What am I doing?

I just started my very own blog. So hello for cryin' out loud. Outside of marriage and fatherhood I fly, I ride, I build stuff and then coach ball games. I think you'll see a bit of all of that here from time to time.

My most active pursuit right now is cycling. While the bug started back in High School, it took a hiatus for a few decades. I found it again when my son started riding and wanted me with him. So after renovating my old bike and performing some new age updates (computer, clipless pedals), I started riding again. The leverage point became a desire for weight loss and, lo and behold, I've been on a bike on average 4-5 days per week ever since, a little over 2 years now.

During that time I have connected with an old buddy and it turns out he's become quite an accomplished competitive Mountain Biker. The enthusiast screw tightens and I read a few Carmichael books. Bike rides turn into training rides. The computer and HR monitor enter and now cycling has taken on a life of it's own for me. It's been fun learning all of the changes in cycling over 25 years. I enjoy the technical side of training methods and combining cadence and HR to optimize training and efficiency. The weight is coming off and I have a bit more to go.

The changes in the cycling world have been drastic, akin to me being that Rumpel stilkin (sp?) guy and falling asleep for 25 years. Carbon, clipless, computers, STI....wow. I was afraid to ride a new bike because then I would want one. Well I did ride one and, yup, I wanted one and finally bought one 2 months ago. Remember the old buddy I mentioned? He and I started talking about the riding I have been doing, goals, etc. I wanted a road bike, with some speed and some dampening. Carbon was it and and I did some test rides. After wandering from the possibility of building a bike, we settled on a Specialized Tarmac. The Tarmac gave me some upside for other future goals, perhaps including some competition.

So when and where to buy? I've been a fan of e-bay and started browsing what was available. After consulting with my friend again, I found the right bike and was very fortunate to get it at the right price.

So now I ride a Specialized Tarmac Expert, pretty much Manfacturer's stock, with Ultegra groupo and Mavic Ksyrium Equipes. My add-ons are Cat-eye Astrale 8 (w/cadence) and Shimano SPD clipless pedals. By the way, I now believe in heated floors, clipless pedals and STI. It's a sweet ride and has more to give than I can take right now, and working on it. Pictures to come.

It's getting colder and the cold weather gear has been handy so that the holidays don't add the weight that's taken 9 months to get off.

That'll do for now