Fuji Finest 2.0, Women's Specific

Recycled & New Bicycles now has the full line of Fuji Bicycles, including Women's Specific models. This if the Fuji Finest 2.0. If you are a woman looking for a road bike, are 5' 8" or shorter, come talk to me, call me, email me, or come test ride this bike.

Redline Conquest Sport 09

I should have the Conquest Sports ready in a couple of weeks too. These bicycles are already in stock in all sizes, waiting in the basement. I like this bike because it has front and rear rack mounts. Cross, Commute, and Tour!

Update: 3-7-09
I have a few ready to test ride. I can also ship. Call, email, or come on in.

Redline Metro 9

I should have some of these built and ready to test ride in a couple of weeks. The Redline Metro 9 is the 9.2.5 with a 9 speed in the rear. Steel, steel, steel! I think this may end up being my best seller this year. We will see.

The Economy

Today's version of The Diane Rehm Show is pretty good. The title is The Global Economic Crisis. World global output was projected at about 2.5%, but is now down to 0.5%. This is good news. I wrote the following last year at this time (like yesterday, I am forcing you to read it again):

I know for sure that our economy can not and will not continue to grow. A fossil fuel, consumer-based economy is a dying economy. My question is, why is growth the goal? Why grow? To what end? Aren't our leaders smarter than that? All they can think of is a tax cut so we can take the extra cash and buy more unnecessary plastic items. This is smart? I look forward to the day when a reporter says "the economy shrank last year...less houses, less cars, less corporations, less sprawl, and less items purchased from Wal Mart." Sure, when this happens my life will be hard. I am OK with that. My life is hard already, hard by choice.

So, we only have 0.5% to go! Everyone, slow down.

Annual Rhythms, Rides, And Migrations

I went on a long ride last night, the "Tour of Bardin" I would call it: Bellamy Road, George's Lake, Bardin, Caraway Church Road, and Etoniah State Forest. I looked long and hard for the Bardin Booger, but did not see him (I know you want more information on this, just google it for yourself). Long rides open my mind and allow a lot of time to think about a lot of things. Last night the thoughts were familiar. I observed Chickasaw plum in bloom and thought about the drive back to Utah. I tried to compose a haiku, but remembered that I did that last year at this time. Annual rhythms coming full circle, these are proof of middle age (reading glasses, Ctrl +, too). This morning I looked at a blog post from January 30, 2008. I've copy/pasted it below to force you to re-read it. "Welcome to Redundancy Theater, again."

There is a great article about Matsuo Basho in February's National Geographic. Basho was a haiku poet in 17th century Japan. A Zen Buddhist, he embarked on spiritual journeys walking around Honshu "shedding all worldly belongings and casting fate to the winds...paying heed to nature's modest drama." I started reading Basho's poetry and prose in 1988. My poetry here in this blog is inspired by his work. Riding a bicycle is a spiritual journey for me, my Buddhist path, slow enough to observe the fleeting ephemeral essence of the natural world and my own life.

We begin another journey today. We are packing up to head back to Logan. We should be on the road for 6 or 7 days. Leaving my Florida home rips me right in half. This place is in my heart; it is part of me. More than just familiar, it is what I know. Florida's ecosystems have become deeply rooted in my soul.

Our journey begins
As the Chickasaw plums bloom
There's sand in my shoes

The blog posts from last January were all really good. Here is a post worth re-reading. The part about the economy is quite prophetic.

Yes, I still owe you a rant about our autocentric world. Stay tuned.

Fixed Gear Cyclocross Dismount

Just because people always ask "how?".

More Cross Pictures

Lupine Cramer, the Girls 9 and Under State Champ.

Lupine's Dad, old and slow.

Where'd I Park My Bike????

Could you imagine a Wal-Mart parking lot full of bicycles? These videos are so great, I just had to post one more. If you are into the video thing, try some of these by Nicholas Whitaker.


Sinfonia Cyclissimo from Amsterdamize on Vimeo.

Not Logan, UT

But, it could be. It will be, some day. I borrowed this video from Biking Brits. Enjoy.

Yes, I am still composing in my head the soap box rant on the automobile as a short failed experiment, that I promised last month. Just wait.

Ride & Glide from Amsterdamize on Vimeo.

Florida State Champion?

No, not me. Jimbo, Kristin, and Lupine are the racers wearing gold medals around their necks. We had fun though. For me, fun is defined as suffering and humiliation. Lupine is the Girl's champ, Kristin is the Women's champ, and Jimbo is the Men's 35+ champ (and Men's runner up). Congratulations!

Here is a picture of me at my best. This was taken right after my shorts fell off. I had to ride most of a lap with one hand to the pits to get another pair of shorts. Thanks, Jimbo, for loaning me your best shorts.

TT Ride

My two wheels drifted
On the oak leaf covered trails
It was a great ride

I did a Tuesday/Thursday ride last night in Gainesville with the crew. There were 14 riders at the start and four at the end. Parts of the ride were pretty fast. It was a fantastic ride; I started remembering how to ride on north Florida single-track. Thanks to Steve for the light.

The Tour De Felasco is next on Saturday morning. Like I said yesterday, I can't wait.

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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