2015

I can hardly believe it's the middle of January, 2015! What they say about time going faster as you get older? I can tell you they're right. It doesn't seem like that long ago when we were wondering if Y2K would be a major catastrophe. Now it's 15 years later in the blink of an eye.

My time in Omaha has been going fast too. The first month was a lot of formal training, followed by the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas, the busiest time of the year for retailers. And while I did get the chance to sell a few bikes (mostly for small children), I sold a lot of coats. North Face, Columbia, Spyder, Mountain Hardwear, Patagonia and more. Plus hats and gloves. And sunglasses and watches. That was valuable training for the pace and intensity required to take care of so many customers in such an amazing store.

The people I met when I interviewed for this position impressed me so much, and the team in Omaha has continued that theme. There are so many outstanding folks in that store that it's going to be hard to say goodbye at the end of February. But I'm sure I'll see a lot of them in the future, and I know I'll use several of then as resources as my career with Scheels moves forward. And I am very excited to get into our new store in Overland Park, with our new store team, and build something special in the Kansas City market.

Our bike shop will carry a large variety of bikes, from an inexpensive bike with training wheels to get your kids riding as early as possible, to some high-end road bikes, mountain bikes, fat-tire bikes and hybrids. In addition to some awesome Fuji bikes, we'll also be carrying Scott bikes. I can't wait to get my hands on some of these!

To the few of you who have read my blog for a long time, I just wanted to say: I'm still here. I'm still vegan. And I can't wait for warm weather to get off the trainer and on the road. What this cycling season holds is still up in the air for me. I'm hoping to get back to Omaha and ride one day of the local MS150, sponsored by Scheels. And I'm hoping to get in another adventure or two. With the store opening in late June the summer may be tricky. I might miss my first CRMBT in 8 years. If I am unable to make it this year, I know I'll be back again soon. This is the best tour, with the best people, in one of the best places to ride a bike.

And my intention to one day join my brother-in-law and nephew on RAGBRAI will probably have to wait at least another year. (I really need to retire so I can ride more). One possibility for a Colorado ride that doesn't take a whole week is one that I've done before, and would love to do again. They've just opened registration for the Copper Triangle. 78 miles, 3 mountain passes, and almost 6,000 feet of climbing on the first Saturday in August with a few thousand fellow cyclists? That sounds about right!