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Ticks. Thick with Ticks.

I just got back from a little two-day, one-night jaunt up to…let’s call it a “major wild area within a good day’s ride.”  My friend and I peddled, pushed and carried our bikes up an overgrown and flooded (therefore highly entertaining) woods road to a spot where we shouldn’t be, stashed our bikes and camping gear, and then spent a day hiking some beautiful unblazed terrain.

What a blast.  We had great weather, by which I mean sun, rain and fog.  And we had…great balls of tickage.  I’ve never seen so many ticks.  We picked maybe 30 off our clothes (that we saw) and three or four out of our bodies (those that we found, as of now) and discerned three different varieties including the infamous “crawling spec of dirt,” also known as the deer tick.

For Pete’s sake.  Talk about a dampener on your fun.  Give me rain or wind or mud, any day.  Hoping I don’t catch something from the little cesspools of disease.

Now I have to clean and sterilize all my clothes, camping gear and shoes and boots and panniers.  I’m wondering if I don’t have to pick over the bikes as well.  What a mess.  (But what good clean fun we otherwise had.)

I Recommend to others who plan to go out this year:
– Permethrin for treating your clothes.
– Deet

Learn more about ticks.  There may be ads on this page for tick resources and there are also some pages here, at the University of Rhode Island TickEncounter Resource Center.

Insect and tick-repelling clothing.

Stay healthy,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2012 Robert Matson

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Check out the Clothing for Recumbent Riders

blue tie dye pants

Recumbent riders have somewhat specific needs for jerseys and shorts. For jerseys, it’s better to have pockets on the front than on the back, as they are on a traditional cycling jersey. For shorts, padding is unnecessary (though I find it blocks the wind on a cold day).

The following companies have good options for bent riders, though I don’t necessarily have experience with any of them other than Ice Breaker.  (And I’m not sure what I think of the spectacular tights.  Maybe I’ll get them for the Halloween ride.)

Aero Tech Designs. Some unpadded shorts. Slightly cheesy site, but try and look beyond that. Check out the tights!
Ibex. Merino wool sports clothing. Good stuff.
Ice Breaker. Merino wool technical clothing. Hard wearing. Highly recommended.
Regatta Sport. Unpadded shorts and tights for the non-cyclist look.

Reverse Gear. Specializes in recumbent clothes.

Best,
Robert

P.S. Today I was hit by a car. Bruised calf muscle but otherwise okay. More about that later. It’s been a rough four weeks!

————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2011 Robert Matson

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Q. How can I stop getting grease on my calf and pant leg?

Q. How can I stop getting grease on my calf and pant leg?

The other week, a trike-riding customer asked me to keep a look out for something that would let her ride her trike without getting grease on her leg or pant leg.
Her objective, as she described it, sounded extraordinarily familiar. “I just want to be able to put on my work clothes and ride to work, without getting grease all over my legs.” In fact, almost every customer asks the same thing. Diamond frame (or upright, “head-first”) commuters have the Dutch- or Danish-style fully enclosing chain covers as an option. What do we have?

Recumbent riders have chain tubes. Essentially, these are low-friction plastic pipes that cover part of the chain. If positioned near the cranks, not only do they keep grease off one’s pantleg, but they also help keep that long chain clean. However, while third party chain tubes are available, few recumbents are designed to readily accept them. I have had customers for whom the aftermarket solutions did not work as well as hoped.

Who else but HP Velotechnik would make a chain tube system that works perfectly? Since HPVelos are optimized for commuting and touring, it’s natural that they would make an excellent chain tube mounting system. In fact, their frames include special braze-ons to enable secure mounting of the chain tubes, which are attached via metal springs on the tubes. The chain tubes themselves are made of special high-quality, low-friction material. That the tubes are integral to the bike’s design helps explain why the system works so well.

The chain tubes mount securely and are designed for the natural chain line. The top and bottom tubes terminate close to the chain ring in a way that neither interferes with gear changing nor allows your pant leg to get dirty. Honestly, it’s amazing.

Best,
Robert
————
Robert Matson
New York City Recumbent Supply (TM)
The Innovation Works, Inc.
copyright 2009 Robert Matson