Don't call it a comeback.

Back in 1988 when I started working for Bruce Gordon Cycles he had just started building his Rock 'N Road bikes which were cross type bikes built around his own Rock 'N Road 40C tire.  He also made cable connectors so you could swap bar/stem set ups between road and mountain without having to adjust your gears.  Pretty slick.  I road one of these bikes with flat bars for a couple years while I worked there.  Rode it everywhere I rode my mountain bike.  But at the trade shows shops couldn't wrap their heads around the bike.  "What am I going to do with that? It's not a mountain bike and not a road bike", they would say.  I'm pretty sure that was the point.  And who would come into Bruce's shop checking out the Rock 'N Roads?  Wes Williams, father of the 29r, who will tell you that Bruce's bikes were an inebriation for him.  So here we are almost 25 years later talking about "Monster Cross" bikes like they're something new.  The good thing about this resurgence has been that Bruce decided to make his tires again.  This time Panaracer is making them in Japan for him and they're lighter and a little fatter than before.  The first ride I did on the new ones was aboard my Dirtbomb on a 70+ mi ride with lots of road and lots of fire road climbs and save for the severe suffering, the ride was amazing.  The Rock 'N Road tires are really the best dual purpose fat cross tires out there.  Not too buzzy on the street and super-traction on the dirt, both climbing and descending.  Kudos to Bruce for going out on a limb all those years ago and also for bringing these tires back!  

Greetings from Sarteneja, Belize

As the title suggests, greetings. It's been awhile since my last posting, and I know this. Life is keeping me busy in Belize, and while I have been thinking about posting here, the time is now. I can't promise this is going to be anything outstanding, other than a simple hello. Right now, I am on Day 14 of not having running water, and have at least 10 more to go. That's a total of 24 days. Yep, the village I live in has received a grant for a new water system, and it's in process. Supposed to be finished by end of 2012, but it's anyone's guess for project completion. The situation currently is two-fold since the Water Board couldn't pay the electricity bill to pump the water, and now that the bill is paid the construction has to continue, and since the tank is dry from not having water for the past couple of weeks, why not now? I can think of many reasons why, one being the fact that I have been without running water a most basic human need. I have been hauling water back and forth from my landlord's house tapping into his well, and his rain water. Awesome sauce, I know, pure adaptation. A part from that, I am ok in terms of happiness. I will be much happier when the water returns. That said, have been working on my bike here, and I think I have it to a place where it can bomb most anything. I hope to post some pictures of it, and slap a Soulcraft sticker on it at some point. They actually had a bike race in the village the other day. And we are talking coaster bikes all the way around. No hipsters allowed -- these people would school you on a bike. Anyways, that's enough for now. Cheers.