Today's Post

I was sitting down to do a quick post when Lupine asked if she could have her own blog. "Sure," I said. Here it is. This post is bare because we put all the new news and pictures in her post. Check it out, and see the pictures of the backyard fire!

I am happy to be in Florida. But, I am having this incredible hankering for mole`. Mole` is a sauce not a rodent. I'm going here on the trip back to Logan. If you ever get to SLC, it is worth the wait, because you will wait.


TT ride tomorrow night. Gainesville single-track here I come. More posting soon.

An Update/Yesterday's Slog

We are in Florida, at the lake house (shack on the marsh). We have an internet connection. Now you get the story:

We made the trip across the country without any problems, unless you count the little state of Texas as a problem, which I do. We spent two nights there, one in Amarillo and one in Longview. We made it home on Christmas Eve. The holidays have been great. We have missed our families here in Florida for sure. Here is the map:


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Here is a picture near the Book Cliffs in Utah on our first day.



Here is where we did not take the left turn in Albuquerque.
It turns out, Lupine really is a cotton picker, somewhere in Texas (Childress, perhaps?).


Lupine finally sees the ocean in Florida:



I have been riding a little bit, here in Clay County, Tallahassee, and with the Gainesville crew. Yesterday I had a nice ride from Jacksonville to here on the fixed gear beater. I had spent New Year's day there and did not have a car to get back. No problem, the bike works fine. The ride along the St. John's River was perfect. Near Orangedale, a bald eagle flew right over my head.

Jacksonville drivers on the other hand are a problem, but that is another soap box post where I will provide proof that our auto-centric world is only a brief, short, failed experiment. Here is the map of yesterday's slog:


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Who??

The question we all want answered: Who is Doctor Catfish????? This is what I get when I ask for "followers". What would I get if I asked for disciples?

By the way, has anyone checked out Kim's blogs? Thanks, Kim and everyone else, for following. The rest of the followers are all folks I know, even the Biking Brits.

OK, no more posting, I have to pack the car. Really.

Welcome To Redundancy Theater, Again

All the new news is old news, so just go back almost exactly one year and read this.

Not enough? Here just go back and read this. It is really uncanny. Last night I worked on Destry's bike, the last repair of 07 and 08. Still not enough? Go to the archives and click on December 2007. Good. I will post from the road. We should be near Santa Fe by Saturday night.

I Need A Bike Ride

Anyone want to join me? We only got a half-foot of snow today. How does this look, a nice ride up Logan Canyon? The high for tomorrow is 15.

Finally, The WRIAD Video

Thanks Jason!

A Map?

Here is an attempt at a map to go with this morning's narrative. I hope. I have a lot to learn about google maps and google earth.


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I Ain't Got No Stinkin' Followers

I added a "Followers" gadget to the blog today (left side bar near the bottom). As expected, I have no followers. Who will be first to sign up????

Long Rides, Short Days, Last Day

Last Wednesday I did a long ride. I was feeling a little down and just needed to suffer. I pedalled to Hollow Road, up Blacksmith Canyon, Left Fork, and Herd Hollow. There were no herds, just a flock of turkeys, some deer tracks, me, and the cross bike (the Forest Service Roads are officially closed, this ride was unofficial). The snow began to fall as I started to climb. I had no legs, but I just kept pedaling. Like I said, I wanted to suffer. I kept thinking how bad it could get if I had any problems (a 10 mile walk out). Was I under dressed and overconfident? Long before I got to the saddle at the top of Herd and Cowley Canyon the snow covered all the rocks in the road (Herd is quite rocky so I'm thinking at least 4 or 5 inches of snow). At the top, my hands and feet were numb. I ate a goo, put on my jacket and balaclava, and headed down. When I got to Right Fork and Logan Canyon, there was no snow and air was much warmer. In the summer I can do this ride in well under four hours. Last Wednesday it took four and one-half hours. I was happy to be home. Hot water on my numb feet never felt better.

Long shadows at noon
Climbing the snow covered road
Where Left and Right meet

Recycled & New Bicycles' last shop day of 2008 will be Tuesday, December 16. The Shop Christmas party has been canceled because of the recession. If I sell a few bikes this week, and a few kind folks pay their bills, I may reconsider, and we will party on Saturday the 13th. What the hell, if you are reading this, come by on Saturday and I will have coffee and snacks.

We (four bicycles, three silly humans, two black cats, and one good dog, go ahead and sing, you know the melody) will pile into the car and head for Florida on December 19. Recycled & New Bicycles will re-open some time in February.

Turkey Day Ride!

And they say you can't ride in northern Utah in the winter. Thanks for the picture, Adam. The guys in this picture (left to right, Brian, Tim, Jason, and me) were all part of the White Rim crew. I've been thinking long and hard about a blog post for the trip. What can you say about 100 miles in Canyonlands National Park? When Jason finishes the video, it will get posted here. In the mean time, I plan to keep on riding. The snow bike is coming out soon.

The White Rim, In Black And White

Photo by Jason.

WRIAD

That stands for White Rim in a Day. 100 miles of Utah's best scenery. I'll be closed today and Saturday. Wish me luck. Here are some more pictures.

A Photo...

...ripped of course. It's just to prove that I really did a race this year. Yes, Peter, I did it in cut-offs and a t-shirt.

Amy's Journey and Great Poetry

Amy came into Recycled & New Bicycles about a month ago. Her eyes sparkled with the fire of life smoldering inside. I’m not trying to be literary. You could plainly see the beauty and warmth in her eyes. The permanent smile lines entrenched in her young face were a road map leading to the fire. Amy needed a reconditioned bicycle for a journey. No, she was not just riding up to the USU campus; she was going to pedal all the way to Cincinnati. I asked her about WKRP, but she had never heard of it. Ah, youth.

I was ready to help. Here was a chance to vicariously go along on her journey, and a chance to relive a journey I took over 15 years ago. I sold her a reliable old steel MTB and told her the journey would change her life forever. I told her about my life changing, sinusoidal ride from Chattanooga to Jacksonville, a long time ago. We put a rear rack on the bicycle. She hooked up an old trailer, and rolled away.

Amy has sent four post cards since she left. Here are her baikus:

Windshield-less, naked
Eyes and ears more thoughtful now
Watch, smell, feel. Love life.

Characteristic
Black chain marks on my right calf
Gaily shout, “I bike”

Their eighteen big wheels
Knock the living breath from me
My lifted hand waves

Coy spider’s silk thread
Flaps merrily in the breezes
Catching bug and sun

Warm river, wet vein
Sun pulses as heartbeat of
Tree, squirrel, rock, me

Hot honeyed tea cup
Warms chilled hands and mind to
Consciousness of time

Colors swirl and dance
Encircling bike and me
Leaves trace summer’s light

My “partner” called
“When you get back home, we’re through"
Ouch. Illinois hurts

Rocking towards home
What awaits, unknown
Yet I pedal still

Well, Amy, I told you the journey would change your life. I hope you made it home. Thank you for the poetry (my edits are allowed under International Poetic License). Leave a comment if you want to.

Sunday Ride

I went for a ride this morning, up the River Trail. I'm sure it will be covered in snow the next time I am there. I have not posted any poetry in a while, so enjoy.

Follow the river

Rolling on wet maple leaves

Sunday, grey, lonely.

Calm before the storm

Maple leaves faded crimson

Soon covered with snow

Climb past the maples

Up to Douglas fir and snow

Green, white, and silent

The SE Singlespeeds Are Here

I just love the orange and blue Draft. Gator colors. I have a size run in the brown and blue Draft Light. Did you look at the msrps? No, that is not a misprint. $310!!

Choices, Choices, Choices!

It's official. Recycled & New Bicycles is now a Fuji Bicycle dealer. Yes, there are more bicycle choices than can be shaken at with a stick (I just couldn't end a sentence with a preposition). Just take a look! I will blog more when the bikes get here next week.

National Champ, 2019

I'll never earn a National Championship. Maybe Lupine will.

A Great Day at the Races

Lupine had a great first race yesterday in Ogden. She rode really hard and finished fourth in the Junior Women category. At the end she was in front of several boys her age and even a grown woman. I am so proud of her. When she got off the bike she was spent and just about to cry, and said "I'm never doing that again." My heart sank. By the time we were ready to go home she was talking about next weekend's race. That's my girl. I'll try to put in some pictures on the next post.

I did not place as well as Lupine. I only got a fifth in the Men's 35+ B race. I lost the leaders on the first lap as usual (my warm up was running around the course cheering for Lupine). By the third lap I was riding pretty fast. I knew I was in the top ten and with four laps to go some racers were coming back to me. I passed a guy named Jon and spent a lap and a half trying to shake him. With one to go I let him pass me. I told him "I can't get away from you, so go get them." I sucked his wheel until we caught another rider. Right before we made contact I blasted past both of them. I got into some traffic and the guy we had just caught came around me at a barrier, with Jon on my wheel. With the finish line coming up I instinctively took a direct line to the inside corner of the last barrier. I jumped it at an angle rather than taking a longer line to hit it perpendicularly. The gamble paid off (I did it the normal way eight other times). I made the pass before we were back on the bikes and headed for the Finish. I crossed the line with both guys still behind me.

It felt really good to move up two places on the last lap. The last time I raced was eight months ago in Florida. In that race I quite after only two laps. Yesterday, I did not quit. The rust came off, and I'm ready to go hard again next weekend. Right after I run around ringing the cowbell for Lupine.

First Race

Tomorrow is a day of firsts. I have already missed two races of the Utah Cyclocross Series, so I'll be doing my first race of the season at noon. At 11:30, Lupine will be doing her first race ever! I am a lot more excited than she is. I've waited a long time for this, daddy and daughter day at the races.