New Not-Skinny Tire Blog Up

I decided to create a new blog to encompass all of my non-skinny tire adventures. The first thing going up: a bike riding trip to New Zealand - address: http://allez2.blogspot.com  - Check it out!

Why I'm not Sick of Winter

When trying to blog for the first time in what feels like an eternity, what topic comes to mind? Winter, of course, but not for obvious reasons. This winter is similar to the winter I moved here three years ago January. The time has flown by, that's mostly good. It's been snowing almost non-stop, there's ice all over the place, and it's been cold enough to freeze my water pipes more than once.
The question is this: why am I *not* sick of winter, especially as much of it as has come?

#1 - Bike (Honey All Roads, to be exact) that has studded tires. It's *awesome* to not be scared on ice or snow and there's almost no place that's off-limits.

#2 - Lights that turn all of the dark hours (that's 4:30pm or later) into perfectly useful riding time. And the traffic is less and, when it's super cold, pedestrians are hard to find, too. 

 #3 - Getting out enough (and wearing the right clothes) such that I'm conditioned to not be *as* cold as I would be otherwise. I think it's easy to get soft and to feel the cold more easily when there are warm days (or warm vacations) sprinkled into an otherwise cold winter.

#4 - Because I am stubborn. If I want to be happy that it's still winter, I am. And I'm trying hard not to remember how nice warm weather is.

#5 - I love the beauty of the snow.

#6 - I like to watch the strange people-patterns (as it relates to customer behavior) that results from unusual weather.

There's more, but those are the biggest ones. The spring and nice weather will be here soon enough.

In the meantime, I'm savoring the time sipping hot chocolate, eating comfort food, and looking forward to the next ride on studded tires on ridiculously pot-holey, icy roads...which is coming up in a day...and yes, as I'm writing this, I'm hearing the trucks clearing the road outside making the large, man-eating pot holes even bigger.

Posts Unpublished and Back at it

I can't seem to get time together to post to my blog. I have gotten plenty of time together to write many draft posts.

What are some of these drafts that no one has had a chance to read? I've written about the key maker around the corner and a very pleasant interaction with him, some of the small tasks involved in running a shop and what they involve, major events on the timeline such as my last birthday (a milestone and something that was *really* freaking me out going into it), my very wonderful trip to Denver and a massive coffee tasting trip with my dear always-good-sport parents, some rides I've gone on lately, some work projects, interesting customer situations that can be shared, my work anniversary (a very big deal since I traditionally haven't believed in working in the same position for > 1.5 years due to a flat-lining learning curve/challenge curve).

So, there's a quick catch-up. Now on to today. Today is Labor Day, where I celebrate working by working a little less hard than on most other days.

This weekend I was able to take a full step back from things which I needed since I was teetering on tipping over by the end of last week. It was one of the most intense weeks I've had in a little while and I seemed to have caught a cold for two days. I'm sure it was stressed-induced. Some of the stress was positive, so it's not like much bad was happening (though big changes happened personnel-wise that did affect me greatly). I am, in general, affected by people. Little negative people things throw me off. Little positive things send me over the moon. It's how I tick.

Last week RSC got some great press (alright, it's not like a feature story, we gotta have something else to look forward to in the future). That was a huge high for me and everyone who works at RSC. It was really exciting for all of us. It excited customers, too. It's a huge motivation boost when our efforts are recognized from the outside, though we know what we do every day is something special.

Once upon a time when I was very little (5th grade), I'd done something I thought I was going to get in the local paper for doing. I didn't end up in the paper and I wasn't particularly disappointed; I just remember thinking that if it were to have happened, it would feel like winning the lottery. Why? Because it wouldn't have been particularly deserved.

Now it feels good to be recognized, but it's not super surprising. I jumped up and down when the Wall Street Journal called, I couldn't help myself. I think the WSJ is the best newspaper. But when we were included in their article/video/online piece, it wasn't that feeling of winning the lottery. I think it's because maybe it is something whose time has come, the Studio is remarkable and should be recognized for what it is and it does deserve the notice of national publications. The people inside really deserve the recognition, especially, and I wish everyone who works at the RSC could have gotten their photos in the slideshow and could have been recognized. The Studio is great because of an initial brilliant idea (not mine), fantastic execution making that idea reality (something everyone wants to do but no one actually does; something I'd love to be part of in the future, but wasn't this go-around), and now it's all about the team who breathes the life into it daily. I'm really proud of everyone who works at the Studio, and I am protective of each person, too. It is a very good feeling to have and it is a really good place to be in all ways that can be inferred.

That's a wrap for today. I have a Studio blog begging to be attended to... 

Italia Vacanza x 2

DAY 1 - Saturday - Arrive via plane in Catania, Sicily.

Gelato was nearly the first meal, if I remember correctly, after landing in Catania. My travel companion was drug to many gelaterias during the trip. If there is one thing I absolutely love in Italy, aside from the breathtaking, constantly changing landscapes, is their gelato. 

This is a panoramic shot taken from within a castle that we were touring through. It was quite funny to see a vending machine in such a place. (This was a round room, so this is actually just one vending machine.)

 Here's the castle. Just in the middle of the city.

 Also in the middle of the city was this cool Greek Amphitheater. Think lions, Christians, gladiators, the works. Not *all* that long ago. 

This is the site of their fish market in Catania. Open first thing every morning where fresh fish is sold to every good restaurant owner who drives here (often hours) early in the morning to get their pick for their dinner crowd. I found the amount of blood and live fish and heads of fish to be a bit disconcerting. 

DAY 2 - Sunday - Catania, shuttle to Caltagirone for first day of bike riding.

The warm-up ride was short (approximately 10 miles), but really gorgeous. It even had a long stretch of cobblestone road which I appreciated. It was hilly, but not bad. We took it at a pretty leg-stretch pace. I couldn't believe how good it felt to be dressed in just a jersey and shorts - not many other layers of clothes. 

After the warm-up, a small group decided to do the ride again. I *had* to do it again. It was particularly easy to do it with the aid of the Garmin which had captured the route the first time. This time, we went hard, and I couldn't totally hang with the guys, but it felt absolutely fantastic to get to push hard and breathe deeply. 

After riding and cleaning up, we shuttled into Caltagirone. Absolutely beautiful evening. One of the best parts about the trip is that I really enjoyed the peaceful night sky and sunsets on almost every night of the trip. 

Enrico was explaining about the town. All I could think about was my hunger. So I slipped away and got some really good gelato. 

Before dinner was appetizers and drinks in an old town meeting place. Something I've never been a big fan of is Italian appetizers. Anytime one orders a drink during that pre-dinner time, that drink comes out with small food. It's a nice system for keeping people content prior to the late 8-9pm dinner time. 

Dinner was the best of the tour. It featured generous amounts of a wide variety of fish (amongst all of the other courses). And this very large bottle of red wine that Paolo (one of our guides) is holding. I tried to forget the gross fish market and I did enjoy the varieties of the fresh fish and food served. 

The town was full of little alleyways and a humongous staircase where there was a row of tiles on each stair. This is looking down from the top. Exploring the town was great fun. 

DAY 3 - Monday - Bike riding Caltagirone -> Ragusa.

DAY 4 - Tuesday - Bike Riding Ragusa -> Ragusa.

DAY 5 - Wednesday - Bike Riding Ragusa -> Syracusa.

 DAY 6 - Thursday - Bike Riding Syracusa -> Brucoli, Shuttle to base of Mt. Etna.

DAY 7 - Friday - Bike Riding - Attempt at Mt. Etna. Return to Catanya via shuttle.

DAY 8 - Saturday - Up and Out Early - airport goodbyes. Train to Messina. Ferry to Italy mainland, Reggio di Calabria.

Day 9 - Sunday - Reggio di Calabria. Stuck here in a good way.

Day 10 - Monday - Rent car. Drive up the east coast to Rossano.

DAY 11 - Tuesday - Drive coast to Taranto, then up to Alberobello.

 

DAY 12 - Wednesday - Drive Alberobello to Matera, then on to Salerno. Ended up in Calvanico for refuge/place to sleep.

DAY 13- Thursday - Drive Calvanico to the Amalfi Coast -> Positano -> Salerno -> Roma.

DAY 14 - Friday - Drive to the Rome airport, 11am flight home. 

Pictures to fill in the details coming when there's a chance to post them. In the meantime, many are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23781778@N07/

Home is where...?

A recent major stressor is that I'm likely going to have to change my place of sleeping yet again. If there's one thing that's disconcerting to me, it's not having firm footing living-wise. This was something that was somewhat uncomfortable to me when I was living in Italy, but at least then, I still had a home to return to in the US. I've been a home owner pretty much all of my adult life and it feels good to own my own place and be able to decorate as I please and simply not having someone else ruling my space.

Now, I have been here for over 2 years and have no semblance of stability aside from work which, thank goodness, does provide some level of that "home" feeling. I like where I am living now: I have two rooms and quite a bit of quiet space and privacy along with hardwood floors. This particular home will be sold soon and I'll be homeless. It really freaks me out not knowing where and when I'll have to move next. For the past 2 years, I have longed daily for a living arrangement that can't be yanked out from underneath me at any moment in time. I also long for walls that I can paint and decorate as my own.

Lately I've been researching tiny homes. This is a concept I'd read about in a book about tiny homes  years ago so it's not new but it's little known still. Aside from the obvious financial benefits, I'd take a 300 sq ft place of my own over a gargantuan home any day. I prefer it. Small and mine. Simple. The picture above is of a home that's 350 square feet.

An opportunity has presented itself for some such arrangement. I'm really excited about the possibility (it may not work out, but I am really hoping that it does) and it's got me thinking about what I should do even if it doesn't happen. I am yearning so much to settle down and get on with my life as an adult, as I used to love living before I uprooted myself and moved to Italy.

It's Hopping

February in the bike business can be a sleepy month. Things have hardly slowed down at the Studio, though, as it's been hopping nearly constantly with the exception of today which was, truly, a day almost no one would dare ride (icy gusts and snow falling most of it). Yesterday was the kind of day that keeps normal people off of bikes, but we had a 30+ person ride go off for 50 miles and it started while it was snowing and cold. Everyone came back smiling (and in party-mode). It was for a special occasion as it was a landmark birthday for one of our endurance team riders who has a lot of friends who are into really hard riding.

When I couldn't stand or talk anymore from tiredness (hadn't fully recovered from my night ride the previous evening), I sat down and did some website work. I never miss not having a desk job, but I do sometimes miss having a desk or a few forced hours there each week. I think 1-2 days a week at a desk is perfect. The rest of the time standing up is my preference; I'd take 100% standing over 100% sitting.

I'm happy to report that this past week was totally sane and resembled a normal work week. It's made me a bit anxious: what am I forgetting to do? Usually I can't get close to getting all of my work done in 70+ hours a week so taking the day off today and going home at a normal time yesterday felt really weird. (To be clear, I'm not caught up with things, just nothing is so urgent that it can't wait a few more hours.)

This week I'm bunny-sitting. Usually it's cats and plants, this is new. There are birds, too, but they only need their water changed so basically need no attention at all. Bunny just has to hop around. I keep meaning to become a more professional house/animal sitter since it's so easy with my lifestyle. I also keep meaning to get into the maker community (it's the best thing about Boston that I'm not taking advantage of) and do some video editing. My short list of to-dos is long and every little thing takes way too much time. All this and I really need to focus on simply riding the bike to keep things balanced and stay healthy.

Long day made longer

Friday morning started early with a visit to the RSC by U Mass Lowell. They are exploring transportation options, looking to do a lot more with biking on their campus (of which they have a few separated by trivial distances perfect for riding, too long for walking) and they have a repair shop and food services that they are looking to combine in a unique way. We were their first stop on a day-long field trip. It was a nice opportunity to share with them how the business works, keys to its success and the areas that are challenging, to assist them in thinking through their own situation. They were a great group I'm glad to have had a chance to meet. 

I wonder when someone will want to write a book about the Studio. It'll happen someday. I'm going to be brainstorming titles in the interim. Smaller is Better, Good to Fabulous, The Art of Running a Studio, The 400-Hour Work Week, It's All About the Latte... good thing I'm starting now so in 20 years, it'll have come together and the 400-Hour Work Week title won't be in the running. 

Friday's challenge was set forth by both Comcast and Verizon somehow both losing control of our voice phone number leaving us phone-number-less for a couple of days. Hours lost, only thing gained: not having to run to the phone when it rang today since it didn't. Nothing is easy, I'm just glad this is happening now and not in the middle of spring. 

Friday was a beautiful day and one that treated cyclists who were able to get outside. I have been craving a reasonable day to ride. It got the best of me and with a new pair of new Mavic mtn bike shoes on my feet, I decided I *had* to take the long way home last night on my non-studded tire Honey (sweet, oh so sweet) bike. It flew and just felt great. I've been only outside lately on a heavy commuter bike with studded tires so the ride quality of it is suboptimal. I was happy to feel the difference between the two and re-appreciate my super sweet cross bike. I wanted to get a good pic of the bike out there in the night. Will need to get it out and do that still. I really like that bike. 

Boston Skyline from the MIT bridge & my turn-around point.

 It was late by the time I got out and I didn't know where I was going to go. After taking a look at some city riding photos late in the evening, I began to thirst for NYC. So I got on the bike and headed toward Boston. The smells of Central Square and the skyline of Boston quenched my thirst. I returned home and called it a night, a good night indeed. 

In Harvard Square.

Sweet Nothings

Pedals/petals for Valentine's Day

I had a good time doing a little shopping for the day at Wilson Farms, the land of all beautiful, smell-good flowers. I picked up some flowers for RSC and a few other little things. I'm not interested in buying things for myself usually, but I really enjoy getting things for the Studio. Typically this manifests itself in doing things for the various holidays. Nothing big, but still fun. Customers and employees like it, I always hear people who express their appreciation for the little touches of festivity. Though we always work hard and keep our standards at the highest level, we always seem to know how to have fun and enjoy the special days as they come around.

Calmness

Monday was such an ugly, useless day, it made sense to me to go to work as staying home would have been pretty miserable. I was happy at work and with it calm there, I could accomplish some things and spend time on personal stuff around people I like to be around. I hate to admit that I don't have other good rainy day hangouts. Even Barnes & Noble didn't lure me to it even when I was driving by next to it (unusual). Good news on that is it's because I'm gainfully employed with too many good books and browsing around and finding yet another book or magazine would only put me further behind in reading the things I really want to read.

My Nook is changing my reading habits. It's making it more convenient and possible with my current living situation and so far, it's working. I thought I liked paper better than electronics for reading. I think I'm changing my mind very quickly though the world will be a different place without paper and that isn't necessarily a good change overall.

The week was pretty calm without any stressors that stood out or kept me up late. I'm trying to appreciate this time of relative calm.

Playing in Snow

Sunday I had no choice but to do something outside of work as I'd used up my last bit of energy. I like getting to that point as playing then feels really good. No guilt. Festering energy to snowshoe seemed ridiculous, but I'd commited prior to Sunday to go so I couldn't very easily back out. It was a blue-sky day with everyone who has waited all last winter and this one for a good snow. The powder was deep and snowshoeing was just the thing to do, though the hundreds of other people out there at Great Brook were mostly cross-country skiing.
Having a day of talking bike racing with bike racing girls was very fun. It made me get on the trainer yesterday. Today I woke up feeling dead. It's going to be a very long, slow grind up this steep hill to get back to racing.