A Decade Of Nonsense: Part 5

The start of something good- MG rides with me in March of '08

2008. What a year. In many ways, it was the pinnacle of what happened as a result of this blog. Outside of Guitar Ted Productions, 2008 was a high water mark, (no pun intended, as 2008 was a bad flood year as well), but from the perspective of what is going on in my life now? It was just the beginnings......

It was a year when I met several folks, or got to know them better, that became integral parts of my life for years to come. People like MG, David Pals, Jason Boucher, and Grannygear. It was a year that was the end of the line or the beginning of the end, for several other friendships.

A couple of things stand out for me: The fall out from the cancelled event in Decorah, dubbed the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. It was a pivotal moment from the standpoint of this blog, my efforts in cycling, and in my life personally. Without that one person making that one silly comment, it all could have looked very, very different now. I won't divulge details, but suffice it to say that "everthing happens for a reason", and sometimes that isn't clear until years down the road.

The other thing that affected the blog here was the fundamental change in my relationship with Twenty Nine Inches. By the end of 2008, any promises made to me by the former owner had been dashed, any hope of making something out of my efforts was negated, and I was in a very unfamiliar place. That being the head of a website- editing, business, relations, and reviewing. Again- I never wanted or envisioned being "that guy". However; I felt that just walking away then was a worse idea. So, I stuck it out and, I guess, it worked out okay from the standpoint of the site. Not for me personally or for this blog, but that is what it is.

This came into my life in '08

Me on the Fargo Gen 1. Image by Jason Boucher

A couple of bikes came into my life in 2008 that I am quite fond of. The OS Bikes Blackbuck, a curvy single speed, was a favorite right out of the gate. I have had it built in several configurations, and it has been an on again- off again test mule for my review work on TNI.com ever since I got it. Now that I am out of that gig, I can focus on just riding it!

The other bike is my Fargo Gen 1. I was rather intrigued by the whole Fargo thing right away when I heard about it. I got really intrigued by the bike when it showed up "under cover" at the '08 GTDRI as "Black Electrical Tape". (Jason Boucher taped over the model name logo to hide the model name from us.) Then in November of '08, on the day Obama was elected, I got a Fargo, which I still have.

I cannot explain why I like the bike so much only that I feel perfectly "fit" on it it every time I ride it. it's "one of those bikes" that just hits you right from the get-go, and there isn't any good explanation for it. All I know is that the Fargo Gen 1 is a "keeper" and that I won't be letting that bike go anytime soon.

More from the "Decade Of Nonsense coming soon.