Dobovedo's Journal of Journeys

More to follow tomorrow, but my days of bike commuting to Bryson City are numbered. Which is kinda funny, since they are just now finishing up all the brand new asphalt that covers about 2/3 of the miles I ride. Both westbound lanes on the GSME have been done for over a week, but all last week they were doing the on/off ramps. I had some big fun slaloming in and out of the big orange cones. They suck when you’re driving, but they’re a blast on a bike! Yesterday they were finishing up the Bryson City exit, so this morning I came down the ramp and onto the 10% grade at full speed. (no stop sign, the ramp becomes it’s own lane.

Read more on Commute Days R Numbered…

Today’s ride to the office was blessedly uninteresting. The sun was out, the roads were mostly clear of cars and critters and the gravel is compact and smooth after all of last week’s rain. On an extremely minor note, I decided that stopping at the WhittierPost Office, directly on my route, to drop off my Little Red Envelopes is marginally nicer than riding the extra two blocks to go to the Bryson City Post Office. The only real difference is traffic congestion around the BC one.

On the way home though, I had a brief moment of ride company in the form of five Spinderellas.

Read more on A Climb With The Spinderellas…

Today was blessedly dog free. The yapper is gone, I didn’t get chased, and when I got home this evening, I spent some time on my porch with my cat buddies, readin’ a book, drinkin’ a glass of ale and listenin’ to the mountain sounds…

lawn mowers and weed whackers.

Read more on Better Day(s?)…

It only took a week and I got a flat riding up the gravel road to the farm. I’d be a bit concerned about that, except that the rear tire on the Bianchi was getting a little bit thin and it was only a matter of time. Still… I’m thinknig I may start accelerating my plans to by a more appropriate ‘commuter’ bike. I really wanted to see how my expenses went for a few months, but tubes and tires ain’t exactly cheap.

So that was the “Flat!”. The “Not So…” was my after work run. Definitely not flat.

Read more on Flat! & Not So……

Judging from the title of today’s post, you might get the impression that something bad happened today that involved dogs. And in that regard, you’d be wrong. You might also get the impression that I was about to go on a rant.

And in that regard, you’d be right.

Read more on I Hate Dogs…

After four days of driving I finally got on the bike and did my first commute into Bryson City. There had been heavy rain in the early AM but when I headed out the door it was sunny and the roads were drying out.

It didn’t last.

Read more on First Commute Baptism…

Had myself a few “final” moments today. Last day in my office, although that’s not true, for two reasons. First, I was more or less moved out a week ago and sat in an otherwise empty room all this week. Second, I’ll very likely do the same thing  next month and in the future as office visits occur. It was also my last commute from Piqua, although that’s not true either. Same reason. I’ll be up here in mid-August and as it stands, I’ll be staying here at the house and no doubt will ride a bike to Troy.

So far there ain’t anything ‘final’ about my final moments, huh?

Read more on Clear Out Yer Locker…

For the past few weeks I’ve been in an ongoing debate as to what to wear for Muncie, Ironman FL,  and other triathlons. I’m a bib-shorts kinda guy, and that means  a change of clothes in each transition. From swim jammers to cycling bibs and from bibs to running shorts (w/ a compression layer underneath). The problem with this approach is that apparently, the race organizers at these events frown on public nudity, so I can’t just swap layers in transition. That means one of two solutions. A) going into crowded changing tents and wasting time. Or B) do the ‘wrap towel around and awkwardly try to swap clothes underneath.

I don’t like either of those options, so I bought myself a pair of tri shorts from Voler/Velowear. Not sure if I like the idea of not having bibs, and the idea of such a thin cycling pad, but I figure I’ll give it a try.

Read more on A Swim & A Soggy Commute…

Three times now I have come off of Peterson Rd. and into the dirt and gravel at the edge of the road, leading to where the paved path starts and heads into town. The first time, I wasn’t sure where it was, so I was going slow when I hit it. No problems. The second time, I came in way to fast, forgetting where it was around a somewhat-blind, downhill curve. Although it took some creative braking and handling on the loose dirt, there were no problems.

Today, the third, and ultimately last time, I again took it too fast. It sneaks up on ya. And this time there were indeed problems.

Read more on So THAT’S Why They Didn’t Pave It!…

As I was riding down Wayne St. through downtown Piqua this morning, I noticed a van was cruising along behind me at a safe distance, and was making no attept to come past me. We went a couple blocks, and he kept his same distance. As I pulled up in the left turn lane to cross over the river on East Main, the van pulled up beside me – headed straight. Since the light was red, and his window was down, he said, “The bike path is back there”.

Naturally, I was pissed off by this comment.

Read more on “The Bike Path Is Back There”…

So much has happened in the past few weeks that I can’t even begin to figure out how to tell the story. Whatever follows is the best I can do. Of course it’s long, but this is a pretty big deal. Huge in fact. The hugest thing I’m ever going to write about on this blog. For some time now I’ve been dropping hints that something was up in my life. But other than a Twitter update or three, and a few briefer-than-normal posts, I haven’t said much in my journal at all. With good reason.

The time has come to just spill it.

Read more on Wherever I May Roam…

On Thursday after work I rode down to Tipp Park to meet up with Crilli. We did an easy ride up to Casstown to check out the Strawberry TT, which I had just found out earlier in the week was not on the weekend. Not that it mattered, I wasn’t doing it anyway. I’m just now starting to recover from Tuesday’s hilly Turtle run.

“You’re always recovering!” This is what Shane said to me while we were out there in Casstown. He had ridden out there too.

Read more on Always Recovering…