Introductions - Hi y'all! I'm not a Luddite, just a techno greenhorn.

First of all, I'm sorry for the occasional misspelling. There is an 18 month old wee tot falling asleep between me and the Macintosh laptop which only has dial-up service. I'm not a Luddite, just some one who does not need more velocity on the information superhighway. Besides, I rode over the AutoRoute (French superhighway) back in 1983 and when I looked down it was like a parking lot with all the cars stuck going nowhere. The Departmental ("county or prefecture") and Communal ("township") roads had plenty of attractions. In the Languedoc, which is a region facing the Mediterranean ("Middle Earth", no less!) Sea, you could mosey around on a road bike, stop in town squares to get water at the fountain, buy baguettes, chocolate and soft cheese. Ah, those are the recollections of a father of two who recalls his young self wearing a size 2 short and size 2 jersey back in 1982-1983 in Montpellier, France. Just like Sanscrit, it's not coming back again.

In the present, I have recently become a stay-at-home dad. That job name has more testosterone than "home maker" which is probably the life insurance description of my new vocation. My wife and I have a six year old son and a year-and-a-half old daughter. I want my kids to love bicycling the way I did all of a sudden when I spent a college year abroad.

We live in the middle of North Carolina-- I know you can tell by my accent in English and in French. My road bike was made in Grenoble, France under the brand name "Liberia" and sold to me by Monsieur Pascal Blazy of Cyclesports Blazy on the rue de l'Odeon, downtown Montpellier. He wouldn't recognize it today because in 1985 and 1986 I swapped out everything on the frame except the fork... and maybe the headset. Oh the days (O les beaux jours!) when I could get everything cheap working at Performance Bicycle Shop and I was the only person on the 1040 EZ form.

Nowadays I am riding a Panther Carbonore 24 speed MTB. I enjoy riding with my two kids, mostly on neighborhood streets and city trails.

Please send replies at your leisure. I'm sure I will do some head scratching while I try to figure out how to read them and to reply. Best wishes from Neal in North Carolina.

Welcome to the forums. I lived in "Heart of Carolina" from '88-'96 (as you might guess from my avitar). Your wife doesn't have any connection to the big one (Duke) or little two ;) , does she? I too am doing more stay at home dadding than working for the last 1.5 years; nothing wrong with that. Looking forward to working full time again (for at least one year) at a new university next semester, in Tennessee, when my daughter will be in 1st grade.

I myself was just reminiscing about my time in Japan on the sushi thread. One thing I remember about my one trip to France (Marseille) in 2001 was the dog stuff everywhere on the sidewalks. The French are both crazy about their dogs, and uninterested in cleaning up after them.

Welcome again to the forums.

Dear Blueline,---Thank you for the post. We live in Durham near Northgate Park. They are widening Interstate 85 to four lines in each direction. It's happening about 300 feet behind our backyard so we think of ourselves as "The Little House on the Freeway". My wife teaches in the local public schools and I used to teach also. Our connection to Duke comes from our neighbors. One neighbor is a Duke grad from about 1950. Another neighbor has a N.C. vanity license plate which says "DOOOK". I went to college at that small taxpayer-funded institution in Chapel Hill (UNC-Party).... From my neighbor: How do you get a Carolina graduate off your front porch?--- Pay for the pizza.
P.S. Never trust an 18 month-old to eat oatmeal by herself while you're checking e-mail.

Never trust an 18 month-old to eat oatmeal by herself while you're checking e-mail.

:roflmao:


Welcome to the forums, VeloSiDad.

Dear Blueline,---Thank you for the post. We live in Durham near Northgate Park. They are widening Interstate 85 to four lines in each direction. It's happening about 300 feet behind our backyard so we think of ourselves as "The Little House on the Freeway". My wife teaches in the local public schools and I used to teach also. Our connection to Duke comes from our neighbors. One neighbor is a Duke grad from about 1950. Another neighbor has a N.C. vanity license plate which says "DOOOK". I went to college at that small taxpayer-funded institution in Chapel Hill (UNC-Party).... From my neighbor: How do you get a Carolina graduate off your front porch?--- Pay for the pizza.
P.S. Never trust an 18 month-old to eat oatmeal by herself while you're checking e-mail.

Wow! Times sure do change. When we first lived there, I-40 out to Raleigh was 2-lanes each way, I-85 the same, and the Durham Freeway stopped somewhere downtown. We used to live near the "grass freeway" - the uncompleted portion of the Durham Freeway. By the time we left, I-40 was 3-lanes each way, the Durham Freeway connected to I-85, and I-85 was still overloaded with traffic.

P.S. I find that I can't trust them at six or eight y.o. not to cause mayhem and destruction at any opportunity.