The Return

It's been a long time....  Too long!

Like the hired man said,  "There's been a deal of trouble around these parts."

That might be a bit strong, but I've been dealing with some personal issues, things that absorb time and attention.  I'm not done with it all yet, but I do feel like I just might have turned the corner.

"So what's been going on here?" you ask.  I most definitely have been riding.  Sometimes not as much as I'd like, but never down to nothing.  I just haven't been able to write about it.  I'm hoping to change all that now. I doubt I'll be posting every day.  I'll do my level best to get out one or two posts per week.

Thank you all for your patience.

Oh yeah!  I guess, since this is a bicycle related blog, I ought to include at least some bicycle related content.  Here goes.

I rode the GA-400 Hospitality ride.  That was on Sunday 29 June.  The 3.5 miles on GA-400 were a complete blast!  The next section was hilly riding, working our way out of the suburbs of Roswell, GA.  There was a long stretch in the middle that was hilly, and mostly rural.  I've been recovering from the Headcold From Hell, so I opted to cut the ride a bit short.  I clipped off one of the 14 mile "do-loops."  (I am incredibly glad I chose to do this!)

By md-day it had become quite warm.  The route was leading us through some hilly country returning to Roswell.  Then I hit the bit with the "Three Sisters."  These are three seriously steep. challengingly long climbs.  Ouch!  My legs were almost sort of recovered as we cruised through downtown Roswell.

The trek along the Chattahoochee riverfront was okay, if a bit to crowded with car traffic.  And then I came to the last practical joke of the course.  "The Mother In Law!"  This was one more serious climb, leading to the very end of the ride.  I came as close as I've ever come to dismounting and just sitting down on that thing.  I did make it.

I'm glad I did the ride.  I won't ever do it again.  It would be a god thing if I never meet the practical joker who designed that course.

Newy Hapear! and Welcome Back

It’s been a long time.  My last post was on Monday 19 November 2012.  I’m back now.  By way of explanation I will offer only this.  Events sort of overtook me.  Between a lot of “stuff,” and an intense workload, this blog sort of dropped down the priority list…    waay down!

I don’t like the whole “New Years Resolutions” thing.  I’m not writing a post on doing resolutions.  What I am doing is making a return to something that is important to me, and (I hope) useful to you.

In the coming weeks you will see some differences in this blog.  Starting next week, one week from today, we will again bring you the series Your First Three Years on each Tuesday.  From that point on, the series will continue on a weekly basis.  I’m giving some thought to including some supplemental posts to sort of “catch up” on time lost.

In addition to the “YFTY” posts, you can look forward to a lot more on touring.  This is an area of cycling that fascinates me, and of late I’ve not been too faithful to it.  You are invited to share in a comeback.  Along the way, we’ll stray into other areas.  You can look for some mountainbike stuff, a bit of silliness, the occasional advocacy bit, and a touch of occasional remembered whimsy.

Now let’s all go out and start working on this brand shiny new year.  It will be what we, together, make of it.  I for one intend to make it a work of art and a labor of love.

Happy and Prosperous New Year to you all!

Cheers!

Greetings to you all on this somewhat challenging Monday morning.  For a rare change, I am truly glad that I had no plans to ride this morning.  I awoke, as many of you did, to the sound of thunder and torrential rain.  I am equipped and experienced for riding under these conditions, but I can think of far more pleasant ways to start a week.

Here it is the middle of October, and we have been having ourselves one glorious Autumn.  The weather for the coming week looks like a continuation of the trend.  The early climatology forecasters are not being forthcoming with strong opinions yet.  It looks like even money on a “normal” Winter, or a Winter that is “typical” of a weak El Nino.  If it’s the latter, we will get larger swings of temperature and moisture, but the average will be close to the norms.  In short, for cyclists and other outdoors types, it’s likely to be an interesting and challenging Winter.

Continuing Project Updates:

Commuter Build: This project has turned out to be a serviceable and versatile machine.  (Some of you will remember this thing.  I took a Giant Escape, basically a hybrid, and re-worked it as a heavy commuter.)  We’ll be doing a more detailed follow-up on this one in the near future.

SRAM WiFi Rework:  This one has yielded amazing results.  I re-fitted my Defy 1 with a full suite of SRAM Apex equipment, with the odd upgrade.  The mix took a bit of tinkering, but it works and works amazingly well.  Again, look for a full write up in the future.

New Secret Project:  This one is still under “wraps.”  I’m doing some testing on an idea that could prove to be very advantageous to you Shimano equipped road riders.  That’s all I’ll say on that one now.  Keep watching.

May you all have a good and prosperous week.