The Merckx is probably still in Belgium being s-l-o-w-l-y hand-formed from ore by little Belgian bike gnomes. I need to call Keith and bitch at him for putting the whole thing on the credit card _immediately_, when he promised it wouldn't go through until the frame got into the CC (that's _C_onsipracy _C_entral).

Going to do some serious action on the bike thing tonight. CC finally refunded my money October 19 (the money they said they wouldn't take until the bike came in), and the Bike Source place said, "Sure, we got one of those 62 Merckx Max Motorolas. Want it?" Even a couple hundred bucks cheaper. So I am going to do some wheeling and dealing tonight. Woo hoo.

Guess what surprised the heck out of me yesterday. No, really.

[Background: I didn't cancel my CC order because the Callie place didn't really have one sitting in their warehouse. They were just lying.]

I called some random customer-service guy at CC, just for the heck of it. He gave me the standard I'll-get-right-back-to-you line. There was actually a message on the machine when I got home - he said that the Motorola colors were no longer available. Well, sucked to be me.

Then, about six, ol' buddy Keith called and said my frame has come in, do I still want it? I was so shocked I forgot to ask for a free seat to make up for them holding on to my $2900 for a good four months. Oh well. Eddy will be here maybe before Thanksgiving, definitely by the week after. Keith claims that they had to special-order my Eddy, which are so hard to get now that CC will no longer carry them, so this might be the last one they sell.

Snowed some more this morning. Good thing I am getting a new bike. --

He finally arrived last Wednesday, after a mere six months. And you were all worried that the Colorado Conspirator was successfully stringing me along with their little "let me just check on that" song-and-dance.

Eddy is attired in a stunning blue, pearl, and red Team Motorola coat, with matching Dura-Ace accessories. Tubing is his own special Columbus MXL, of course. His down tube is of a large diameter and tastefully ovalized at both ends (in perpendicular directions, naturally) while the seat tube and top tube are ovalized in a more restrained fashion at only one end. The chromed chainstays are flattened to the width of the bottom bracket shell, matching the airfoil shape of the fork blades. His Drop-ins arrived naked (and the front brake was, how shall we say, unattached) but now wear the proper blue cork tape.

All in all, a totally styling road machine. (That's "styling" not "posing" for you Klein watchers out there) And just as I was putting the finishing touches on the bar tape (in the comfort of my living room, if you must know) it started to snow. Some more. I won't be riding until March at this rate. Probably I should get some rollers. But hey, at least Targhee got several feet of new snow this weekend.

later, hah

How's Eddy? Well, he is nice and warm, having been outside a total of once so far. And that was transport to/from a "Welcome, Eddy" party thrown by my biker buddies here. Yes, he did ride inside the car. He is racking up the roller miles, with almost *gosh* 150 by now (since about Xmas). It's hard to roller bunches when if I'm not at work, I'm at class or swimming, or going to Boise. Whine whine whine.