PROFORM LE TOUR DE FRANCE ONGOING REVIEW…

January 29, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Week of 01/25 through 02/01 has note “Huge Air Forces operating over Germany) Daily note for 01/29/44 – Go to air field. Joe E. Brown comes down and gives us some good laughs. Eat supper and go to Foggia to USO and see Humphrey Bogart and wife. Cold- …”

 

This may not be pretty… Even after a night’s sleep, I still may have a RANT getting ready to erupt. Just be warned. Maybe it won’t be more than a mini-rant. It will certainly be about my ongoing review of the ProForm Le Tour De France spinner bike.

But first… A cyclist’s dilemma…

(This is a test provided by a local survey crew…What’s a cyclist to do?)

Imagine if you will…

A WEEK IN REVIEW…

January 22, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Dug fox holes for shelter from strafing planes. Went to Foggi for belley tanks for P38 – P-38 leave with 2-1000 lb. bombs each…”

Our unseasonably warm, wet winter continues. As other parts of the country are getting hammered by heavy snows, winds, and frozen temperatures, we’re experiencing almost spring like temps with lots of rain. According to my weather station, we’ve already received 2.10” of rain this month.

I’ve noted a few cyclists out and about but, by and large, most cyclists seem to have retreated indoors or are riding at times when I’m not out and about to see them...

WELL, THAT DIDN’T LAST LONG…

 

January 15, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts, while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Work all day – Last nite one other flier broke his leg. Put some electric lites in my tent. – Still use a candle to write by…”

 

What a January workout plan I had. Note emphasis on “had”. You can file it under “Well, that didn’t last long…” But more on that later…

The last couple of weeks have been busy and the coming week isn’t showing any signs of letting up. Starting tonight, with the monthly meeting of the …

THE “GREATEST GENERATION” DIMINISHED BY ONE…

January 5, 1944 From the daily diary kept by S.Sgt. G.C. Watts while stationed in Naples, Italy during WWII… “Nothing doing today. Rain and snow. Go to town – shave and lunch. For Spagetti and French Fryes it cost 150.00 Lira – In the states it would have cost only 35 cents.”

 

We lost another member of the “Greatest Generation” on New Year’s Day. The Navigator’s father, age 93, “passed on” after a full and rich life. G.C. was a WWII Veteran serving our country in the Army Air Corp. He saw action in Africa and Italy. One of the discovered treasures in his home was a day-by-day journal that he kept of his activities. I find it illuminating to stop today and consider what he was doing on this date time during the war…

(G.C. Watts, Gen. Colin Powell, The Navigator (on left with camera) during the HonorAir Flight to the WWII Monument in Washington, DC)

Cycling Updates:

While the weather here in Western North Carolina has been less than hospitable for most of us, our fellow BicycleHaywoodNC members “Cross Country”Stan and his better half, Shirley, have managed to avoid our winter weather…

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

As 2011 comes to a close, it is tempting to look back and compile a list of accomplishments and a list of failures. This year, I choose not to do so and will simply say, “Hey some really good stuff happened and, yeah, I didn’t pull everything off I intended.” Unlike Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, I’m choosing to focus on the space between yesterday and tomorrow.

(Janus – Roman god of beginnings and ending, openings and closings)

Beginnings and endings have been on my mind quite a bit recently. I’m finding the bleed over from…

EMERGING FROM A FOG…

I’m finally emerging from a multi-day fog of chemical induced surrealistic life experiences. The past few days have been a great roller coaster ride in which shadows and shapes shifted in and out of my Robitussin, Alka Seltzer, cough drop, infused existence.

When last I felt this way, I was soothed/tortured with a cycling reality involving some interesting characters…

HOLIDAY GREETINGS!

 

From myself and the Navigator, please accept our best wishes for a Joyous and Merry Christmas and a  Happy Hanukkah. We hope that your lives are blessed in many, many ways in 2012!

My fellow rider, Paul Casper, has been busy as shown by this photo of his hand built wooden bike!

(Beautiful wooden bike contains multiple types of wood)

I knew that Paul was a talented photographer but I didn’t know that he was a talented wood-worker. Click on the image above to be taken to his photo gallery for close up images of this beauty of a bike…

PHIL–PLEASE “SAY IT AIN’T SO!”

In recent days, stories have been circulating in and around counties abutting the Blue Ridge Parkway indicating that the Parkway is going to CLOSE TO CYCLISTS.

The story has enough “legs” under it to garner comments from the Adventure Cycling Association and Blue Ridge Outdoors. So, my plea is to Superintendent Phil Francis that he issue a clarification of the Parkway’s intent regarding cyclists under the current draft plan…

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS…. IS AMERICAN MADE!

 

Recently, I was having lunch with my friend Il Plummer at the local “bicycle friendly” business Smoky Mountain Café when our conversation turned to ABC network’s ongoing reporting on “Made In America.” I haven’t seen those spots but Il Plummer is the inquisitive type and now that he is retired from his English teaching position, he has lots of time to ponder the situations of the world. He was educating me on the “Buy American” series and recalled that, in one of the earlier shows, ABC reported that if everyone would simply purchase $64.00 per person of products Made in America, we would create 300,000 new jobs….

‘TIS THE SEASON–FOR BIKE PLANS!

I’ve just had the pleasure of participating in the latest Bike Plan Kick-Off for the Western North Carolina region this past week. The Land of the Sky regional planning board in conjunction with the Southwestern (NC) Commission is preparing a region wide bike plan that will encompass 7 counties in western North Carolina.

(The BRBP logo is shown to my right during my brief chat with participants)

The $250,000.00 plan is being funded through the French Broad Metropolitan Planning Organization and will carry through to 2013. Representatives from the 7 involved counties met at….