All About Mick's World

So, if you know me at all, you know where I am employed, and how I make my living. But for those who are living in the dark regarding those details of my life, let me fill you in. I am employed as a mechanic and service representative for a local bicycle shop here in Bloomington, IL. We do sell and service the products I review here. However, my employers are blissfully unaware that I am doing product reviews on these items which I have purchased for myself, with one exception. It’s also worth mentioning that I’m a life-long roadie, I’ve never gotten into riding off pavement. My idea of a perfect ride would have miles of clear, unbroken, smooth tarmac. But now, I just may have expanded my cycling horizons. What brought this all about was my elder daughter moving to central Michigan a few years ago. When we go there to visit, I’d often bring a road bike with me, and get a couple morning rides in there. But invariably, I would run into roads where the pavement would abruptly come to an e

Forgive Me, Corona, For I Have Sinned Social distancing...Isolation...Separation...Quarantine. Call it what you will. It’s not terribly enjoyable. I know some people are better at it than I am, and there are others who are less adept. Hopefully, in the big picture, enough of us are doing enough isolating to rein in the spread of Covid19. We do fine at home, just me and my wife, and Dante and Eddie (our dogs)...alone together. She still works full time remotely, so her work life continues as before, but the commute is shorter. I still have to go in to the bike shop to do my work, can’t really adjust that derailleur from home. The shop owners are doing an amazing job of keeping me isolated from the public. (A fact that benefits all.) Before I can even touch a bicycle, that bike has to be allowed in through locked doors, and sterilized with disinfectants before moving the bike back to my work area. Whether I’m fixing a flat, or doing a complete three-hour overhaul, I need not wor

When We Get Back To Normal… An innocent enough phrase, for a less-than-innocent phase. A phrase I’ve used in the past, “When we get back to Normal…” sometimes relating to returning from a vacation (since I live in Normal, IL), listing all the chores that I’d need to get going. Sometimes relating to a need to return to a state of normalcy from an upheaval. It’s never seemed quite so monumental as it does now. In fact, it seems to have evolved to a slightly different wording: “IF we get back to normal…” Ominous. It seems that our entire planet, our civilization, our lifestyle, has been taken hostage by a microscopic entity referred to as Covid-19 or the Coronavirus. Every facet of our lives has been affected; from work, to socializing, to how we spend our leisure time. We’ve been directed (wisely, I believe) to work from home if possible, to keep six feet away from others when out, to not touch our faces (I never realized how often I do this!), to wash our hands frequently,

HAPPY NEW YEAR ? 7:23 am 01. Jan. 2020 I slowly wake, stumble out of my New Year’s Eve slumber, ostensibly to greet a new year. But, honestly, what is truly new here? Other than a new page of the calendar, what is different? Am I different? Is the world a different place? Are you different? Other than the fact that this planet has once again passed a set point (a rather arbitrary, man-made point) in its orbit around its sun, nothing I can see is different. The number assigned to this new year means little, this particular planet has been running laps around this particular star for many many more than 2020 years. So why should I celebrate our passing this point in space?  I look in the mirror and see the same me. Despite the promise of a fresh start in this brand-new year, It’s still the same gray-haired, wrinkled, smartass I remember from yesterday looking back from the bathroom mirror. No different than I was twenty-four hours earlier in the waning hours of 2019. No differen