Roberto's Ruminations

Back On & In the Air

Spring has finally arrived, and it is a favorite time year for me. I decided to get back on the air after a long hiatus and share my newest adventure.

After 4 exciting years of guiding Newmerix from a nascent idea to a young company with products and customers, it was time to explore new horizons. The business is well positioned to get to its next stage of growth; a new round of financing is secured, customers are glad to share their success stories, and the pipeline of new prospects continues to grow. I'm excited for Newmerix' future, and looking forward to figuring out the next new thing too.

Not one to sit still too long, I completed my transition out of the business at the end of the first quarter, and began making arrangements to leave Denver just after the tax filing deadline on April 17th. The volume of inquires and curiosity of what I'd do next led me to pull together a 6 week journey that will take me around the world. I've committed to myself to create a good mix of recreation and "new thing meetings" during the trip. Whatever I decide, it will be a ton of fun and I expect will have an international flavor from the outset.

My travels take me westward with stops in Honolulu, Hong Kong, Guam, Sydney, Munich, Paris, London, and Washington, DC. Specific business meetings will likely require a few excursion trips to Tokyo, Singapore, and Bangkok. As the world continues to shrink, I'm psyched at the idea of seeing what opportunities are being cooked up in various parts of the globe.

Stay tuned, I'm back on and back in the air. Next report - date line Hawaii and the idea around renewable energy technology.

Land Rover Defender 90 Restoration - 1997 Model Year

On occasion, I have projects that take on a life of their own. They sometimes wreak havoc with my need for completion - in a reasonable period of time - and often make a bigger dent in my bank account then originally planned. This month I decided it was time to restore and enhance  my 1997 Land Rover Defender 90 aka "Emma".

Here's Emma in Moab, UT just after I ran the Moab Marathon. She looks pretty good in the photo, but on close inspection, there are things that need attention. Her suspension needs to be replaced, her motor works a lot harder than it use to (especially at Rocky Mountain elevations), and the lack of adequate sound proofing makes it hard to carry on a conversation. Oh - I almost forgot about the streams of water that invade during a hard or steady rain.

When I first began research on this project, it quickly became clear that the resources on the Internet were either too fragmented or non-existent.  I spent the better part of 3 months researching the different things that others have done to upgrade their Defenders. A good starting point is East Coast Rover, these folks have a great website and good general descriptions on their restoration projects. As Emma's restoration progresses, I'll share photos and background on what is being done with the motor replacement, suspension & drive train upgrades, exterior customizations, and interior improvements.

The work is fairly extensive, but these are rare and incredible vehicles that will take you anywhere you want to go. The work will improve upon the factory build, include a lot more craftsmanship and renew Emma's life at least 15 or more years.