Goodbye DeKalb, Farewell NCC

Once again, I apologize for the recent lull in activity over here. Contrary to as it appears, I've actually been relatively busy. My life has become a bit different lately, and I am just now getting accustomed to it and regaining some form of routine. If you're a close acquaintance of mine, then this is already old news, but for everyone else, I figured this was worth a post:

I left my former job at North Central Cyclery and moved out of DeKalb and back east, near Chicago.

Photo by Dave Hulthen

This transition was long overdue, and when the lease on my apartment was up, I knew the time had come. I had never imagined I would end up spending so many years in that little rural town. I came to DeKalb to attend the Northern Illinois University where I studied Visual Communications and found a job at North Central Cyclery my sophomore year. After graduating, I hung around for an extra year just to work. The shop had a huge impact on my life and really formed me into the person that I am presently. I came into the shop as a 21 year old BMX kid that needed a college job and had a very slight interest in cycling outside of that genre. The job quickly fostered a great love for cycling in me, that ultimately took over my life. I became more than just a kid that rode BMX, and before I knew it, I was going on long rides out in the country and eventually worked my way up to a 255mi adventure. My lifestyle came to practically revolve around cycling, and I'm kinda afraid to imagine it any other way. I became a fantastic mechanic, too, and met some fantastic people. I learned a lot from guys like Ari and Uncle Vëlo and all of the Slender Fungus Cycling Association, and so many other inspirational people. I made some real lasting friendships at that place. It was a lot more than just a job, I guess.

Photo by Uncle Vëlo (Tyler), courtesy of Flandria Velosport.

I enjoyed my time out there, but I missed "home". I missed the city. I missed a lot of friends and family. DeKalb ended up being a lot more fun that I had ever predicted it would be, and it really does have a lot to offer if you look hard enough, but I don't think I was meant to live in the middle of nowhere, although It's nice to visit.

Shortly after leaving, I sold my soul to the devil and got myself an office job, where I was introduced to concepts like The Break Room, Folgers coffee, and "Casual Friday". Yeah, that may sound kinda lame, but I'm already enjoying the benefits of paid time off, health insurance, guaranteed full-time work, and ONE HOUR LUNCH BREAKS. We'll see how long I last though. I already miss the ridiculously lax environment that I once worked in.

So, what does this mean for the blog? Well, probably almost nothing really. The subject matter will remain basically the same, but the content will probably change a bit. I'll be in a different environment, doing different things. Probably not too different, but maybe very different. I don't really know I guess, and I'm probably more curious to see what happens than you are. I may end up posting more about urban cycling woes than rural cycling nirvana, but who knows. All that I do know is that I will resume posting, so stay tuned, if you want. Whatever.

Make it nice.