I've got nothing...figuratively or literally!

   There are simply some times when I struggle to come up with a topic to write about. Oh, I could drone on and on about pro cycling, but I realize not all readers are interested in that topic, particularly when it seems the sport can’t crawl out from under its shaky reputation. Every few weeks it seems someone else in the pro peloton is being scrutinized for some questionable blood test - some of these guys just don’t get it!

   I will mention that I read through a good portion of the recently released 227-page report by the Cycling Independent Reform Commission on cycling's doping culture, but it got a bit heavy in medical jargon in some spots, and I started to skim. The parts that were readable really didn’t tell me much more than I already knew, and the report definitely wasn’t critical enough of former UCI officials and the way they let Lance Armstrong manipulate the system.

   My writer’s block was unfortunately cured by another round of bicycle project bad luck. It seems the Bottecchia frame is M.I.A., as the tracking information sent by the eBay seller provides no information, other than that the package was accepted at his Ljubuljana (Slovenia) post office. You may wonder, based on my past experiences, why I bother with international shipments anymore, but this wasn’t a complete bicycle, just a frameset. I order parts from Europe often, and I seldom have incidents.

   I was very patient as time went by, waiting for the frame to arrive, but as it is now well past eBay’s conservative five week estimate, I decided to contact the seller, Tomaz. From our exchange of messages, he seems to be a very nice person, and I forgot that I had actually purchased from him previously. Because the tracking info was supplied a couple days after I paid, I had always assumed the package went out, but he even sent along a photo of the shipping label applied at his post office, as proof that it was shipped.

   I immediately thought that Tomaz must be very thorough, but then it occurred to me that he might be taking all of these precautionary steps because of issues with Slovenia Post in the past. Someone at the office told him about logistical problems with USPS that they have been dealing with for months, but the person there also guaranteed (whatever that means) the frame wasn’t lost - they just don’t know where it is right now. Wait a second, isn’t that the definition of "lost"?

   Tomaz filled out some type of claims form to open an inquiry about the item's location and was told he should receive some written notification. He encouraged me to take a similar action here, but I've been informed that our postal service doesn't have any information about packages overseas until they come into the USPS system.

   So right now I have all the parts to build a bicycle, but nothing on which to build it. Who knows, maybe the frame will show up on my front porch in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I attempt to gain some luck-of-the-Irish by celebrating today’s date with some photos of legends Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche, as well as current stars from the Emerald Isle, Nicholas Roche (Stephen’s son) and cousin Dan Martin (son of Stephen’s sister Maria).