This is probably a really bad idea...

I am not a writer. I wanted to get that out of the way, right from the start. If you read much further, that will become painfully obvious, but I wanted to admit to it before everyone figures it out for themselves. Kind of like passing gas in a crowded meeting. Shouting, "That was me!", before anyone else has a chance to say anything, somehow makes it less embarrassing. So, if by some miracle, someone from outside of my immediate circle of family and friends reads this, and they feel the need to post a comment saying what a lousy writer I am, I can say that I told you right from the beginning that I couldn't write. It has been my experience, that preemptive self deprecation is always a good strategy.

This blog will mainly be about bicycling. Or rather, my views, opinions, and general musings about cycling, cyclist, and the cycling culture. It should be said right now that I am a very opinionated person. This characteristic has served me well at times, and not so well at others. Not surprisingly, this has gotten me into my share of trouble in the past. Not just my share, but probably a good portion of your share as well. It's not so much the opinions that I express that tend to get me in trouble, but rather the time and place that I choose to express said opinions, as well as the volume and the enthusiasm with which I tend to express them. That's one of the things that I hope this blog does. Is to give me a place, other than inappropriate meeting and gatherings, to express these often derided opinions.

Another thing that you should know about me is that I am a Texan. Born and bred. Now I know that it is a widely held belief around the rest of the country that Texan are by nature, very shy and quiet. I know that most of you believe that you typically have a hard time getting a Texan to express themselves, and that typically, Texans are the quietest people in the room. Well, that's not entirely true. I have actually met a Texan or two who have absolutely no problem at all speaking right up and letting their feelings be know. Weird, huh? For myself, I happen to fall into that minority of Texans who seem to be quite expressive. I don't know that I'm that loud, but I do believe what I believe, and if you ask me for it, you'll certainly get my unfiltered opinion. But I'd like to think that I'm extremely tolerant of differing opinions. I realize that everyone is entitled to believe what they want, and all I ask in return is that everybody else please extend that same courtesy to me. Please keep that in mind when you read my post. Especially keep that in mind if you feel the urge to post a comment.

A little more about me. My full name is Fred Richard Miller Jr. I live in McKinney, TX, with my wife Tricia, and my 9 year old son Michael. Trish and I have been married for 19 years. Nineteen years ago, I had two of my "est" moments within about 30 seconds of each other. That would be those kind of moments that can be described as the dumb"est" thing I ever did. Or the wild"est" thing I ever did. You know, the "est" moments. In this case, the first "est" moment was the smart"est" thing I ever did. Somehow, I worked up the courage to asked the former Ms. Tricia Hill to marry me. The second "est" moment that happened that night was the lucki"est" thing that every happened to me. For some reason, she said yes. I swear, as God is my witness, if I live to be 1000, I will never understand what possessed her to say that. Just a quick aside here. For those guys who are considering marrying above themselves, let me caution you against it. If you marry a woman who is way to good for you, be prepared to spend the rest of your life living with the constant fear that she will eventually snap out of whatever fog she has been walking around in, and realize how much better she could have done than you. This is the fear that I live with every day of my life. I've been able to relax a little since Michael was born. I figure that she's just a little less likely to pack up and leave now that we have our son, but the nagging fear of abandonment never really goes away. Always try and marry down.

Okay, I think that's enough for a first post. I'm not sure though, because, as you might have figured out by now, I have no earthly idea what I'm doing. I'll try an post most days, but if I don't have anything to say on a particular day, I won't say anything. And I probably won't post much on weekends. Hopefully, I'll be out riding my bike.

Next post....."What you can expect from this blog". Or, "Let's go ahead and lower those expectations".

I can tell your just giddy with anticipation.

Peace out........Nearly Famous Fred