Austin-based SPIbelt making non-medical grade face masks during virus outbreak

Austin-based SPIbelt making non-medical grade face masks during virus outbreak

 

Austin-based SPIbelt, which makes waist belts with pockets to carry keys and other small items, is shifting gears to produce non-medical grade face masks during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The masks will be black, not polka-dotted.

SPIbelt is making “public-grade” masks designed to slow the spread of infection by preventing people from touching their noses and mouths, and by helping contain coughs and sneezes. If the general public uses this type of mask instead of medical-grade masks, it will free up medical-grade masks for professionals who need them, says SPIbelt founder Kim Overton.

“It just wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t do something,” Overton said by phone Friday. “We’re going to make as many as possible. We’re hoping we can do hundreds a day.”

Overton is also spearheading an exchange program, so anybody with medical-grade masks can exchange them for a SPIbelt mask at one of four Austin Emergency Center clinics around Austin.

“Every doctor in the country is short of medical-grade masks right now,” says Dr. Luke Padwick, founder of Austin Emergency Centers. “If this process achieves getting us N95 masks for our emergency rooms, then it is a huge win as far as I’m concerned.”

Non-medical grade masks don’t filter viruses, but are still useful for the public as barriers, Padwick says.

“Number one, all of us touch our face about 100 times a day without realizing it. When you’re wearing a mask, when you touch a handle or doorknob then rub your eyes, nose or mouth, (the mask) will prevent you from putting the virus in you,” he says.

Kim Overton works at the SPIbelt sewing facility in Austin. Photo courtesy Kim Overton

The non-medical grade masks also create a barrier that reduce the likelihood of one person spreading pathogens to another through sneezing, breathing or coughing. “It contributes to public safety,” Padwick says.

Separately, Overton is also bringing in 50,000 disposable non-medical grade masks from China, which she will donate to Austin groups, such as grocery store employees, who need them.

Overton says she already has material available to make the SPIbelt masks, and staff ready to sew them. Two Austin brothers who are roommates will do most of the work at the SPIbelt warehouse near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The SPIbelt team started working on the mask design earlier this week, Overton says. The double-layered masks, made of wicking material and elastic, are washable and reusable.

“Our wicking material is great for these standard masks,” Overton says. “It’s keeping my team motivated and it’s for my own health too.”

Overton was diagnosed with a lung condition called bronchial stenosis in late 2019 and had pneumonia in February, which puts her in the higher risk category if she catches the novel coronavirus.

The SPIbelt masks will be available starting next week online at www.spibelt.com. A price has not yet been set, but a three-pack will sell for about $20.

Overton launched SPIbelt in February 2007 and now manufacturers about 250,000 units each year. Almost all are made in Austin. They are sold in more than 35 countries around the globe and at retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods, REI and Academy.

 

 

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Austin BCycle offers free passes during shelter in place order

Austin BCycle offers free passes during shelter in place order

 

Austin BCycle is offering free three-day passes during the shelter in place order. Photo courtesy Austin BCycle

Austin BCycle, that fleet of sturdy, bright red and white bikes with big metal baskets, will continue to roll through the city during the current shelter in place order.

The city of Austin has deemed the bike-share system essential, and is providing anyone who needs to take an essential trip with free three-day passes. Just sign up online and use the code ATX512.

Riding one takes some getting used to — they’re heavy, weighing in at 40 pounds, and feel a little wobbly at first. But most folks settle in after pedaling a block or two. (Read about my experience at https://www.statesman.com/article/20140106/NEWS/301069749. Both regular and electric-assist bicycles are available.

The bikes are available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Austin BCycle has regular and electric assist bikes. Photo courtesy Austin BCycle

Staff are disinfecting bikes and stations before and after every interaction.

The system launched in Austin in December 2013. Currently, 75 BCycle stations operate around downtown Austin, everywhere from Barton Springs Pool to Auditorium Shores, South Congress, the Texas State Capitol and more.

Annual memberships cost $86.60, or you can swipe a credit card to pay-as-you-ride ($1 to unlock, then 23 cents per minute. Weekender, monthly or unlimited 60-minute trip passes are also available online.

Go to Austin.bcycle.com for details.

Austin BCycle has 75 stations in downtown Austin. Photo courtesy Austin BCycle

 

 

 

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Can’t swim in a pool? Try refried beans instead

Can’t swim in a pool? Try refried beans instead

 

Longhorn Aquatics swim coach Whitney Hedgepeth uses canned goods to get in a “swim” practice at home.

If you can’t swim in a pool, grab a pair of canned goods and pretend you’re swimming while you lie on a bench instead.

That from former Olympic medalist Whitney Hedgepeth, who has devised some clever but tortuous dryland sessions for members of the U.S. Masters Swimming team she coaches. The Austin program, like many around the country, is suspended during the pandemic.

Hedgepeth emails a new workout to the approximately 160 Longhorn Aquatics swimmers every Sunday evening.

“I just want everybody to stay active,” she says. “(It’s good for the body and the mind.”

Hedgepeth, who has coached the program since 2005 and was named U.S. Masters Swimming Coach of the Year in 2013, does the workouts herself six days a week. She bikes, rows, does yoga or rests on the seventh. She describes the workouts as harder than she expected, and says they induced some muscle soreness. She’s incorporated both her husband and her dog into some of the sessions, to keep everybody moving.

I’m one of thousands of Austin swimmers who’ve been forced out of the water by the coronavirus, and I can’t wait to try the workout. I’ve been biking, running and walking around my neighborhood, but for me, nothing compares to the all-body workout and mental therapy of a good swim. Unfortunately, that’s not an option right now.

Hedgepeth, who won silver medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke and a gold medal as part of a relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, used 15-ounce cans of refried beans, but any can will do. Prepare for a seriously muscle-quaking workout, she says – especially the flutter kicking while sitting on your hands. And keep your head down when you “swim,” to prevent back pain.

“Those cans got heavy,” Hedgepeth says.

Without further ado, here’s the workout:

 

Warm Up

1-1.5 mile run/walk

 

8 x 30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest

Freestyle with soup cans or any canned food

 

100 jump ropes or 50 jumping jacks

 

30-seconds to 1 minute wall sit

 

8 push ups

 

8 chair dips with arms

(Repeat above four exercises x 3)

 

8 x 30 seconds on, 30 seconds rest

Butterfly or breaststroke with soup cans

 

50 lunges (25 each leg)

 

30 seconds to 1 minute plank

 

8 shoulder taps on each side from pushup position 

 

30 seconds to 1 minute flutter kick (on bench, with hands under butt)

(Above four exercises x 3)

 

1-1.5-mile run/walk (faster than first time)

 

 

 

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The Trail Foundation: Please don’t use the Butler Hike and Bike Trail right now

The Trail Foundation: Please don’t use the Butler Hike and Bike Trail right now

The Trail Foundation is discouraging people from using the Butler Hike and Bike Trail right now. Pam LeBlanc photo

Technically, the Butler Hike and Bike Trail remains open, but please don’t go there.

That’s the message today from Heidi Anderson, the executive director of The Trail Foundation, the non-profit organization that works to maintain and protect the beloved loop around Lady Bird Lake.

The foundation sent out an email blast recommending that trail users exercise closer to home and “let the trail rest,” noting that it’s impossible to practice social distancing – a spacing of at least 6 feet between humans – on some sections of the trail.

I

Trail users have not been practicing proper social distancing recently, according to The Trail Foundation. Pam LeBlanc file photo

f you do decide to use the trail (and please don’t), the organization recommends warning others of your presence by calling out “on your left” when you pass people, and stepping aside when someone zooms by you. Before and after visiting the trail, wash your hands and use hand sanitizer.

Exercise stations along the trail are closed, and while restrooms and water fountains remain open for now, the public is discouraged from using them.

According to The Trail Foundation, trail usage has not decreased in the last two weeks, and too many users are not practicing social distancing.

Not sure how to maintain your fitness without Austin’s favorite running and walking trail? Go for a walk or run in your neighborhood. Tune into an online workout. (Camp Gladiator is live-streaming free fitness sessions, and Peleton is offering new users a free 90-day subscription to its app, no bike needed.) Go for a bike ride close to home, or get to work yanking weed and trimming overgrown plants in your garden.

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I found some new Austin murals by bike this week

I found some new Austin murals by bike this week

This 12-story mural on the side of the Line Hotel in downtown Austin commemorates the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Chris LeBlanc photo

I’ve been spending a lot of time on my bike lately, and this weekend I zipped downtown, where I got an up-close view of some new murals.

My new favorite? The huge mural on the west side of the LINE Hotel (formerly the Radisson) at Congress Avenue and the river, where Canadian artist Sandra Chevrier collaborated with American street artist Shepard Fairey, the artist who illustrated the Barrack Obama campaign poster a few years ago. The 12-story mural, part of the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation’s “Writing on the Walls” series, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Even better, it features one of my personal heroes, Wonder Woman. (I once rappelled down a 38-story building in downtown Austin dressed as Wonder Woman, and have raced several 5K runs in a Wonder Woman costume.)

This crooning cowboy adorns the east side of Native Hostel. Pam LeBlanc photo

And a mural on Native Hostel’s north side honors Austin band the Black Pumas. Pam LeBlanc photo

The Native Hostel at 807 East Fourth Street has repainted several of its walls with fresh murals. The north side features a painting honoring the band the Austin-based band the Black Pumas (I love that song “Colors”), and the east side features a cartoon image of a singing cowboy.

Can you name all the vegetarians in this photo next to Mr. Natural on East Cesar Chavez? Pam LeBlanc photo

I stopped to admire a huge mural of a bunch of vegetarians next to the Mr. Natural location at 1901 Cesar Chavez, but couldn’t correctly identify everyone in the scene. (The restaurant, which opened in East Austin in 1988, is offering curbside service in these pandemic days.)

This small mural on Waller Street is tucked in the gateway of a private home. Pam LeBlanc photo

I got one more surprise – a small-but-really fun Austin-centric mural in the front gateway to someone’s home on Waller Street, a few blocks north of the river.

What are your favorite murals?

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