has a Terracycle idler. 

His taking the time to share some of his manufacturing knowledge and experience so perhaps I might move out of the production dark ages couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me.  No wonder TerraCycle makes such high quality goods.  Consider the source.  Thanks, Pat.