As the plane left the runway I looked down at the endless expanse of huge hotels, casinos, and over-the-top glitz that attracts millions of people each year, arriving with hopes they’ll leave with newly found fortunes.  But Las Vegas is a city built on algorithms, complex formulas that, stacked in its favor, have delivered more steel, glass and polished Italian marble than likely exist in Vatican City, all to enshrine the vast variety of seductive cash-extracting enticements.  The ever-growing display of excess is proof that the formulas are still working in the city’s favor while encouraged to leave what happens in Vegas behind, visitors are made to feel pretty cool about it all, happily re-enacting Hangover parts I-III all in a weekend of revelry.

But I’d gone to Vegas with the specific intention of not leaving anything behind but to reconnect with friends and colleagues of the bicycle world while also working on my ‘what’s next’ ideas, all during the annual trade show known as Interbike. Now, rising higher into the clear blue Nevada skies I took a last look out the window at the receding shrine to temptation and realized that my biggest takeaway from Interbike 2013 is that this was bicycling’s year of the algorithm too. Continue reading →

People have been asking what I’ve been up to since my unexpected departure from Serotta, the company…. So here’s an update!

First I have to say that I continue to be amazed and appreciative for the outpouring of support for my family and me along with the accolades for past accomplishments.  Collectively, these gestures from friends, family and fans deliver a potent life fuel at a critical juncture for us.  We are all the more determined to convert this fuel into future exciting and rewarding projects.

When I was asked to leave Serotta it took more than a few days to put the concept of being disconnected from a 41-year effort into a past tense mindset.  Actually, it’s a process that I am still working on.  It reminds me of rides I’ve had, when my initial in-the-zone tranquility was suddenly broken by a fury of horrific weather- wind, rain and fog to the point you can’t really see what’s ahead.  Looking for options, I instinctively take whichever road looks most likely to lead to higher ground so that I might have better perspective on the best route to take.  It’s usually a good decision.  And it’s an apt metaphor for this moment in my life.

The good news is I see great opportunity in many directions.  At the moment I’m in the process of whittling down a list of about 20 ideas into no more than 9 options- three each in short, medium and long-term projects.  Although challenging, it’s an energizing process.

Continue reading →