More details from my knothole this weekend at Cirque. Friday night, we met at Dale's shop for meet and greet with a lot of eye candy in the attic. It was great to see everyone excited as each new arrival came into the shop. Brian Baylis' 'bare' frame had neat etching on the fork crown from his knife making days. I succumbed to the peer pressure and brought home a wool CR jersey--I suspect it will be used one weekend per year as I don't have a great need for wool in Florida. Wayne Bingham's Mclean was on display at Dale's shop, in such a prominent position that I'm sure it was just to increase our 'buy' juices before the weekend. Nevertheless, both Wayne and I managed to avoid the temptations (or at least Wayne seemed to have avoided it by the time I departed about 1230 Sunday). The Friday night get together at Pastabilities was most interesting. Put away a plate of pasta in anticipation of the ride on Saturday morning, but then I didn't ride because of the weather. John Pergolizzi told me he had brought that J.P. Weigle bike that was featured in a mid-80s Bicycling Magazine "Dream Machines" article and in Playboy. I could hardly wait to see it on Sunday and it didn't disappoint. Even has a prototype C-Record group that no doubt increases the value considerably (or so John says as we've started the negotiations!). I kept thinking about the centerfold who must have been riding it in Playboy and that, plus the wine, made for sweet dreams overnight. Got a chance to talk to Chris Kvale about the Kvale bike I have. He was very gracious by not whacking me when I told him I had Shimano parts on it. Saturday, we awoke to find windy, rainy, 47 degree weather. Not the best for a bunch of classic steel bikes. Still, there were enough bikes brought out of the rooms into the lobby at the Battleground Inn to make the morning interesting. Made a trip to Dale's shop to watch the 15 or so hearty souls brave the 2 hour ride in miserable weather. More time killed playing "guess what kind of lugs these are" with Richard Sachs before we headed over to the rec center for the afternoon program. Afternoon program started with a great snack table put on by Dale's wife and helpers. Poured enough Masi wine to assure many sleepy yawns and nodding for the afternoon session. Masi corks were popular (auction em next year!!), but nobody wanted the bottles, so I hope Dale saved them. Hilary's talk about the English bicycle components industry was very informative. As Dale said, next year he gets a full day!! Richard's impromptu life story (after the videotape wouldn't work) provided great insight into the sensitive man who is Richard Sachs. He unveiled his 30th anniversary frame (I've got pics!!) and wow, I think we all thought it was really a 70s model. Ray Etherton's discussion about the oddball English frame designs was very enjoyable. I thought we were going to see a bunch of old advertisements, but not only did Ray show us real pictures, but the next day we got to see actual examples of some of these attempts to improve the double diamond frame design. Dale's heartfelt tribute to McLean Fonvielle was wonderful. Many thanks to the presenters. Whew, time to eat again? Off to Macados restaurant. I think everyone got lost getting there, but fortunately Karen Rawls has a built-in compass and got us there almost first. More great conversation. Brian Baylis entertained my end of the table with more early Masi stories, but I'll let him be the one to share--Brian, your secrets are safe with us!! Guinness beer keg was messed up so we had to drink some really good local brew. After about half a 'fishbowl' of it, I was starting to believe it was actually brewed with red oak. We didn't get thrown out or have the police called in on us so I thought that was noteworthy. I think someone passed the word that a bunch of "bikers" were in town. Army training was fruitful as I low crawled to my room that night. Early Sunday at o-dark thirty, cool, but dry weather found Karen Rawls, Roy Drinkwater and I out for a brisk ride around the south end of the Guilford Battleground. Back at the Battleground Inn, the less hearty souls were just starting to move. Off to the rec center for setup and early treasure hunting. It was tough, but I didn't bring home any more bikes. Got to meet the 'Klein Girl', how's that Jan? Lots of good loot, but I had to depart early, so the sellers were still toeing the line on their asking prices. I'm going to stay overnight next year so I can get some of those end of the day deals I keep hearing about. As I left, folks had just "discovered" that truckload of NOS wool jerseys, bikes and parts, so I hope someone can tell us about the great deals they found out back. Can't mention everyone, but I enjoyed all the discussions, and had a great time, even though it was a whirlwind of a weekend. Thanks again Dale. You did good. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL