Sites, sounds and smells of a grease junkie

I got a new rig the other day. It is a Canon 2Ti with a standard 18-55 lens. I am fiending hard right now with it. There will be more about this camera in the future, but for now, here are a few images for you to enjoy. Enjoy. Be well.

“O snail Climb Mount Fuji But slowly, slowly!” -Kobayashki Issa Went for a three-mile run in the morning. It wasn't fast, but the morning was so gorgeous. Crisp air and cool temps kept me motivated to not stop moving. I'm glad I went. This afternoon I hopped on the Ion and rode. About 20 miles. Not especially fast either. The day was warmer, but between the bike and the wind, I was glad to have put on enough layers. Again I was glad I went. I will not be the first to the summit. It will take time. There will be starts and stops. There will be an end to this at some point unknown to me. Other ends will be made for me and I will make ends as well. The journey though, oh the journey. I will savor it. The bitter as well as the sweet. The lush and the stark. All of it is what I want to experience. I don't want to miss a moment of it. I am glad I am on this journey.

Saw this posted on the Stray Cats Bicycles Facebook page. "Road bike rides are for when you want to be alone with your thoughts. Mountain bike rides are for when you want to be alone without your thoughts." I agree completely. I have long thought of mountain bikes as a very Zen process. As very much a way to meditate. That may seem completely crazy, but stick with me here as I explain. Meditation, at least as I understand it, is about clearing your mind so that it can simply be. It is about trying to find some balance, some centering from all the thinking we do on a regular basis. To get to that state often a simple process like focusing on breathing or simply counting or even focusing on a corner in the room. Something like that. I've also heard that a good meditation requires a bit of...discomfort. You don't want to meditate while laying down or hanging out in the Lazy Boy. When you get that down, that's all you do is focus on that. It allows the mind ...

It is very slow at The Bicycle Company today. Today that does not bother me. It has been so absolutely busy. I told my colleagues before April start (which was in March by the by), that if the weather was half-way decent at all sales would go off and we would see a very strong month. Apparently sometimes I know what I'm talking about because that is exactly what is happening. There is still a long time to in April I've been around long enough to know that the wheels still could fall off this train. Road the Ion CX Pro today off road for the first time. I was talking to my neighbor yesterday and he mentioned taking his girls to Lake Rebecca Park Reserve. That got me thinking, hey there is a wee-bit of dirt to play in over there. So this morning I woke up at 7 and the sun was out and the sky was oh-so-gorgeous blue.I hoped on the tv with the typewriter and it told me the temperature was 34 or 35 or...something just above freezing. Regardless I knew I didn't have to...

Finally got to take the Ion CX Pro out for a proper ride today. Temps in the low 50s and a bit of sunshine made it an easy choice. I know a lot of others have been out already or are out year round. Frankly the idea of being on my bike in a non-bike friendly town in mid January has a very low appeal to me. Regardless, it felt good to crank out 20 miles or so on the bike today. It also felt good to get a better feel for the new steed. Here's some early feedback. I really like the stiffness this bike has in the front end and bottom bracket areas. It is apparent to me, especially when I'm out of the saddle. There was no/very little lateral flex in the front end thanks to the E2 fork/headset/frame combo. Trek runs the E2 on a variety of bikes throughout the lineup for good reason. It works well and isn't really that radical of an idea. Neither the 1.5-inch lower is an industry standard and the 1.25-inch upper also industry standard. The other part of the front...

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Governments should be afraid of their people. So... I found this tonight. This is from the Greek Ministry of Justice  website. It was hacked by the sly devils Anonymous. They also posted a short video. Enjoy.