Theosophy is a religious movement established in the U.S. in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Елена Петровна Блаватская (Helena Petrovna Blavatsky) and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Although many adherents maintain that Theosophy is not a religion, it is variously categorized by religious scholars as both a new religious movement and a form of occultism from within Western esotericism. This date is the anniversary of Blavatsky's death, observed by Theosophists as White Lotus Day. Theosophy doesn't interest me, but the story of a strange belief established in the U.S. by an 1873 immigrant from Ukraine and still practiced in the U.S. is moderately interesting! Credit: https://w.wiki/9c2z Image: https://w.wiki/95r6 Public Domain Today was my first ride on my new Surly Straggler gravel bike. I went up Branciforte and Vine Hill, because my primary reason for buying a gravel bike was to ease climbing, with a lower low gear. And it worked! Even on the steepest of today's climbs, I was slightly faster than usual, but more important, I could easily maintain a cadence in the 50s, rather than struggling down in the 30s on my Domane. Even better, all of the Stragglers gears are available with only one derailleur: I found I was constantly having to manage the ring gears when climbing on the Domane. The Straggler doesn't build up as much speed going downhill as the Domane, even though it's heavier. The fastest I saw today was 25 mph, where the Domane would happily go up over 30 mph. And I haven't yet gotten familiar enough with the Straggler's high gears to maintain a high speed on the flat. More practice needed. I started and ended at Bicycle Trip. When I got back, I had them install a shorter ... stem? Anyway, the thing that sticks out in front and holds the handlebars. I noticed when I picked up the Straggler Wednesday and during yesterday's bike fit that the handlebars were further away than I'm used to. I didn't see it as a big problem, but on today's ride I found it was uncomfortable to keep my hands on the hoods or in the drops for an extended time. I took a short ride with the adjusted handlebars, and I think it will be much better now.