Two Things

Ari Andonopoulous in front of Bikes To You, Grinnell, Iowa.

 Trip To Chi-Town:

This weekend I am accompanying my daughter and a friend of hers as they are attending a concert in Chicago on Sunday. I will be in Chicago all day Sunday. I hope to meet my old friend there, Ari, because it has been years since we've seen each other. 

Ari and Trans Iowa are nearly inseparable as far as my past goes. He was there at T.I.v4 and he made it to nearly every edition of the event afterward. But more than that, Ari was the catalyst for so much that went on in and around the event. He had friends who came along and helped me tremendously, such as Mike, (The Bonk King), Tim, Gumby, and others as well. Ari's good friend, Michael (Dr. Giggles), was also a stalwart supporter of Trans Iowa and attended the event as long as Ari had. Ditto for Keisuke Inoue, who rode in several T.I. events and was a friend of Ari's.

So, Ari and myself have a lot of shared Trans Iowa memories, but I also shared that "Mud Year" ride at the DK200 in 2015 with Ari. That was an amazing experience. One I won't forget until I can't remember anything, if that happens.... 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to possibly connecting with Ari again here soon. If that happens I'll give a short report on two old guys chatting about a stupid old gravel race next week. 

Reviewing Stuff:

I ceased my involvement with any other websites and reviewing duties last year. So, this year I figured all that would likely peter out. This blog launched me into a reviewing career in 2005-2006, but this blog was never really a platform for reviews. Not until a couple of years ago, really. 

So, when I got off all the "dot-com" sites and came to focus my energies here, I figured that my numbers and appeal stemming from this platform would not be enough to sustain any kind of flow of goods to review. And I would be fine with that, really. I am not making any money off all that work, and it is a lot of work! 

That gig gets me to riding though. It is a motivation to do the riding, because I feel a deep responsibility to those companies and people who have committed to sending me things to look at and ride. Having this motivation gets me out there sometimes when I would likely be lazy and sit around the house instead. So, from that aspect, I am blessed and grateful for the opportunities I do get to take advantage of here. 

Now, as I said, I am still reviewing stuff this late into 2024. I figured the stream would have run dry by now. But it has not dried up. In fact, it still is flowing. I'll have another new product to talk about soon here. This will stretch the reviewing gig out further. Plus I still have tire reviews to conclude. 

If you had asked me in 2004 if I ever thought I would get published for one review, I would have had a very emphatic "NO!" response. Now almost 20 years later into reviewing things I find myself still at it. I find that amazing and fun.