Hi CR folks, It has been interesting watching the dialog about Rene Herse (RH) this past week - I've received an amazing amount of postitive comments and feedback - and I am most thankful. I've received so many comments that I may not be able to thank each person individually - so thanks to everyone who sent their support that I haven't been able to responded to. Sure, some folks have some "issues", but the resumption of RH production is something new, the final product has not yet been displayed, so folks are sure to have all kinds of reactions. The fact that I now have orders already, and more folks making inquiries regarding possibly ordering, is most gratifying. Importantly though, with all the RH talk, I hope that folks don't loose sight that there are already a number of wonderful Randonneur bikes being being made by some fantastic US builders - It was only with reluctance that I sold my personal Peter Weigle - that bike served me well, was (and still is) gorgeous, and was a joy to ride. Bruce Gordon and Curt Goodrich also come to mind as builders of wonderful bikes as well. And Brian Baylis? His AeroTour is simply amazing and is an inspiration for all builders. So here I must state another goal of Rene Herse Bicycles Inc. - success of the endevour is not to be meassured only by the output and creations of RH, but also by its ability to raise awareness of Steel bikes in general and Randonneur bikes in particular among the general bicycle buying public. Through the marketing and publicity of RH, I hope that all the fine builders benefit as the pie is made larger. My hope is that more riders will realize that steel bikes have so much to offer compared with the typical ti or carbon race bike that has no convenient space for the gear needed on a century, or friendly provision for lighting, or a design that allows for wider tires that are comfortable and fast. Rene Herse Bicycles Inc. will do everything possible to help facilitate this understanding. So once the RH website is tweaked up a bit, I'll hope that many builders will let me put links to their websites and post some postitive comments about their products on the RH website. There is enthusiasm in the air - this is going to be fun! Mike Kone, President - Rene Herse Bicycles Inc. Boulder CO