Moving on South

Man, a lot has happened that hasn't been blogged about.  I'll spend the next few posts catching up.  In short we are living in Little Rock, AR.  Stephanie's parents live here and we are experimenting with family support and proximity for the sake of our daughter and to an extent ourselves.  This hasn't been an easy transition.  Arkansas is very different than Santa Fe and though we are making more money and have a lower cost of living,  the separation from our friends, community and the home in which Addison was born is a difficult one.
Addison is thriving though.  She attends the school in which my wife teaches and is in a literacy based learning environment.  I am working in a small town called Sheridan and teaching 9th grade English.  I think this has been the most difficult part of the transition.  I have little in common with my colleagues or students and have begun to move toward the belief that this isn't about me right now, it is about the larger journey.
I am attending a Zen sangha based on the Mindfullness teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and beginning to get involved in the sustainable organic farming movements in the area.  I have also written for the magazine Natural Awakenings and hope to continue to do that.
I am planning to teach in Rwanda this summer and will live and teach English there for three weeks at the beginning of June.  This opportunity came to me through my association with my current employment so I can't complain all that much.
Overall we are making the best of our move.  There have been some ups and downs since Addison's traumatic birth and it looks like things are getting back on track.  With work and understanding we may end up back in Santa Fe or our adventures may take us elsewhere, who nows?
My commute is a whopping 35 miles by car.  I plan to make a change to that and get back to bike commuting this next school term.  As of now I ride my Raleigh One Way around my neighborhood and to yoga, occasionally taking Addison in the Burley trailer on a jaunt downtown.
It is my intention to begin this blog anew with a focus on healthy living, loving and travel.  new adventures, the open road and the wilderness sing to me a siren's song I can't ignore.  There will be plenty to write about.
peace,
Scott

Vanagon #4

Well we've done it again.  I've sold my old Nissan 4x4 truck and purchased another Westfalia Vanagon.  This makes the fourth one I've owned.  I made a great deal on the van as it was having some idle issues, which I seem to have solved for the time being.  I did a simple tune up and timing advance, changed the fuel filter ran some injector cleaner through the system and it has been running near perfect for two weeks now.  It has been searching some at idle but runs out fine.  There are a number of projects to do with this van in order to make it the family camper that we really want but that is part of the journey and will be the focus of this blog.  Since I am the primary deliverer of my daughter to her daycare my bike commuting has come to a screaming halt.  I've sold both of the bikes that were the focus of this blog last year and now have my old Trek 6500 hardtail as my sole bike, and I've been using that to bomb down Tesuque from Pacheo Canyon road as my only biking.
I'm looking forward to getting into the documentation of the van build up and hope that this is the van that stays with the family for years to come.
~

Goatheads!

I had a flat yesterday.  The infamous NM goatheads struck again, only this time I'm kinda suprised.  All of last year I rode the Motobecane on Vittoria Rondenneur cross tires with double shield, flat free, and gained a confidence in the tires that caused me to slap some on the 29er when I picked it up this summer.  I rode the 29er with the 700x35 Vittorias for a few weeks and found them to be hard and they looked too skinny for the WTB Laser Disc rims.  My research lead me to the Schwalbe Big Apple.  I went with the 2.35 width and was stoked when I installed them.  I've ridden the tires for a few weeks and even taken them off road for a trip down our local rail trail.  In a few hundred miles of road and fifty-odd miles of off-road riding, depsite some expected slipping in turns, off road, I was completely impressed by the tires.  They are comfy, cool looking, roll fast and seemed tough.  Then I awoke this morning to a flat, and my amour began to fade.  I will give the tires a few more weeks and begin my search anew if I again have to scramble to change a tube when I should be eating a healthy breakfast.  After a year of no flats my patience for them has gone to nihl.  The Schwalbe claims to have a kevlar shield; I wouldn't want to wear that vest if a bullet whizzed my way.  If it can't stop a goathead I don't want to roll with it.

back to school

Last Wednesday marked the beginning of school here in Santa Fe and the return to the bike commute. It has been raining a lot here and Stephanie had to pick me up on Thursday due to hail. I did get in a full ride Friday and braved the wind all the way to the pub for after work beers.
This school year is shaping up to be a great one. I've got a pretty good schedule, teaching AP and Pre AP English as well as Creative Writing. We are starting our creative writing study in minimalism and read some Raymond Carver Friday, we'll read Amy Hempel on Tuesday of next week. I'm excited to get the kids writing in different styles and hope they have success in finding their voice.
Our baby is getting closer every day and Steph is full term in three weeks. I truly can't wait to meet this little girl. We spent all morning preparing her room, I hope she likes ladybugs.
The new Redline has been working out great and the Schwalbe Big Apples are a blast to ride, the bike is comfortable and fast, I haven't even ridden the Motobecane since getting the 29er.
I'll keep on posting and riding but not necessarily in that order.
peace

Summer loving

The summer break is coming to and end and the commute will recommence in about a week and a half. I've built a little shed for the quiver of bikes my wife and I have accumulated and spent some time considering the food system. One of the reasons for this consideration stems from the Earth Care Int. institute for teachers that I attended for the second year. The goal of the training is to encourage teachers to instruct towards sustainability education in their respective classrooms. This year's focus was on food. My wife and I have a garden this year and have been enjoying the fruits of that labor. We have become more encouraged to volunteer this summer and have been working on two local organic farms, helping them to get ready for farmer's market by harvesting and washing produce. I've considered for a while the impact of what I and my family does for and to the environment. I think we should all consider growing our own food or at least supporting the local growers in out areas. We need to break the chains of the convenience system and support our immediate community. Quit the oil, quit the supermarket, and keep it local.

Welcome to San Diego

I've arrived for my visit to the beachside community of Del Mar. I've already climbed trees to retrieve an aerodynamic flying disc and gotten grass stains on my el fixie manpris. It is truly beautiful here save for all the people. I guess beauty attracts us dreamers.
I got my Soma Clarence bars the other day and installed them on the new Redline. I love them. I've taken a couple of rides and the bike is incredibly comfortable. The bars are a ripoff of the On One Mary bar for about $10 less. I highly recomend them. I haven't gotten the rack dialed in yet, am waiting for the new seat post clamp that includes braze ons. I hope the rack has more strength than it did with the p clamps. I wasn't impressed with that install at all. That is a major drawback of the Redline, the absence of braze ons.
I'm considering a trailer instead of an extracycle. I'll have to consider the options, the finances and all the rest. Part of this simplification project includes getting off the consumer train. At times I feel that's all I do.
Oh, well. Gonna have some dinner and enjoy the great weather. Of course things are really nice in Santa Fe as well, just no ocean. Talk soon.

Hello again after the long weekend and a one day extension. Much has happened in the past few days. First of all, congratulations to all the students that completed the summer school course, I'm so glad that we are done. I do miss the daily ride, I've been on some errands in the past few but miss the scheduled distance. Maybe I'll just ride out to see how the second session is going.
I went to look at the Jamis last week and found it to be a nice bike. I didn't like the Jamis' shifter set up using the brake levers. My Specialized was that way and I never enjoyed it. I prefer bar end shifters. It was too small for me anyway and I decided not to try and make it work despite the low price tag. I went and test rode a few bikes over the weekend, they include the Raleigh Clubman, their cross bike, as well as the Redline Conquest, and finally I checked out a Masi Speciale too. In the end I decided to purchase a Redline d460 29er. It was an unexpected move as I was sure I was going to get a cyclocross bike and for months had my mind set on the Surly Crosscheck. Two things happened: I couldn't even get a look at a Surly within 50 miles and the d460 was on sale. I loved the mountain bike geometry and the fact that the big wheels allowed me to use the Randonneur cross tires I've had such success with over the past year. I've set the bike up with an Axiom disc brake rack, and plan to get the Banjo Brothers saddle bags. Also I've ordered the Soma Clarence bar which is their version of the On One Mary bar. I'm interested in the Schwalbe Big Apple tires but am going to try out the Vittorias for a while. I've not put many miles on the bike yet, and am about to leave for San Diego in a few days so doubt I will until I get back. I'm stoked to get on the bike though and think it is going to make a great commuter this coming school year.
Another recent occurence is that Steph and I visited a daycare today as a backup to our friend should anything fall through. The place seemed fine enough though I wished one of us could just stay at home for the first few years instead. Each day brings me closer to fatherhood and I'm vacilating between panic and comfortable resolve. I fear the confidence is false though because how can I have any idea what this is going to be like.
I guess I'll keep riding and get ready for fatherhood. I can always work out my problems on the commute, I hope. Maybe our daughter will get an enormous kick out of the ride in the bike trailer when dad picks her up.