A Look Forward To 2015

So, it's the end of another year, and as I look forward to the next, I am pretty stoked on the possibilities. The coming year will be busy, like any other, but I hope to have a bit more streamlined and fun time ahead than I have had in the past.

I will be partaking in several events next year- some I have no idea about, yet..... These are the ones I am sure I am going to get to. First up is Frostbike in Minneapolis. I have a very fond place in my heart for this event and what it means to me. Mostly because of the people, of course, but Frostbike is also something that is interesting in its own right. Some years more so than others, but usually there is something- or many things- I was glad to have seen and learned about. This February I hope to carry that tradition onward.....

• Then I do know that there will be another Geezer Ride in either late March or mid-April at the latest. It will happen from Grinnell, Iowa, and it will be the 40-ish mile, no drop format with a visit to a pub afterward. I'll nail down a date soon, and then ya'all that want to come can plan on it. 
• The Renegade Gents Race in the first week of April. I wouldn't miss this for the world. My team will hopefully return intact and we will do battle with gravel roads, Budweiser, and Four Loko. 
• Then there will be Trans Iowa Recon and the event itself- T.I.V11. It should be a scene!
• Odin's Revenge will be visited once more, assuming I get in......
• Another Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational? Yes. I have a score to settle in Clayton County.

That's what I know for sure now. There may be changes- additions, subtractions, or modifications to that plan. I try to stay flexible! Then there is one more thing I have to reveal.....

Since 2005 I have been a contributor to Twenty Nine Inches.com. I was not looking to ever run a website about 29"ers, and in the beginning, I didn't even want to become anything more than an occasional contributor. I let myself be convinced that there was something advantageous to becoming a major contributor in the Fall of '06 at a meeting at Interbike. Then as things progressed, I was made promises that were not fulfilled. By '08, even though I had no reason to stay any longer, I was neck deep in commitments to the site that, at least in a personal sense, I was unwilling to leave unfulfilled. That said, being a total "noob" to anything web related, I suddenly found myself having to pull strings and push buttons I had no idea about. The previous web designer/owner just dumped it all in my lap with almost zero support. Contacts that were previously made by the previous owner were lost, sensitive info I desperately needed, and tech support were non-existent. I was in dire straits with regard to TNI.

Well, I was super blessed to have had Grannygear, and then c_g from Germany pick me up by my bootstraps and make TNI what it is today. Seeing as how the thing is on its feet, and that my contributions are a pittance in comparison to their massive efforts, and seeing as how I am being stretched in other directions, it came time for me to let something go. TNI was the obvious choice. I am a liability to that site, if you want to know the truth of it, and those guys will be far better off without me holding them back. There are a lot of behind the scenes reasons for that which I cannot talk about openly, but that's the gist of it.

So anyway, long story short- I am ceasing day to day involvement with Twenty Nine Inches.com as of today. I have one more "assignment" to fulfill for that site, but then when I file that report with Grannygear I'll be done. It was fun, it was tedious, it was rewarding, and a big learning experience. I come away from that time a better guy for the experience, but it cost me a lot in time and money lost. I hope that by cutting that loose from my life I will gain more time for family and friends. Hopefully that will be the case.

Now onward to 2015.......