DD - I hope that you find much satisfaction in your labors, camaraderie, and fond memories there on Diego Garcia,
but may the South-winds take you back home before too-too long.

...and oh yeah - Don't forget to check-in here when you can!

Howdy all

I made it to DG - finally! - at around 0130 on the 15th. Had a three-day weekend immediately after arriving, too; gotta love that.

Spent the weekend walking around and seeing how much DG had/had not changed. Weather is balmy and warm - heck, hot! And I love it, always remembering what the temps were like back in WA when I left

Yesterday I was able to clear my advance-packout through Customs here and got my stuff delivered to my room. I rode with my counterpart Harold last night after work; just a quick 25 miles down island, but a perfect ride during which we both did shakedowns (I hadn't ridden the Mondia in a long, long time and he just bought his bike on Tuesday). We plan on working to one another's strengths: me with the riding and he with the running. It's awesome that we both work together, too.

A few vintage bikes on the island, but not too many. Interestingly enough, one of the senior enlisted has an older Miyata and just two days ago inadvertantly shifted his RD into the spokes. It's a Suntour Cyclone II M and is now trashed. I told him of my history with BF C&V and that I can probably find someone with a replacement they may be willing to give up. Anyone able to assist?

I'll be posting pics in about a week. I'll move from my temporary room (without internet access) into a permanent room next week, and then I'll be able to upload photos from my personal laptop. Government restrictions do not allow for uploading pics here at work.

I'm almost completely plugged-in and ready to rock for the year...

DD

Hey, good luck! I was a Pacific sailor back in the day, submarine out of Pearl Harbor. Saw a lot of various ports, islands, rocks, but never Diego Garcia.

I believe I have what the officer needs. Let me dig through the spares and see if I can come up with one. Send me the APO and I'll send it your way on Friday or Saturday. If you have an email address I can send pics from my iPhone.

Good to hear you made it and are settling in Jeff. Looking forward to pics and reports.

Glad you arrived well and enjoyed your first miles on the mondia there. Keep us posted!

Glad to hear you arrived OK. I didn't think you could ride 25miles in one direction there.

Glad to hear you made it OK Jeff!

Now hit those hills hard! I expect you to be a great climber when you get back!

Yep, nice to hear all is going so well; that you are getting settled in and enjoying being there. Will watch for updates and photos of you new locale, although I will be jealous of the weather you are enjoying.

Wonderful, Jeff.

Get ready for a year to remember!
Cheers from Tucson

Looking forward to your tropical photos. It snowed and sleeted here Wednesday in PHX!!!

Stay safe, wear your sunscreen, have fun!!

Jeff,
Glad to hear you're there and getting settled...your item is on its' way! Enjoy the weather...28F in Luxembourg today.

Just a reminder that this is not a thread for political discussion so I had to delete some posts. Feel free to start a discussion thread in the Politics and Religion forum. Thanks for your cooperation with this.

Glad to hear you made it in good shape and are getting settled, Jeff. I did two tours on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific and another on Kwajalein back in the late sixties/early seventies. Bikes were our main mode of transportation both places.

If you decide to try fly fishing, let me know.

I have been tying some mean muddler minnows this winter.

Good deal - many thanks to you; I'll shoot you a PM regarding this. This is really great news

Just in case anyone else might want it, my mailing addy while here follows:

ITCS Jeff Rumbold
PSC 466 Box 8
FPO AP 96595-0001

And my Yahoo email: styleman27@yahoo.com

DD

Laughed out loud at that one

Actually, it's not so funny - anyone have any suggestions how to simulate climbing when the place you ride is dead-flat?

Hot and humid, though, so I'll at least get something out of being able to sustain riding in this crazy climate. Oh, and I don't think maintenance is going to be a problem, either.

DD

Thank you!

I got some great shots yesterday that will surely fall into the jealousy-inducing category...I'm really itching to get my own computer hooked up so that I can share. Looks like Friday will be the day I can get my first uploads out.

DD

Bryce and Will: what happened to the weather in AZ after I left? I saw the crazy pics of the snow on what looked to be the 101. Kinda wished I'd been around to see that rare event

I hope it didn't slow your riding down much; enjoy the weird weather until the really hot stuff returns with a vengeance!

DD

You are out of luck. If I were in your shoes, I'd use two different techniques to work out the climbing muscles. First, if you have any area that has a constant headwind....ride into it as much as possible. Use the headwind as your hill, use the tailwind as your downhill.

Second, maximize your gearing. Use your biggest/smallest combo for the toughest pedaling. Use the opposite combo to practice spinning and keeping up rpms in the climbing range.

Third, go offroad. Is there anywhere that you can go for non-paved action? Especially if you can find someplace with a hard surface with sand on it 2-3 inches high. The extra work may help.

Good luck.

Good deal - thank you! Looking forward to adding that to my collection.

I have yours as well - will be sending it this week. BTW, was FPO to FPO free for you?

DD

Been unable to check out BF for the last few days, so I missed the second go-around on the political debate (good for me).

Thanks for your efforts in keeping this thread politics-free

DD

Thanks for the info. I need to go and dig out of a foot of wet heavy stuff that you'll never see on DG. I'll grab the RD and shoot some pics your way later in the day (EST). Glad to help out.