Late Thanks and Some Interesting Blogs

I wrote this several days ago but work and family life has kept me from posting it till now.

There isn't much else that I can say about The Path Less Pedaled presentation that hasn't already been said, much more creatively, by others (here and here). It was a resounding success thanks to the efforts of Bernie and Bryan as well as the many others that spread word about the event. Ashley Akers deserves credit for actually setting this whole thing in motion by opening up her home to Russ and Laura. I'm really honored that when Ashley was looking for a connection to the local bike community, I came to mind.

Here are a few interesting blogs that I've recently found and wanted to share:

Bicycling In a World Built For Cars: While recently working in Fort Worth's east side, I found it necessary to stop at the Trinity Trails trailhead on E. 1st and make quick use of a porta potty. It was at that time that I noticed a young man pulling off the trail riding a Kona Ute. We chatted for a bit before I learned about his blog, Bicycling In a World Built For Cars. I can't believe that I haven't run across him before. That bike really stands out. He sounds very pleased with it.

The Pondering Cyclist: I originally met Zach at the first Bike Friendly Arlington Ride and I ran into him again at the Path Less Pedaled presentation. Sometime this month Zach will be striking out on a bike tour starting from his home in Arlington to the west coast. I started following his blog. Like another ponderer we know and love, he's got a way with words. I'm looking forward to following his journey as he's headed out in the direction that I think I would also choose which is northwest through Amarillo, Durango, Moab, and so on.

Good luck Zach.

Jim's Bike Blog: If you run into a guy cruising around Fort Worth on an Atherton touring bike, you've found Jim. I had a chance to talk to Jim over a plate of Mexican Food at Benito's before the Path Less Pedaled presentation. I learned that Jim has a blog and has done some long distance touring (coast-to-coast) after retiring in 2008 as editor at the Fort Worth Star Telegram, our local paper. My interest was really peaked when I learned that he was an Associated Press correspondent assigned to Moscow, before the wall came down, and Johannesburg, South Africa under apartheid. You can imagine that Jim has a few interesting stories to tell.

That's Jim on the right in Red Square in the early 70's.

Carsick Designs: Not too long ago I mentioned an interesting blog I had stumbled on, Lifecycle, by Bryan and Monica from Sacramento, California. It wasn't too long after that I purchased an old sewing machine to teach myself how to sew. About the same time Bryan inherited an old Singer industrial sewing machine and set about learning how to sew bags and panniers. Well, here I am still learning the basics while Bryan took to sewing like a duck to water. He's sewn some great looking stuff which he's been able to sell at local events. He and Monica have started a business called Carsick Designs, maybe you've seen the link on the right hand side of my blog. I hope they do well.

They'll make custom panniers on request.

Brian, hard at work.

Monica doing some product testing.

As if learning to sew and starting a business weren't enough, Brian built this cargo bike from the ground up in his spare time.

One Speed: Go!: I recently started following this blog about John Romeo Alpha's ramblings around Phoenix. To be honest, I really didn't think much about Phoenix until I found Upside Out. It's an interesting area and much more scenic than I would have thought.