Lanterne Rouge is no more!

The Red Dirt Pedalers newsletter, Wheel Issues, has ceased publication. Susan Walker was the editor and she has other projects, other irons in the fire that demand her attention. It's been a good, long run, but my column and the publication are gone.

CycleDog originally started as a place to try out ideas for the newsletter, but it evolved as time passed. These days, it's mostly about photos and local information, and I'll stick with much of that. But I need to get back to my roots and include far more cycling stuff here.

Here's the final Lanterne Rouge piece. Wally's last contribution to the newsletter will follow.

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Maestro! A drum roll please!

Susan wants something special for this last Wheel Issues. While I have a couple of good ideas, I want to write on a subject more personal.

I want to thank Susan publicly for all she's done in putting Wheel Issues together every month, and more to the point, I thank her for putting up with my occasional erratic behavior, aversion to deadlines, and bouts of navel-gazing. She has a light touch as an editor, something that any writer greatly appreciates. When she makes a suggestion, it's always a good one. Writing for her is a pleasure.

Susan asked me to start a column years ago, just after we'd both finished our League cycling instructor training. I had been writing both serious stuff and comedy for an amateur radio newsletter, and cycling was a good fit. My personal blog, CycleDog, was a laboratory for ideas that eventually ended up here. It's probably no secret that I write both Lanterne Rouge and the Doctor Wally pieces. Wally had his start over on CycleDog, and I expect that like an ingrown toenail, he'll turn up there again. CycleDog has been more about old cameras and photography recently, but that will change soon.

I've told Susan that when the writing goes well, words almost flow from my fingertips into the keyboard. It's magical, and it keeps me coming back again and again, hoping the magic will strike just one more time. Writing and cycling have one thing in common - balance - and finding that balance between work, play, and family is essential.

Finally, I thank all of you for reading - not just my stuff - but all of Wheel Issues. Writers are nothing without readers. You are the other side of the scale, a critical part of the balancing act. I sincerely hope you've enjoyed the journey as much as I have.