When I brought the GLO home from the Catrike Rally in Florida I toyed with the idea of swapping the stock Greenspeed neck rest for one of my CURVE kits.  But then decided there was no reason to mess with something that works fine.  After all, Penni's happy with the stock rest on her GT3, so perhaps missing an advertising opportunity would probably be a good personal growth experience.  And so that's where I left it...for a while.  

Well  I've always said I have the upper body of a 3' human.  In fact at some restaurants where the seats are low and the tables high the only silverware I need is a knife...to slide my food along the tabletop directly into my mouth.  And that was the problem with the stock Greenspeed neck rest.  Turns out that even though I lowered the stock neck rest tubes as far as they'd go, and then cut another 3/4" off the tubes, I couldn't get the neck rest low enough.  I’m sure it’s at least partly because of the tube shape of the Greenspeed neck rest.  

I made a shim so the mtb stem would fit the GLO's seat brace tube and I installed the kit.  The CURVE definitely looks non-Greenspeedish, but it sure feels great.  I doubt there are many others out there with bodies like mine - hobbits on stilts, so don't worry Ian (Sims) this is most likely a one-off.  

Remember those beautiful Ortlieb recumbent panniers I bought?  Well I fiddled around with them so they sort of fit on the GLO, but then I decided to do this right and make them fit the way they should.  I'm enlarging the narrow rear rack so the panniers can be even with the sides of the seat.  I'm welding up this new rack-top which will be fastened to the existing rack with Cateye clamps.  I'll probably have to add an additional tube to each side of the rack top so the panniers can be locked down securely - there's a slick lock-down fastener on the panniers.  If this works, and I'm pretty sure it will, I'll make another rack top for Msafiri (my Expedition.)  More pics to follow. 

 

Some quick news.  

I just shipped a new CURVE kit to the person who inspired the first CURVE.  He needed a neck rest that would not just provide front-to-back cushioning, but would also secure his neck side-to-side.  I searched for something I could use for a light but solid base, and eventually I discovered 8" high pressure water couplings.  I cut one in half into two cylinders, and then cut one of the cylinders in half again.  That became the first (and only) half-wrap CURVE.  After working on that one neck rest for a while I began to think it might be really comfortable for other folks as well...if it didn't wrap quite so far.  And so the CURVE was born.

The Axiom Trekk seat collar is a terrific find because it comes in a size (31.8) that will fit the vertical tube of a "T" tower.  It's a potentially great way to secure your rear rack right to the neck rest mount. You may be able to find it at your LBS, and I know it's available on Amazon.

I thought you might like to see some of the latest embroidery creations...but first a picture of our master embroiderers - Deana and Susie.

Don't forget Steven's  bling at the end.

 

And finally, here's Steven's CURVE kit.  He's definitely taken the idea of using his CURVE tower as a light mount to a whole new level.  Nice job Steven!

My customers’ ingenuity has taught me not to to say, “I think you’ve mounted that upside down.”  Sam taught me that flipping over the side-mount kit “L” tube means that it won’t interfere with Catrike’s Arkel side bags, and it also saves tubing and by shortening the arm, makes for a stronger mount.  And Dave’s mounting his CURVE with the clamp mounts on the bottom part of the PVC base gave him more space to customize his neck rest, and also save a bit of tower tubing.

The experience with A.D. Carson’s TerraTrike CURVE kit turned seeming failure into friendship, was a great collaboration, produced a positive but totally unexpected solution, and has left me with enormous respect for his seemingly endless patience.  

I probably went about this project all wrong from the very start – the first thing I did was to embroider his logo on a neck rest cover, and because it turned out so nice it made giving up on being able to mount a CURVE kit on his trike nigh unthinkable.  It really looks good (the cover, that is.)  If I hadn’t done the cover first, and I’d asked the right questions  and looked more closely at the pictures he sent me I’d have said at the start there was no way we could fit a kit on his trike.  


TerraTrikes are enough of a challenge for me in their stock form – two small diameter side-by-side seat frame tubes instead of the single tube other manufacturers use means I can’t mount a simple mtb stem without some sort of adapter bracket to attach the stem to the seat.  To make the challenge even greater AD has a 26” rear wheel kit on his trike and his seat seriously reclined…the effect is that there really is no room between his seat back and fender.  But there was that beautiful embroidered neck rest…  So for weeks we exchanged drawings, measurements, crazy “what if…” ideas, and additional “try this” parts.  It was like illustrating a shop manual. 

It definitely helped that he was  so mellow…of course I don’t know what he was really thinking.  In the end it became abundantly clear that based upon the way he has his trike set up, there really is no way to mount a CURVE kit to the seat back.  This includes the adapter bracket and an extender plate I was sure would work. 

But that doesn't mean we failed.  We modified one of A.D.'s original ideas...one I'd rejected originally, and wound up mounting the adapter and extender underneath his rack.  This isn't something I intend to do again, but that neck rest embroidery is so nice...

 

The view from our front door says Spring has finally arrived, which means while the rain might not let up for another month or so it's no longer so wearing because island life is returning to Kodachrome.

I know the exact day everything changed...it was April 15.  Travis and I were out in the pasture and for the first time this year I could actually see the soft green haze of the leaf buds in all the deciduous trees.  Since then it's been a rush of new colors and sweet scents.  I love Spring.

To take a break from the (hopefully) last of the drizzly grey Penni and I loaded up the Screamer and headed south to sunny tropical Portland.  With Travis boarded at his favorite play spot, a week's reservation at The White House, our favorite Portland B&B, and a stack of Portland area cycling maps, we figured on some wonderful riding in what's easily the northwest's most bicycle-friendly city.  The mattress store not far from our B&B has a sign in the window that says, "We deliver by bicycle."  Well day 1 was one beautiful sunny day so we spent it on some of the city’s great bike trails.  Nothing like some sun and heat to bring everyone out, and we didn’t want to miss a moment.   

Of course in true Northwest fashion it didn’t last.   The next two days were gray and rainy so we abandoned the Screamer.  We spent that first drizzly day wandering our favorite Portland sights including the amazingly tranquil Chinese Garden in the center of the city.  If you get to Portland this is definitely a time-out-of-time...a portal to a completely new space. 

The next day we headed off down the Willamette Valley to visit some wineries.  At each one we took turns being the designated driver…probably not what the law intended.

The last day we had in Portland started with a drizzle but soon moved on to a downpour.  But we brought rain gear after all, so why not ride.  So bundled up in rain gear that mostly keeps salt water from mixing with fresh, and we headed off east on city streets looking for a major bike trail that would take us north to the Columbia, then west along the river until we finally were to loop south then east back to the White House.  It was pouring, and it was cold.  Our first 'rest' stop was after just a few miles...we came across a man lying face down and bleeding on the sidewalk in the rain.  Penni, the true medical professional, leaped into action while handing me the phone to call 911.  Strange thing about events like these...nobody stopped to see if they could help until we did.  Then people came.  I guess no one wants to be the first.  The fire department and then the paramedics soon arrived to take over and we continued on our way...totally lost.  When the rain stopped and the sun finally appeared we stopped at a Starbucks for directions and something hot to drink.  No one really seemed to know where the bike trail was but they could all point to the location of the river so we headed off again, this time in bright sunshine.  And we found the trail!...just in time for a flat tire.  I got the rear wheel off, found the hole, patched the tube and we were off again in record time.  But now the weather looked ominous... were heading into gray-black clouds and it was clearly raining around the edges.  And the clouds were moving quickly in our direction.  And then all of a sudden, "tssssssssssssssssss..."  I figured my quick patch job had blown out, and I was getting really nervous about what looked like a major storm moving directly towards us.  I must have set a world speed record for getting the tube repaired.  And it wasn't the original patch that blew.  

With the wheel back on we headed off again as
first it began to drizzle, and it quickly changed to pea-sized hail.  That stuff really hurts. Penni was riding with her hands over her face - not a choice for me.  Eventually the hail turned to a downpour and we decided a warm shower and some wine sounded great.  It was. 

The next day was Saturday and we had to head home, but not before visiting the Burnside Market for a couple of hours and reveling in the warm sunshine.  I love Portland.

Sunday, April 1 - Sunday, April 8 the factory's closed.  Penni and I are headed to Portland.  

We're sending Travis off to frolic with his buddies at Avalon Doggy Daycare, and we're taking the Screamer.  A bit of luxury at the White House B&B and hopefully an occasional rainless day to do some riding.  We do have rain gear so we could ride no matter what, and I've got a load of local bike maps so we're pretty well set.  But just wandering on foot together on misty days sounds just fine too...its been a while since it was just the two of us with time to play.

I'm expecting a load of embroidered covers to be in the mailbox when I return and will try to get all outstanding orders out the week we return.

Have a great week.

Lots of activity at the factory, and I can feel change in the air.  The good news is that I'm sticking with my boundaries about shutting the factory on the weekends...well almost.  

On Saturday I cut and filleted 18  aluminum tube sets - "L's" and "T's" for Catrikes, ICE, Trident and TerraTrikes, and a bunch of Sidemount kit "L's" for Cats.  I took them over to John's and by Sunday he had 11 sets welded.  Now I just need to polish them and install the end caps...and I have some inventory!  I also got an order in to my supplier for more neck rest and sidemount kit stems, and some of the PDW Danger Zone 1 watt LED tail lights for the kits.  Look for a great price on those tail lights.

Sunday here was for tuning up the lawnmower, fixing the flat on the tractor and getting it running, mowing the pasture, tossing the ball with Travis in the pasture and hanging out with Penni as she got the first garden beds ready and the first batch of peas, spinach and lettuce planted.  Being outdoors now that the season's clearly changing has the most profound effect on my disposition...must be the smell of the earth and cut grass, but whatever it is, it's exactly what I've needed.

On Saturday a bundle of finished covers arrived from Zubin so I have a small supply of plain ones in addition to the embroidered covers she sent.  And this morning Deana sent me a scan of the three latest embroidered fabric pieces that are now off to San Francisco and Zubin to be sewn into covers.  

There are a bunch more embroidered covers in the works at the moment, either with Jason (the digitizer) or at Deana's getting embroidered.  Here's one I just sent off to Deana...it's Kirk's, for his new monster-electrified Expedition.

Momentarily I'm off to the shop to fabricate CURVEs, and this will ultimately be the source of real change.  I enjoy making all these parts, I love the process of designing and testing new accessories and I really appreciate all the friends I've made along the way.  What I'm getting pretty weary of is that this has become a more than full-time business where once I pay everyone else, leaves very little income for me.  It's a crazy business model for any enterprise that isn't non-profit by intent.  On top of this, in most cases I never seem to be able to respond quickly enough to inquiries, or because I'm sitting in front of the computer I'm not in the shop making parts or on the ferry for the mainland to pick up aluminum, foam, pvc or hardware.  I've become way too practiced at making apologies.

So I'm researching still-local alternatives for automating the fabricating of more of the parts and then deciding how the pricing would have to change so the business generates some income for me.  I still consider this micro-enterprise a case study in learning about manufacturing successfully, so I'm not angry but I am clear it's time to move to making some changes and then letting the market decide if I still offer a desirable product.  

Noah and I have some preliminary designs for a new product that'd be fun to make and a total game-changer for us.  But I need time to work on it, and the way the Finer Recliner runs now there just isn't any to spare.  So stay tuned for the next chapter.

In the meantime, The week beginning April 2 the factory will be closed.  It's Penni's birthday present and we're taking the Screamer to Portland for the week to do some riding, sightseeing and just general wandering around.  Most likely any inquiries won't get responses until we return.  Travis is also going on vacation and will get to do his all-dog thing by boarding at Avalon Doggy Daycare.  I'm sure he'll come home with a load of stories.