Hello? Is it me you are looking for??

Hello out there to all my loyal readers. Our stay out in beautiful Upstate New York ended on the last day of June. I have nothing but good things to say about our stay out there. The landscape is absolutely beautiful and I will always look foward to getting out there again. I love the condition of the roads, the shoulders, the Erie Canal trail, the singletrack, the endless parks and preserves and the diverse culture that is found around the Syracuse area.
We packed up the 26' U-haul and headed back to Illinois. We are currently in our old neighborhood, about 20 miles outside of Chicago. We have rented our house out in the Dekalb area and decided to move closer to the city and to where there is more work and people.
IF you are out and about, like T.J. you can visit me at my current shop which is Hartley's Cycle in Hinsdale, IL.  It is a very old school shop and I have worked there in the past and I love it. The Owner and I go back long years and there also work my old friends Mike, Snake, C.B. and Davey.
We sell Cannondale, Giant, Gunnar, Electra and do lots of repairs and custom wheel builds. The vibe is great, the jokes and storytelling endless and the day goes by quickly.
We currently are spending our time on road bikes and have 3 rides we do: Tuesday morning before work we meet at Starbucks in Downers Grove. We get in a 1.5 hour ride before work. We do the same on Fridays. On Sunday we meet at 7 at the Starbucks and head out to Batavia and back. It is a fairly quck ride and we have a blast.
I also commute to work everyday and my ride is 15 minutes to the shop. It is not even worth thinking of driving since parking is such a hassle in Hinsdale.
Last week we headed out on a road trip to Iowa. We visited the Maquoketa caves and did some gravel exploring just west of Sabula, Iowa. I have been eyeing that are for a gravel grinder for some time now. I hope to eventually map out a ride and then have an event. So, for the time being I will try to post more often as things at home get stabalized and our connection to to outer world continues to work.