Talk Now

Ok folks, talk now or forever hold your peace.

My original thought was when I move home Arsbars gets deleted. Many years ago Arsbars was created when I lived in Columbia, SC... far far away from home, living with someone I didn't communicate very well with (not their fault, or my fault but a fact.) I've been writing on arsbars for 5 years. I've been BLOGGING for about 9, yes before blogging was a word.

So, comment no or forever deal with my decision. Should I keep arsbars? Should arsbars become my do everything site and RideCharlotte.com go away? Should I got back to word press?

Comments start now and go through Monday night.

Friday

Back to regular scheduled program. Server went fritz, opps. Been posting a decent amount over at RideCharlotte.com

Try that for a while. For now I got an Xtracycle in the mail so I have camping, photos and rides to take.

Sunday

"I think I'll bag that trip for two
And pack it up to Kakadu.
Honey, it's not for the weather
Or the lack of loving you.
I got all this in between
Something I could not foresee.
All the deals I made don't matter
If I can't just let you be.

Gone again gone again
There ain't no way I'm gonna let this heart mend
Gone again" - Indigo Girls

There's a town up north on my mind. Home is where my heart is. Schooling to be had. Travels to be made. The next 6 months will be a whirlwind of travel, climate change, more education and hopefully better climbing legs.

Yes - I'm moving again. After Christmas I will be moving back up north. Home. Annapolis, Maryland. I'll be taking classes, riding my bike, helping my parents and loving a gorgeous woman with two wonderful kids. I never know what life is bringing my way. If you are dear friend this is a fact you should now. I'm 23 and I have many things to see. To learn. To take photos of. To experience life before life experiences me.

My dear mom sent a good thought my way this morning.
"What if you don't know what you should know or when you should know it? Is that necessarily wrong if you keep changing your mind?"

Roger that.

Saturday

Dinner party, friends, good game of cards (my brain hurts now) and it's time for bed.

Friday

Friday = Wednesday in actuality for me.

Today wasn't a bad day. Lack of water and food for most the day made me a bit cranky but no one complained too much. Errands for most the morning and then normal bike shop stuff. Signs being made and inventory put on the floor.

Had a commuter buddy for the first time today. A co-worker from the shop rode from Matthews, NC (15 miles east) on the bus this morning to Uptown. We synced uptown and caught the bus to Davidson, NC (20 miles north) and then rode the 5 miles to work from Davidson to the shop. The last part bus/ride is my daily commute. I was glad to be able to share some insight and time with someone on my commute. He drives roughly 90 miles per day in his car or motorcycle/scooter so even if he can do this commute 3 times a week he will really be saving money. (And being green.)

Another step forward in my mind. I'm pretty certain if I didn't do this commute daily he wouldn't of even allowed it to pass through his mind. On this note of commuting. I am attending a meeting, on Monday, with Ingersoll Rand at their headquarters to promote commuting and cycling. Many details to nail out before Monday but the idea is bi-modal commuting, company encouragement, maps and maybe cycling safety/mechanic classes.

Is it wrong that at 9pm I'm in bed? A CD to make and then I'm hitting the sack.

Thursday

Twin Six sale. Stock up on jerseys, tshirts and goods for the holiday season.

All 2008 T-shirts = $15
All 2008 jerseys = $45
Select socks = $8 to $10
Tons of bottles = $5

Buy me good things for xmas or my birthday (November 13th.)

On that fun note, chilly commute. First chilly commute of the fall season. Felt amazing. Long day at work. Broken helmet, broken shoes, broken toe, all of that good stuff. The cold is allergies now (I hope) and I'm not so needy (thank god.)

There's a lot of work to catch up on for work and work. Signing off. Roger? Roger.

Wednesday

Xtracycle is in my dreams. Wiki's are going to be written, video's taken and instructions for all of you out there with no mechanical sense. Right now I'm trying to figure out SRAM's Dual Drive hubs vs Nuvinci hubs. I don't want to run a front derailleur and crank so now I'm am left thinking of other thoughts. Rohloff would be cool, but very expensive..


Oh - I'm sitting back at Dunkin Donuts, no styrofoam this day, posting up and researching my next attack on commuter-ism.

Tuesday

Feverish night sweats, aching headache and throat scratchy. I'm feeling sick. Woke up, hot shower, and dog walk. Currently I've camped out with Day Quill and hot tea at Dunkin Donuts. Slowly feeling better but I have much to do today before I can get back in bed.

Papers to write, articles for various blogs and need to ride up to UPS to get a light that came in for me during Interbike.

Monday

Oh lovely Monday morning. It was hard to wake this morning. Lack of motivation has set in. Maybe being overwhelmed has also set in. Work to get to, papers to write, dogs to walk.

A lovely voice on the other end of the Blackberry awoke me from my groggy-ness. Finally rolling out of bed to a whimpering puppy in her crate. Shirt, shorts and tennis shoes we were out the door. Two dogs on leashes going down a flight of steps is NOT fun.

Walk to the park, play fetch. Frollick. How I will miss Maddie when Jeannie returns and takes her home. I still believe Fiona needs a playmate but its not the time to get another puppy right now. Plus it will hard to find another dog like Maddie.

Off to work for a meeting. I drove - Maddie can't be left alone for 10 hours like a bike commute and morning meetings would entail. Work until 645/7pm and then home to finish a paper and frollick more with the lovely pups.

Tuesday and Wednesday are days off. I need recovery from my vacation in Vegas!

Sunday

Good day at work. Many bikes sold - even for it being late September! Last weekend of September. Scary feeling how fast life is passing me by. Need to slow down and watch the daises, or is it grass?

Anyways. In my attempt to cut craziness I turned off my internet again. About 4 months ago I went through the phase of not needing it but now I simply don't want it. I have a dunkin donuts 2 blocks away with free wifi. I figured a cup of ice cream 4 days a week is cheaper than Time Warner charges for internet. So here I am. PLUS I haven't been getting any reading or writing done for school or personal. I would get on the computer to write, then I would "check my email" and next thing I know I was on SteepandCheap.com buying a jacket. At that moment I had enough. Time Warner was called and it was turned off.

No car, no tv, and not internet. Some people would shrivel up in my shoes, I feel free!

Friday

Got back to Charlotte early AM (like 6am.) Caught a cab home to take a short nap and catch the bus to work. Did I mention it is pouring out? A very wet commute to and from work led to the want and craving of fenders. I have them, I simply don't want to down grade the width of my tires to fit fenders in there. Anyone know how to retro-fit around the brakes so I don't need to do this?

Thursday

Great show. See you next year. I'm now waiting for a flight out of Vegas to home where there is green, and the temps don't hit 100 degrees in late September. Red eye flight out of Vegas at 10:40pm. For you east coasters that's 1:40am. I arrive around 5:30am. Which means it's a 4 hour flight. I hope that's enough sleep for me. I get home, hopefully around 6-6:30, hoping for some sleep if I can and then getting to work. If I get home by 6:30 I plan on sleeping till 8:30, bust over to the bus and get to work a wee bit late.

We'll see how I sleep on the plane. For now I'm going to write and then nap as I'm 2 hours early for my flight.

Wednesday

Tires, rims, frames, tools, oh my. Colors out the ying yang, lots of walking and talking. Tomorrow I'm trying the iPod to keep me company. Are you here at Inter Bike? Let me know!

Tuesday

Outdoor Demo of the 2008 Interbike is in the books. Constantly I was in shock, between the terrain, dust and tons of bikes I was really in an overwhelmed fix all day long. I've never been to Vegas, I've never been to a desert and I've never been to Interbike. Those three things all at once was a lot to handle. The dust and dry/hot weather was also something to get used to. Constantly sucking down liquids in the 98 degree weather.

So I rode some pretty cool bikes. The Haro Beasley sticks out the most in my mind. Also rode a folder Pashley and a Raleigh CX bike. All very cool but again the Haro stuck out.

Wednesday starts the Big Show indoors so keep your eyes pealed on 650b.com, TheBikeLab.com and BlueCollarMTB.com. Or follow me on Twitter

Monday

Web work and ride planning this morning. Now I'm sitting in this airport known as CLT (do find it as funny as I??) and off to my layover in Chicago. Final destination is land of boos and boobs. Las Vegas.

Sunday

Overcast skies lead me to believe it was going to rain the whole commute home. Sticky yet cool and chilly to the bone. Felt like I was getting sick but I seem to have shaken that. Eating left over Bojangles, Fiona is going to visit Jeannie for the week while I'm away at Interbike.

Saturday

Bus was running behind and the weather was beautiful so I skipped the bus and road to work fully. Commute was amazing, 27 miles one way, crisp air with a little nibble on the fingers. Slowly getting used to it being chilly! More photos from the ride home can be found on Flickr.

Great day at the shop. Shared some thoughts with customers, helped sell some bikes, informed on bike paths, rail to trails and those things.

Started my commute home a bit late, with my trusty Stella in my rack bag I felt confident heading off into the dwindling light. Never needed to put the light on and that is including my stop at Bojangles for a biscuit at tea. (We all have our needs in life.)

Friday

Knee warmer and light long sleeve jersey. It is finally feeling like fall in the Queen City.
Sent via BlackBerry

Thursday

Thursday? Did a week quickly pass me by?

Recap, quickly now.
Friday - fly to MD, enjoy being home and the familiar sites.
Saturday - fly to OH, enjoy family I haven't seen in a few years (since high school.)
Sunday - attempt to fly home to Charlotte. High winds, delayed flights, missed flight connections landed me back in MD for an extra (unexpected day.)
Monday - eat many crabs, nap on my parents couch and recoup. fly home to Charlotte(finally) with friend in seat beside on the plane ride.
Tuesday - scheduled day off from work, food, couch purchasing, walks and laughs
Wednesday - borrow friends car, load couch, move couch, love couch, watch a movie, take more walks and relax

TODAY - Finally back at work after 6 days off, one unscheduled. Playing catch up before I leave on another jet plane next Monday for 3.5 days in Las Vegas for Inter Bike and bike nerdism. That's not too far away. Did I mention today is my first day of being car free?

Now back to normally scheduled programming.

Thursday

Gone for the weekend...

Talk on Sunday night or Monday

Wednesday

You get no photo.

F&*&(*king ANTS!

Tuesday

Boy, what a day. Car fixing, money spent, bus missed and a little bit of rain. Cheers to you, Arleigh!

Monday PM

First Monday night mountain bike ride through Cool Breeze happened tonight. A decent group of folks too! Started off with 9 people I believe. Did both of the Lake Norman loops and had some day light still to offer. Quick couple of slices of pizza from Fuel and it was on the bus to get home.

Other than that great story my Monday was a normal Monday. Tomorrow morning I am dropping off the Audi to get fixed up to go away next week and then meeting with an amazing graphic designer to brain storm for a jersey design for the new mtb team. The team? Trek Bicycle Store Charlotte & Cool Breeze Cyclery. A team for both stores. A very exciting venture. A very exciting time to be me.

OH. Last night I had dinner with Jeannie. No dropped jaws. It was a nice casual dinner at Rock Bottom. Felt nice to be able to sit across the table and talk. Talk about whatever we wanted and not need to bite my tongue about certain relationships that are happening (or not happening.) I've missed her friendship and know I need that friendship in my life.

Sunday PM

Long ride into work. Buses don't exactly run on Sunday to 25 miles away out of town. 19 miles one way. Rolling hills. One speed, rack weighed down with pack and 37mm tires made it a great ride but now I'm zonked. That's a pretty long "daily commute." A full week of commuting by bike/bus is under my belt. Motivation and inspiration is in my legs. Going car less is here now.

The cracked Lemond is morphing into the Salsa. Salsa is getting a full Campy drivetrain, shifting and a short tour is in my future. Can anyone recommend a decent 4 season, light weight, tent? MSR?

Saturday

Friday

One of those weeks. I've stressed myself out over stupid things, forgotten huge things, my coordination is off and I can't seem to keep a train of thought. One thing this means - over training. Sure I'm not really TRAINING right now. But I went from pretty basic first two weeks at the shop, to starting to lift in the mornings, commute by bike, wake up early, and school all within the same time span.

The plan is to back off weight training in the mornings and wake up at 7 most mornings. Continue to commute and after a week start working weight training in every other day or Mon, Wed, Fri.

The other rumor to throw out there is I may be going carless. That is a post in its self that I don't have time for. I need sleep and to not think for 12 hours.

Mom- if you read this in HI, this continent misses you!

Thursday

Did not get to the gym this morning, slept in - it was glorious. Ride in to work, ran into a customer on the bus with his commuter rig. That was a pretty cool feeling.

Not too much tonite. Try again tomorrow.

Wedenesday

Shop talk, CABA meeting, beer with an old friend.

Quality night.

Tuesday

Wonderful daily wake up calls are in full affect. 5:15am isn't so bad when a beautiful voice is on the other end.

Gym early, small nap and then on to moving two apartments in 5 hours. Where did that day off go again? Worn out, sweaty and feeling satisfied with myself I am going to find coffee before class. This might effect my sleeping tonight but I'm doubting it will be for how long the day will be by 10:30pm tonight.

The gym routine is going well. Slowly I am seeing the changes in my body from the gym and riding about daily. Small changes but its something. Soreness is a welcoming feeling for the morning after lifting. Normally 24 hours goes around after hitting the gym and that part of my body is slightly sore. Not painful but a bit tender to the touch. A wonderful feeling. Makes me feel like I'm doing something and makes that 5:15am wake up call even easier.

Progress is often the best motivation in my life. Progress with work, progress with her, progress with the ants being gone from my apartment. Progress. You should try it.

Monday PM

My day got worse yesterday. I don't want to recap but I feel I need to for all you to understand how bad yesterday was. So please re-read yesterday's post and then pick up here...

After ranting on the blog yesterday I go to take a shower and find a train of hundreds of ants going from my shower, out the bathroom, around my bedroom rug, around my bed to Fiona's bed. Now I HATE ant's. I think of all creatures that are creepy crawly I do well, but for ant's. Now there are hundreds in my small apartment. I go to work killing, spraying, cleaning and finding any other spaces they might be. Quickly the apartment is cleaned, moved around and the shower rechalked. I throw all my sheets and a rug into the washer. It gets to the spin cycle and stops working. AHHHHHHHH. Now my washer is busted.

I'm exhausted, give up and get into bed. Waking up every 2-3 hours to check that the ants aren't making another trail to my bed and ME. Peal myself out of bed at noon, check everything, clean a bit more, fix washer somewhat and go for a bike ride. The day is looking better now, bike ride, gym, dog walk, and food making tonight. Sleep by 10:30 to wake at 5:15am for the gym again.

Now I'm done ranting. Thanks for listening.

Sunday LATE PM

The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight
Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time
I am here still waiting though i still have my doubts
I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing
With a broken heart that's still beating
In the pain there is healing
In your name I find meaning
So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on
I'm barely holdin' on to you

The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head
I tried my best to be guarded, I'm an open book instead
I still see your reflection inside of my eyes
That are looking for a purpose, they're still looking for life

I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing
with a broken heart that's still beating
In the pain is there is healing
In your name I find meaning
So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on
I'm barely holdin' on to you

I'm hangin' on another day
Just to see what you will throw my way
And I'm hangin' on to the words you say
You said that I will be ok

The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone
I may have lost my way now, haven't forgotten my way home

Sunday PM

Man what a day. Early ride with a customer. Deep breaths and a skinned elbow next we were working on building confidence and inner strength. Amazing what that lady was able to pull out of herself. A lot of soul was shown today in a short 8 mile loop on our road bikes.

Leaving the ride my car starts acting up, sputtering feeling like it wanted to back fire and not acting like the lovely Audi A4 should. Panic, drive to the shop, breathe Arleigh.. breathe. Panic all day. What the hell am I going to do if its a $1,000 repair or something? Finally get home tonight. A friend from Annapolis who works with Audi's was THANKFULLY online. Answer to my problem (I hope) new coil pack. Common problem with my model of car. I hope this is the answer!

Oh wait. There is more.

Go to pull out the lovely Lemond from the back of my car. Is that what I think it is? Yes there is a crack on both sides of the down tube right below my cable stops. I wonder if they will warranty it with another Lemond? They are out of business now... I might be screwed. Fingers crossed. So much for a long road ride on Tuesday.

Saturday PM

My commute home Thursday night.

A bit zonked today. Long day in the office (shop) and some really good customers with stories to tell. No riding today. Needed to play catch up with sleep and my body needed a day off. Now the evening consists of making some PB&J sandwiches and then getting in bed with a good book.

Tomorrow is an early morning road ride before a somewhat early ride with customers out of the State Park. I am still enjoying the shop and everything new it brings. I hope you do too... believe in what you do as much as I.

Friday AM

No gym this morning. My body woke up 10 minutes before the alarm but standing up took effort. No muscles are too sore, my body is just adjusting to routine, working out and commuting daily.

Quickly I reset my alarm before it went off and hopped into bed with the pup.

Arrived at the bus on time. Talkative bus driver makes up for the missed cup of early coffee.

Do you spy my latest gismo on the bike?

---Sent from my mobile device

Thursday AM

Dreary and foggy in the Queen City today. quick meander thru a park of graves and I am at my bus stop. Motivation is not lacking today. 530am wake up call by a beautiful voice. Quick hop to the gym. Home, shower, dog walk...back on the bike to the bus stop. Go to the top to finish the story.

Sent via BlackBerry

Wednesday

Bike rides around town, coffee sips, jaunt with pup and catching up on daily duties I haven't done in a weeks time. Opps. The rain we have been receiving has put parts of Charlotte many feet under water. Bill will have photos tomorrow proving cars being submerged!

Tuesday PM

Took the afternoon as a relaxing, do nothing, day. I read my book for class, worked on my bicycle and just chilled out. Quickly recreated RideCharlotte.com into Arleigh's cycling blog. Trying to keep too much bike lingo off this Arsbars blog as many friends & family members read it. Just simply don't get it.

Last night I guess Fay finally really hit us. Riding to and from class and the gym was rather exciting and cleansing. I quickly got lectures from family members that were worried but I couldn't of resisted if I tried. Rain and cycling is something I have always enjoyed. As a kid I would hop on my bike with no questions when it was pouring out. The streets, last night, in Charlotte were flooded, the wind was high and my visibility was low. I wouldn't of traded those minutes in for anything. The rain seemed to wash many stresses and thoughts away. Leaving me with just me, my bike and a headlight.

Tuesday AM

Sleeping in till noon, being woken up by Fedex delivery a package of a new bag. Pouring rain for the past 24 hours led to no road ride, but instead a quick skip over to a coffee shop for stories from a man and Napa. With new bike and bag in hand it was a joyful trip. Now to go tweak that bike before my ride to schoolage tonight.

breath in breathe out
tell me all of your doubt
everybody leads this way
just the same
breath in breathe out
move on and break down
everyone goes away
I will stay
We push and pull, and fall down sometimes
I'm not letting go, you hold the other line
Cause there is a light
In your eyes,...in your eyes
Hold on hold tight
From out of your sight
Everything keeps moving on, moving on,
Hold on hold tight
Make it throught another night
Everyday there comes the sun with the dawn
We push and pull, and fall down sometimes
I'm not letting go, you hold the other line
Cause there is a light

In your eyes,...in your eyes
There is a light
In your eyes,...in your eyes
Breath in and breath out
Breath in and breath out
Breath in and breath out
Breath in and breath out
Look back and look right
Into the moon at night
Everything looks like the stars in your arms
There is a light
In your eyes,... in your eyes
There is a light
In your eyes,... in your eyes
There is a light
In your eyes,... in your eyes
There is a light
In your eyes,... in your eyes
Breathe In Breathe Out (Mat Kearney)

Monday AM

Two days off, two days on and tomorrow kicks off another two days off. Can't beat that! Then my schedule is "fairly" normal for a couple weeks before September travels kick off on September 12th. I'll be in MD, Ohio and Las Vegas before the end of the month comes through. Schedule is packing up. Gym, commute and rides are being plotted out.

This past week it has started to cool off. Early mornings are chilly and the A/C has been able to be raised a bit thanks to these temps. Knee warmers and vest are my favorite riding attire. This could be why I am never tan but something is comforting about pulling on your favorite knee warmers and throwing on a vest to go on your morning ride. Fall is coming and it is (probably) my favorite time of year.

Save travels to all returning from Napa, CA and the Single Speed World Championships. I look forward to reading some stories.

Friday PM

Walk around town. Then dancing, drinks and fine company. Wonderful Friday I can easily say.

Friday AM

Lunch in bed. Syncing Google calendars with iCal. Preparing for "Crack"berry to show up at my door to replace "crack"iPhone.

Thursday AM

The new schedule is leading my "weekend" to be Tuesday and Wednesdays. My choice. If I need a weekend off like a normal American (Sat/sun) I just need to ask for it. This gives me time during the week to ride when I need, and shop hours on the weekend are 10-5/12-5 instead of 10-7. So I see that I'm giving myself 6 hours of non-work by working weekends.

Wow that was a tangent. Anyways. This week is a bit out of whack for weekend time because of a beloved visitor coming to town. Friday and Saturday off. Sunday I go back to the normal grind. The original, original plan was to be in California for SSWC this weekend. Changes planned and budget, time and schooling just didn't lend to that.

Am I still excited bout this new life? Yes. I'm really pumped still about the new gig of school and shop life. Just need to get back to routine for a schedule. Watch the blog for more info on that.

To all you that keep commenting. Thank you. Off to drink my morning joe and hustle off to work.

Commutage

Been commuting to work a few days a week. Catch the bus 5 blocks from the house, get dropped off 25 miles north in Davidson, NC (Famed for the small basketball team that went to the sweet 16 last year.) Ride 5 miles to work, then do the opposite going home. $1.30 one way, that's cheaper than a half of a gallon of gas.

It's catch 22 because I haven't been riding on the dirt because of it. So I'm starting a Monday night mountain ride with one of the guys from the shop. Gets me riding and back with the community like I like.

Changes

There have been changes going on in the world of Arleigh. School, work, living and riding. Started schooling back up this fall to hopefully achieve my bachelors in Art one day. Working back in a shop north of Charlotte. A good place, good people and workable to my crazy schedule. Updates will get better here and there. Finding a routine and getting out of the life rutt.

Friday AM

Later bus route. Saves an hour, just lose some lunch minutes. Ready to
roll and the Salsa had a flat. Time to call the Lemond into service.
Handlebar setup does not favor a 5 lb laptop on your back.

Tuesday PM

So much for eating healthy

Thursday AM

Wednesday

It is raining in charlotte today.

Tuesday

Monday

Sunday

Friday

Thursday

Test, waiting, bike rides, list and well the list goes on. Making time to ride for relaxing and stress release. Multiple reviews are up for tonight. For now its time to smooth on the sunscreen and take a ride.