Hi Cletus,

I have been reading and posting here since 1998. Since then, I have met
or talked on the phone with dozens of folks here. I have ridden or raced
with a good number of these people, and it has been a pleasure to do so.
It is true that the NG has been significantly "dumbed down" by OT drivel
and many of the quality posters are gone, but then in the old days I
never used to get 250 spam emails a day like I do now either. It seems
that banality is the rule of the day now, and we should all be prepared
to deal with that or leave.

A sure sign that this group has gone to the dogs is the fact that all
the women have been chased off. Or anyone with any level of sensibility
for that matter. I remember the good old days when there were posts
by the likes of Beth, or Marci, or Melanie, and I am sure I am leaving
out others. I miss folks with a good sense of humor like Scott, or
those that have a passion for cycling and broad experience and the
ability to express themselves beautifully like Kent Peterson.

I also remember saars.lists.recumbent and the really good technical
information to be found there before it died. The point I am making is
that the best recumbent posting is no longer going on in this NG - it is
a wasteland now to be scanned periodically but given low priority
because it is so troll infested. Permanently, it seems. The bent bent
posts are to be found at other sources now, which I will not divulge for
obvious reasons.

Cheers,
Derek