I'm still here.

My view for a vast majority of the time during the past month.

In the waning hour of the month, I realized it's been exactly 30 days since I was last around this lonely little blog. I have good reasons for my delinquency. Nearly all of them have to do with me finishing my dissertation. I'll hopefully be able to emerge from my cocoon and be a real person once again in the near future.

However, I can't let this go without some bike content. So, voila! Behold my incongruous Diamond Back collection.

My "salmon" colored 1991 Diamond Back Master TG with its little brother...

... a 1995 Diamond Back Assault. This is as it was when I got it.

I picked up a mid '90s fully chromed Diamond Back Assault BMX bike over the summer, from an era I have since learned is referred to as "mid school" as opposed to "old school." The bike is ostensibly for visiting nieces and nephews to use. It had been enjoyed and ridden over the years, but was in reasonably good shape. In typical fashion, while making some adjustments I ended up stripping it down, cleaning and rebuilding it.

Three or so decades back, as a kid, I always wanted, but never had, a chrome BMX. The DB Assault is not quite as alluring as a mag-wheeled, nickel plated '77 Roger De Coster or a loop tailed '79 Diamond Back Pro were for me in my halcyon days, but it'll do.

Perhaps after growing a few more inches, a little blonde girl that I know might give the bike a taste of some dirt. Until then, I have found that I am surprisingly not too tall to ride it. Who knows, I may see about getting to a pump track one of these days. Probably during my plentiful spare time.