My wife had her kitchen remodeled over the last week. I helped as, being a carpenter by trade, even if I’m just a “suit”, I still know how to put some things together. The new floor was installed, mainly, by my wife and a friend I ride with (he’s the local carpenter of all trades, retired, who works for fun and friends). I wired and installed a new hood and stainless steel backsplash and my wife touched up all the paint.

We are very pleased.

My promotion is going well at work but I’ve found it a little difficult to get into the swing of things… as a project manager, I hadn’t dealt with a new blueprint in years. I often know a job 3-D before ever digging into a print. Now I have go back to visualize the job built with my mind’s eye. There’s a trick and learning curve to that. I’m putting my usual above average effort into it, though, so it’s coming around nicely. It’s not quite as enjoyable as what I’d been doing, but the raise is very much worth it.

And that leaves bikes. Pay attention, Brent. I’ve wondered, sometimes aloud, whether I should upgrade my Venge. My weekday riding buddy has a brand spanking new Specialized Tarmac due in next month that is going to be super nice… Ultegra Di2 drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes, 50 mm Roval wheels, and a bangin’ paint job. I won’t lie, I’d been salivating. A bit like Pavlov’s dog I am with the smell of new carbon fiber…

I can’t do it, though. After all that Venge and I have been through, after building it from the ground up from just a little entry-level race bike to its current 2-1/2 pound lighter gloriousness… I simply can’t get there in my head to blow another $6,000 for a heavier, likely less aero bike. That’d be… nuts.

On the other hand, with all of my fatty friends posting photos of their outdoor adventures while I’m stuck on the trainer… it’s starting to look fun now that I’ve finally, after near a decade of cycling in cold weather, got a jacket (technically, two, I bought a second) that keeps me warm down into the mud-teens (-10 C)… a no-sus fatty for my wife and I might not be so bad…

I’ll have to ruminate on that for a bit. Let it marinate. Hmmm “Fit Fatty Recovery”… well, it’s got a ring to it – and it’d certainly piss off the intellectual racists… which I love…