Astana? Are they kidding?

So I just don't know what to think about this; Johan Bruynel is taking Contador, Leipheimer, and a good bit of the discovery squad on over to Astana. Yes, Astana, the team created to support Vinokourov, one of few riders I actually loathe. When I heard that the team unit itself was disbanding, that was a slightly down day, I have enjoyed rooting for the various versions of the team over the years. I do miss the Postal days. Anyway, I don't know if I can get behind Astana. Seems like it was a pretty dirty squad. Maybe the Disco boys will clean it up. We'll see. Other than them, I'm not sure who I can get into.

Last week I found a bike in the bushes at work. Somebody had taken a cheap BMX frame, put a 27" wheel fork on it with a 27 inch wheel, and put a cruiser bar on it. Like a little BMX chopper. If it had been done a little differently and maybe painted, it could have been pretty pimp. In any case, I now have an extra set of platform pedals. :) I am considering seeing if I can resurect the frame using the mag wheels from the folder.It would need a fork and new bars too.

Also on the funmobile side of things, the rack I ordered for my Jeep (in August!) finally came in. This enables me to haul my bikes and gear around again. Between the Thule Velo Vice trays my bro-in-law gave me last year and the my massive roof box, I can finally carry anything I need in/on the Jeep. I can potentially carry up to 5 bikes and gear and four people. Or more likely 5 bikes and just me... I am looking forward to riding in Shutesbury, MA again. There's a wicked hill there, 2 miles of perfect S-turns on recent pavement. Last time there I was coasting at 35mph for over a mile and three quarters. It is a ridiculous amount of fun. I'll be riding there in 2 weeks again.

France 3

Ah Hell, it's October. Look at that. So anyway, stages, 12, 13, and 14, were really cool. For 12, we caught a spot near-ish to the finish in Montpellier. The caravan starts coming through waay before the riders. Van after van and car after car one by one. And flying past! There were some rather drunk fans that looked as if they had been having a grand old time most of the day, standing beside the road. Then the Peloton appeared down the road. First they were far away, then they were there, then they were gone. Holy smokes does it go by fast. It's more like a train than I ever realized. Then the second group came through and were gone. They were going so fast, I didn't recognize a single rider. Not one. I later found out that I got a pretty good shot of Boonen, which I am quite pleased with. And that was pretty much it. We walked around Montpellier a bit that day, and had a nice lunch in a large sort of square.

Stage 13, was a bit more scenic, we picked out a spot where the stage came nearest to where we were about an hour's drive away on a nice drive out through the country side into sort of a hillier area. Out in the middle of nowhere, we found cars lined up along the side of the road. We parked and walked down the road till we found the crowd. We were right at a 90° turn at the bottom of a hill so we went to just before the turn figuring that they would be stretched out and slowing for the curve. This reasoning worked well. As the Peleton Rolled by, they were all single file and a few of them could be recognized this time. I was able to pick out Boonen, the Discovery riders, and Rasmussen. This time there was an escape group 2 minutes ahead, then the peleton in a huge stretched out line and then another few groups trailing. It made for a much longer sighting. Memorable bits for the day included a large German that yelled at us becasue he thought we were going to stand in front of him. He was drunk and very much an ass.

Stage 14, the Time Trial was it for me though, this was my favorite day of the trip and it also provided the best photos. We went up to the large rolling hills where this
stage was located. It was bright and sunny when we left, wearing shorts, t shirts and sunglasses. However, teh weather had other plans. A cold rain came in. So I stood for 4 hours in the rain freezing my butt off having the time of my life. The riders, coming by one by one in order was so absolutley fantastic. Everyone knew who was coming next so different groups would periodically yell the rider's name as they came into view. The unforgettable moment would be when Christophe Moreau, the French national champion came into sight. A man jumped up pointing and shouted, "Mooorrr-eaauuuu!" and suddently the entire crowd was electrified. They went nuts. These rain-soaked, freezing cold fans were cheering like he'd just won. He's like a rockstar to the French. It was fun to see that kind of excitement and it reminded me just how far from home I was. As the boys from Discovery rolled through and I got to cheer for them by name, I think I felt a little of what the others had. The coolest was listening to the crowds cheer for each rider in their own language. Contador rode by to cheers of "Venga! Venga! Contatdor!" Moreau to "Allez Moreau!", there were also Germans, Australians, Brits, Swiss, and a couple languages I couldn't place. I think we were the only Americans at that spot. I was definitely cheering the loudest for Discovery at that stretch.

After that, I was pretty much satiated. The tour got too far away to follow, so I watched on live TV as Vinokourov and Rasmussen disgraced themselves and Contador climbed to the top. I went riding on the folder, doing a longest ride of 24 butt numbing miles (poor saddle choice). In all the bike held it's own, but those mag wheels, while indestructible, have a bit of a wobble that adds to the butt numbing in a not fun way, I'll probably put the coaster wheel back on it. It was a good vacation in all. That's about it.

France Part 2

So Marseillan is a pretty little town. Like any respectable European town, it has lots of little food markets, bakeries, fruit and veggie stands, butchers, fish markets, all the usual suspects. There's a town center that is basically the shopping area with little tourist shops, hair salons, cafes, and banks. So I got up and went to the grocery store with my sister Tara to stock up on cheese, wine, coffee, and whatever. We made some guesses as to the best cheap wines and were not disappointed. My method of picking bottles with cool labels seems to hold true. Suzy, however, made the best discovery in this department; It turns out that the region claims to have invented the Champagne method before Dom Perignon, who they also assert took/stole the idea back to Champagne to perfect it. So consequently you can get a bottle of bubbly there for about $3, that tastes more like a bottle of bubbly that cost $30 because they aren't in the Champagne region. Needless to say I came home with a dozen corks from these bottles to stick in the handlebars of various bicycles.

The first day, I pretty much just wandered around town for a bit and watched the Tour on tv, since I was waiting for my bike to show up from the airline. Being extremely jetlagged, this was just fine by me. I ended up getting my bike in the afternoon of the next day. The delivery guy only spoke French so if it were not for Tara, I would still not have my bike. He wouldn't bring it to the apartment, so he was trying to tell me I had to meet him at the town center. When he handed me the bag, it was apparent that it had been completely torn apart and repacked. The frame had a bunch of spots from getting ground around in transit, it looked like it was already an experienced world traveler. Nothing was damaged other than cosmetics, I had it back together and ready to ride in about 5 minutes. Took a quick spin around the block and everything was cool with the bike. Even in the short time pedaling around the block, I felt oddly safe on the street. Drivers there just know how to safely drive near bikes.

France Part 1

I am probably going to have to break this up into a few chunks as I think about my trip so here's part one. I'll start with packing the bike. My original plan had been to cut down a cardboard box to fit the smallest possible size I could cram it all into. I folded up the bike and took off the wheels. I just a rough measurement to see if it would go into a box that wouldn't be oversize according to the airline. It had to be LxHxW < 63 inches linear. I fit it into a box that totaled up to 62.5", sweet. However, the box itself was clunky as hell and I had definite visions of me not enjoying toting it around cars, buses, trains, and airports; all of which my trip would include. This limitation almost caused the Dahon to remain in the States. -Enter Shelagh's bag: She lent it to me upon hearing about my struggles with the box. It was a huge rectangular duffel bag. It fit right around the bike and contoured in to fit it into a much smaller overall size. Also it actually had straps and handles for carrying. I packed in clothes tied up in plastic bags for padding and put shoes over anything that was sticking out, like the hinge mechanism for the main hinge of the frame. The padding situation was enough to protect it from the usual handling, but would not stand up to a serious drop or crunch.

The flight over was pretty good. I got stuck in a window seat next to a pretty german college student and her yowling cat. When I say "yowling" I mean a yowl like wild animal in heat. Punctuated about every 45 minutes by it completely flipping out and causing it's bag to hop around on the floor and triggering another round of apologies from her. I didn't mind, if I were a cat, I'd raise hell too.

Upon arrival in Marseille, I learned that my bike was still in Paris. Yay. They took my address and said they would deliver it to me as soon as possible, and "Here is your free toilet kit." Off to the train.

Not understanding French made for some good traveling antics, first the bus lady yelled at me about my credit card, then I couldn't read my train ticket so I didn't know where to sit and people kept telling me to move cause I was in their seat. Arriving in Agde (2 1/2 hour train ride away), my sister Suzy and my Mom met me at the train station to drive back to Marseillan, which is where we were to be based. Food, wine, bed.

Vive Le Tour!

In a few short (long) hours I'm off to Le Tour. My bags are packed, I have my stage maps, a cheat sheet to say "I don't speak French", and the folder is ready to ride. I should be able to catch stages 11, 12, and 13. And then hopefully 14 and 15. I have learned that the town I'm getting of the Train at is the largest nudist center in Europe, so that'll be interesting, and the town I'm staying in is the home of Noilly Pratt vermouth, so cheers with the Martinis!

Here's how the folder shaped up with the modifications:


The mag wheels are supposedly "indestructible" (within reason obviously) it helps that they are cheap too! The cork grips are beaucoup comfy, I changed out the brake levers and added a rear bmx brake. Gone are the rack and fenders, I swapped the saddle to a TT saddle and the rear wheel has a freewheel rather than a coaster brake. I also swapped out the chain to a SRAM PC-1, 1/8" chain to go with the 1/8" freewheel on the rear. I swapped the folding plastic pedals first for spds, but then back out to some big ol' platform pedals to support normal shoes and reduce the number of footwear I have to take. It rides ok, it certainly isn't my road bike,
but it ships for free and will give me some good stories I'm sure. I took the water bottle cage back off the handlebars for packing reasons and I'm going to leave it off. I bought a daypack that I will likely ride with that has a pocket for a bottle.

In other top news, my bikes will have a place of their own to live again when I get back, I'm moving in to a room in a house owned by a musician in town here. It's pretty sweet digs and I'm very psyched about it. Walking or riding distance to damn near everything I need.

Looking silly.

I took the folder out for its first serious ride. I did a 10 mile loop on it for a shakedown. I found that it is not at all squirrelly like I feared it might be. It is however, definitely not designed for a large rider. The handlebars are way too close, so it takes all the power out of the positioning. The seatpost is definitely not quite long enough, and the handlebars could benefit from an offset stem, rather than simple being a T off the top of the stem. The coaster brake has got to go, it's very snug, and the slightest backpedal will engage it enough to drag. I am starting to think that this bike might not be very fixed-gear friendly because of how low the BB is so I fear that pedal strike could become a major issue. I need to do more evaluating on this though. Wouldn't be the end of the world if I just made it a SS freewheel, becasue I could just pick up a stock bmx wheelset for that rather than having a custom fixed wheel built up. I probably looked rather silly in my serious bike duds riding around on the folder. I borrowed the SPD pedals from the pirate bike, and put the Velo TT saddle on it too. It is fairly comfortable with this set up, geometry aside. I would like to change the grips to something a little larger, probably cork. I need to get out for a longer ride to see just how long I can crank this thing for.

I also got back a new helmet from Giro to replace the one I just bought. The Pneumo was defective out of the box. I had bought an 06 model and they sent me a shiny new 07 model which is very cool. It's as comfy as the last one, and fits more securely thanks to the not defective Roc-Loc mechanism. I love this helmet.

More new toys and some heavy news.

Since my last post a few things have been confirmed for me. Specifically, I'm getting divorced. I had never intended to use this blog for stupid whining but I guess that's where I've gone and I realize that some people will learn about this for the first time here, sorry about that, I don't really feel much like telling it over and over to everyone. This has actually caused me to ride less because my life is all over the place. I've had to move and consequently the bikes have been moving all over the place, and I just haven't had have time lately. Couple that with general emotional difficulties and I just haven't felt like riding. Tomorrow though, I get back in the saddle. Which saddle is still in question.

Another thing that has been confirmed is my trip to France to see Le Tour. I'm flying out the 14th of July and will be returning on the 28th. I should get to see the stages through Provence, and as it gets into the foothills of the Pyrenees. I am very excited about this.

To further this endeavor, I have finally broken down and ordered up a folding bike. It's a Dahon Boardwalk S1 as seen to the left. It currently weighs 30 pounds. My goal is to get it as light as possible. Saddle, pedals, crankset, and wheels will be swapped. The rear coaster brake wheel will be replaced with a fixed/fixed gear wheel for gearing flexibility. I am considering using a Surly Dingle Cog for two gears on one side and Dos Eno freewheel on the other for four total options. Though I may simply go double fixed for simplicity. I need to see how it rides for distance before I bother messing too much with it. If I can't go long on it I have some serious figuring to do for getting around France. Fenders, racks, chainguard and reflectors will all be gone of course. The handlebar will likely be treated to some cork grips and a replacement brake lever. I essentially bought this thing to have the frame as a platform to start from.

In other good news I have lost another pound. I am down to 181lbs with my target at 175lbs. I am starting to feel better about this because, coming from 190lbs (with a temporary spike up to 195lbs) I now have less to lose than I have lost so far. Feeling a little less like Jan and more like Lance (ha, yeah right). The remaining 6 is all abs, so biking is fairly powerless to help, situps and running it is.

Finally, I traded my truck in for a Jeep Wrangler. It is piles of fun. Has a hard top withe sunroof, new stereo, new speakers, new soft top, and some of the fun exterior stuff like grill guards and tail guards. Still trying to figure out how to get bikes on it. Nate (bro-in-law) gave me 4 Thule Velo-vice trays that I will likely mount up on an over-roof cage rack. Trying to figure out how to make some half doors for it. Possibly out of wood, fiberglass or maybe, just maybe some carbon fiber. Best of all, she gets the same mileage as my truck, but is approximately 10,000 times more fun to drive and designed from the ground of for fun toys.

New Toys, Old Toys

The wind has seemed to quiet down some finally. Riding at lunch has been much more pleasurable. The other day I had a stark reminder why breakfast is important though. On our lunch ride we went out on the longer loop we found, and I realized I had not eaten yet that day. Not cool, that ride did not feel good. Eat breakfast, people!

I finally got around to installing a new BB in the Bridgestone. That dials my chainline in nicely on the single front ring to be evenly in the middle of the rear 7 speed gear cluster. The original BB predated cartridge BBs and that bike has thousands upon thousand of miles on it. The bearing retainers were just pieces floating around inside the cups. I'll probably overhaul that BB for another bike. So after putting a flat bar back on it, I'll be ready to go trail riding again. Haven't been for years, but I miss off-road. I'll be hitting the trails up at Moosehead this weekend.

The new toys are a longsleeve merino jersey that I can't wait to ride with, and a Park PCS-1 workstand. This came from PricePoint.com for $120, thanks Jim! It's a very solid stand, we borrowed one from Brian to build Jim's bike in, so I knew what I was getting when I picked it, extremely solid, easy to use, good clamp. It also came with a free Crank Bros 10 multi tool. It's a little bulkier than some of the more foldable models, but it makes up for that in being really solid. Out of the box I didn't need the instructions to put it together, it's incredibly simple. Only two bolts to fasten the lower legs to the Y-joint.

Jeremy asked me what cheap tires I would recommend to get a mountain bike back on the street. Instantly, I thought of the Kenda K-Rad 26x1.95s. I had these on my Bridgestone for all of last year as a mostly road single speed, and I just gave one of them to Tim at work who is now riding with it on the front of his Gary Fisher. The tires roll easily for street, but have enough of a low tread for grass and hard pack trails/dirt roads to get a grip. The checkerboard pattern looks good on a mountain bike and doesn't make much noise on pavement. I even rode these in 3" of snow in January, they did OK, but it was a little on the slippy side. To seal the deal, they are only $10 each from Nashbar. I only took them off the bike to put more aggressive trail/mud tires on.

Wind in the spokes

It has been a windy month. Plenty warm enough for riding, but very generally windy. I've almost been blown of the road a few times though. It's now warm enough to ride to work every day but with that weird early spring temperature differential between 7:00am and a couple hours later. Most mornings I need tights, jacket, hat, gloves, and in the after noon I need none of that. So I've been looking like a camel on my way home lately with my jersey pockets stuffed full.

Today I basically have to go for a very long ride; The century date we've (Jim and I) been talking about is next weekend, but I'm not sure if that's going to work out for a number of reasons.

Now that the weather is a little more conducive to pictures, I got out the whole stable (well, except for the new guy) for some pictures. Here they are:

Nashbar Road bike, built 2006 (aka: Woof):


Dad's [now mine] Schwinn Suburban (1972):


I've been very excited to add Dad's bike to my collection. My earliest memories involve being carried in a backpack while atop this bike. We used to go for a bike ride almost every day when I was tiny. We would ride out to Dairy Queen for ice cream, and up to the powerlines to pick blueberries. I would invariably fall asleep during the rides with the wind in my face. This was a bike that had 10 whole gears. When I was old enough for my own BMX bike, I was amazed that you could have all those levers and gears and you could go so fast. The mechs on this bike are all very old, and weigh a ton. I have begun the process of tearing it down to make a single speed conversion out of it. I will likely be buying some new wheels for this bike soon. Probably track wheels so I can ride it fixed as well. I bought new rubber for it right away, only to find that yes, these are the old Schwinn proprietary rims that don't hold a conventional tire bead. 90 psi- BANG! Off like a shotgun.

Raleigh R-300 (1997) Touring bike:


Hawthorne Fixed-Gear (aka: Dump Bike):


Trek Cruiser Classic (frame 2006) Fixed-Gear (aka: Pirate Bike):


Bridgestone BB-1 mountain bike (1992):


Not pictured are a couple crappy old frames that are hanging in the corner, a Schwinn Varsity, and a gas pipe Shogun. Also just yesterday I picked up a dept store ten speed with a decent looking lugged steel frame, fenders, and 26" wheels. That may be destined for a bizarre FG conversion.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?

So I'm Dreaming of a White Easter may be a new song, since a white Christmas is getting to be rare. With a constant string of travel followed by a dang blizzard, riding days have become scarce again. While in Texas last week, I did pound out a couple good long workouts on a recumbent stationary bike, but it really just isn't the same. I did give the PB a bath last weekend, so its "Back in Black" for that bike. The Brooks b17 honey colored saddle looks pretty sharp on it. I clipped on my old MTB rear fender to protect the Brooks and rode it for the first time a couple weeks ago. I think it will work out well.

This week began the assembly of Jim's Gunnar. Oh baby. After a bit of a fiasco with him driving up here to build it last weekend, only to find out the wrong headset had been shipped, getting down to it was good. I used my Nashbar headset press for the first time, it's a thing of beauty. The cups just slide right into the head tube. Jim says "It looks like a bike", it just needs the dérailleurs, chain, and shifters put on. I have never seen a red like is on that bike. It's the purest paint color I've ever seen. So we will probably finish it up on Monday at lunch. Hopefully today will be conducive of riding. It's supposed to be sunny, so there's hope.

Saving Daylight

Well, it's that time of year again. Wait a minute, no it's not. It's early for DST but what the hell, it just makes it so I can ride after work earlier so I'm not complaining one bit. This morning I took the Raleigh out for a good one. Did about 32 miles and change. Not many cars out and quite tolerable weather. Around 50 and overcast. Wet roads like crazy. I had this uneasy feeling that my tires were sliding out from under me a few times. I'm not sure if they were or if I'm jsut crazy, it was a quite unsettling feeling. I wasn't imagining it when I rode over the metal grate bridge at the Salmon preserve. I was distracted with nature and almost went down twice. That would not have been pretty at all. I've heard of people going down on those things and I know I don't want to do it. I guess I'm going to call this the official start of the riding season for me. DST will allow me much more flexibility in riding, and I should be able to start riding to work again this week.

On the wrenching side of things. Jim sent in measurements to Gunnar so now he's waiting in the verdict; custom or stock frame. I will likely soon move my moustache bars to the Raleigh, and I have decided instead of putting the triple back on the Bridgestone, I will probably get a Surly stainless single ring for the front, and run 1x7.

Calm before the [next] storm

Well, the last couple of days have been gorgeous, mid day temps in the 40s, bright sunshine, and clear roads. I brought in the newly reconfigured Pirate Bike. I changed the handlebar to a flat bar with Ritchey grips like came stock on my Mtn bike in 92, and changed the lever to a proper V-brake lever. I can stop like crazy now. So I brought the bike to work and rode at lunch the last two days, putting me over 100 miles for the new year. Unfortunately, there is a blizzard coming tomorrow, so I will likely not be able to ride again outdoors for at least a week or two. C'est la vie. I am considering changing the bar on the Raleigh tour bike to the moustache bar formerly on the PB, for some classic touring stylee. Though if I do that, I might want a shorter stem on that bike.

Also on the horizon is a custom build for Jim who is ready to upgrade his aluminum Cannondale, to a Gunnar Roadie, that we will assemble with a full Ultegra kit (oh baby). So we'll see what the weather brings us tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be riding more soon.

But baby, it's cold ouside.

Saturday made for a bitter cold ride. I went out on the newly reconfigured Bridgestone. Reconfigured back to MB riding, that is. A new Dart classic graces he front wheel, some old Kenda mb tire on the back, new Exage Mountain rear derailleur. When I the the gumption, I'll put a flat bar back on it, and maybe, just maybe, the front derailleur, and if I'm feeling really into it, I've got an old Alivio crankset to completely regear the thing since I'm only running a 40t ring up front. Ah, but I digress.Last week on sunday, after my leg cramp inducing ride, I went out in the snow for 11 on the Bridgestone, the snow is what brought on this bout of wrenching, I am starting to remember how much fun offraod riding is and want to get back into it after 10 years of roadiedom.

When I set out I had planned to explore 2 dirt roads. Unfortunately, it turns out the Russel Road is what I had suspected, a summer-only road not plowed in the middle section that is like all too many back roads in Maine. The road was very rutty and made for a good work out with packed snow. That rear tire leaves a little to be desired in terms of snow traction but I knew that. I had one near miss with a rut on the side of the main road. It was a good reminder that you can't take the "surface" for granted in the winter. The wind did me in as I doubled back up Russel. On 126, the wind was so strong from the west, that I could barely pedal against it. I had planned a 12 mile ride but cut it short to 8 miles and change. It was 18°F, with the wind, I have no idea what it "felt like". I had on tights, Gore-Tex pants, Ski parka, fleece jersey, Duofold longjohn shirt, windstopper gloves, fleece balaclava, merino socks, and Salomon shoes. Feet cold, hands warm, head cold, chest warm, pants cold.

Winter's Here?

So yesterday I did 25 miles on the PB. I still love the big 700X32 Panaracers I put on last week the one extra gear inch it gives makes the gearing great. I set out on a circle of unknown distance; I was pretty sure it wasn't more than 30 miles. It was a good loop, I will ride it again, it provides a good mix of descents, climbs, a few short flat stretches but mostly the usual rolling terrain. The only problem was that it was 35°F and I was riding into the wind for 75% of the ride. The kind of wind Garrison Keilor quotes as saying, "I'm gonna kill you , Boy." I had to stop 3 times to stretch my calves due to the descents.
This was one of those rides that makes you feel old. Amanda dug out her old yearbook later on in the evening from her mom's house. Looking through at the photos from the year I was in the best shape of my life is not great for the ego, when you get back from a ride like this. This morning I feel like someone beat the crap out of me. I suspect it's easier to feel young when it's warm.

It was a good mind clearing ride and I did actually half-assedly invent a new piece of bike tech: A single sided hub that would mount both a freewheel and fixed cog on the same side. I'm still working out the details in my brain. I got the idea from the White Industries Dos freewheel unit. I doubt I have the technical capacity to create this from old parts. Though there is also the possibility of modifying a freehub to accomplish the same task via a locking pin(s). I need to disassemble one to figure this out. I assume I could modify a freehub easier than a freewheel mechanism. The idea would be so that it would be more practical to switch between fixed/free on a really long ride.

Global Warming

Yeah, it's here. 60°F this is January, in Maine. Today I changed the tires on the PB out in the garage. I put on some all black Panaracer Urban Max tires 700x32. This is notable more for the fact that I was not wearing gloves at the time and I was in the unheated garage. Even more notable was when I finished, I took the Raleigh out for 17.5 miles and I wore shorts and a longsleeve jersey! January! This is really just a bit ridiculous. I saw joggers, walkers, horse riders. It was like Spring. I'm enjoying being able to ride, this was my first ride of 2007, but jeez, this weather ain't right.

Happy New Year!

I was hoping to go for a ride today, but Old Man Winter finally delivered some serious anti-biking weather. 33°F and rain/snowing. I did get to ride yesterday. I took out the Bridgestone with the rear derailleur back on it making a 7 speed mtn bike. With the high limit pin gone (completely seized, had to drill it out) it makes for some twitchy shifting. Looking to replace that derailleur with an old XT model hopefully. The roads were completely covered with packed snow. I only rode up to the end of the road and back, but it was nice to get out. The new tires came in for the PB, 700x32, unfortunately, I bought the wrong size innertubes. Doesn't much matter, since anything but knobbies can't go for a while here. So here's to a new year. Happy riding to all.