Part III: All about the chair

So, let me describe to you what was so great about this chair. First off, it has the push wheels in front.

Ok, it has tiny little wheels in front of that, but they rarely touch the ground, and if you were to bump into an obstacle, they retract. Any way...with the big main wheels up front, nothing stands in your way. Well, except maybe walls. It also has independent disc brakes as an option. That tooled lever on the inside of the wheel (just in front of my hand) has a little nub next to my leg (and there's another one on the other side) is the brake handle. Pulling on those together, give you adjustable braking power. If you push these handles all the way forward so they are parallel to the ground, they engage the parking brake. These are great so you don't rip apart your hands as you try to slow yourself down. In back, is the third largish wheel attached to an adjustable lever and a variable length, lockable shock absorber to give you some extra cushioning and to change your reclinability. If you're traveling on a straightaway or going downhill, it's best to have the seat reclined all the way. For pushing up hill, it's best to have someone push you, err, to have the seat in its upright position. For portability, the big wheels pop off, and the rear wheel assembly collapses against the seat and the footrest retracts. One other easy adjustment is the wheels can be adjusted to angle way out to give you a lot more stability / \ or narrow | | for going through tight squeezes or office spaces.

I contacted Mike at Trekinetic and he was such wonderful help. He answered all of my questions. It was such a joy to chat with an individual who really understands the chair, and he should considering he sells them. He suggested the rear handlebars. These are a great option for people helping you up a hill or actually in my case, it made it easy to push the chair up some of the really steep hills at camp. I was close to ordering, however, I found out that the chairs take 10-12 weeks for building. As the summer was rapidly approaching, I felt that maybe I should settle for a lesser chair that I could get in 4-6 weeks. Then I realized, it wasn't just this summer I was getting the chair for, it was for many years to come!

The next hurdle was the $800 shipping fee. It was a hard number to swallow after everything else. Mike suggested flying over and bringing it back on the plane (as a chair) or having a friend bring it back. I didn't think buying a plane ticket and flying over to London just to bring back the chair was economical. Then *lightbulb* I realized my good friend Sarah was going to be in London when the chair was ready. She and her daughter, who was in Ireland for the World Championships for Irish Step Dancing, were heading over to London for a few days before hopping back across the pond. They agreed to bring it back for me. Winning!

Come back tomorrow for more!

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