Whole lotta changes since my last post, many months ago.
First, the bike shop I worked for - The Bike Wave - was sold. With my future employment in question, I just wasn't feeling happy and joyeous for a while. Soon afterward, however, I was hired by the new owner. It was initially very strange working in the same place, but with a different owner and different employees. It's still a little weird, but not as bad as it was.
My weight loss thing came to a screeching halt. I've still been trying to eat in a healthy manner, but the weight is stubbornly sticking around. Last time I weighed myself, I was at 278. But then we bought a new scale. It says I'm at 290-something. Stupid scale.
I have a new road bike. Well, I have two new road bikes since I last posted here. I bought a 2008 Masi Alare back in February. That was the day Jeff called me (just after I'd returned home with my shiny new bike) and told me he'd sold the store. I promptly stripped all of the components off of the bike and put all Ultegra on it. All of the Sora and Tiagra stuff that came on it is now on the Marin. The Marin also has a normal drop road bar now. The moustache bar has moved to the White Thing bike that I use for a commuter. More about it later.
I also have a shiny "new" 1999 Cinelli Alliante. Oschner had a clearance on Cinelli frames. They had one 54cm left. For $299. So I bought it. It has a mish-mash of Campy stuff on it...from Veloce to Record, Torelli wheels, Look Keo pedals, etc. I've ridden it once. That's because it's still hanging at the shop... I still owe for most of the components.
So....RAGBRAI. Ain't going. I didn't meet the "weight requirement" my wife set. I don't have the money. Most importantly, the shop really can't survive without me. Not yet. Next year, however...
I've been riding to work occasionally. Not all the way, of course, since the shop is almost exactly 60 miles from my house. I drive to a Kroger 5.75 miles from the shop, park, and ride from there. I'm still exploring to find somewhere 10 miles or so away that has a place where I can safely park my truck and not have to worry about it not having wheels when I return.
Other news? Hmm... Well, it's 3:34am and I'm awake. That'd be because I went to bed at like 8:30pm or so last night. It was a VERY stressful day at the shop yesterday. So, I think the remedy is this: 1) I'll go back to bed and get back up at a decent hour and 2) I'll go for a long bike ride in the morning - before the massive storms arrive.
See y'all next time.
Comments to date: 1. This is page 1 of 1.
Jim Grinnell
Posted at 12:37am on Saturday, June 28th, 2008
Good to see you are blogging again. You are already probably faster and in better shape than a lot of riders on Ragbrai.
