What I'm Doing This Year

I'm looking forward to 2006. Under the chinese zodiac it will be The Year Of The Dog. I don't know what kind of year it will be but what a great title for a movie. By the way, 2005 was under the sign of the Rooster, which is my sign. According to this Chinese zodiac page,

"People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people¡¦s emotions like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave."

That's me to a T.

Back to 2006. I already have a bunch of projects lined up. First, I am building some new bicycles. I got a brand new handcrafted Podium frame from Clark Metcalf at Abici Bicycles. It's unpainted and I'm thinking of painting it metallic copper. I also got a new Alpe D'Huez frame from Greg LeMond Bicycles that, when built, will be my ride until the Abici Podium is finished. Then the LeMond will become Holly's bike. Holly's current bike is a Fuji Professional that I built up a couple of months ago. I also have a Diamond Back downhill bike that I hope to build up sometime this spring. It'll have about 7" of front and 5" of rear travel and disc brakes front & rear.

Also in the project pipeline is a vintage Vespa scooter. I have picked up a 1957 Vespa Allstate with a brand new Stella Fireball motor. The thing is in pieces but fairly complete. I will paint it a seafoam green, which is a good color for that vintage. Think Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the movie Roman Holiday. The scooter will look almost exactly like that one when I get done with it. Those of you who know me know that I used to race motorcycles and was almost killed a few years ago in a nasty, nasty track accident. I am no longer racing but I still love working on mechanical things so this Vespa project is perfect.

If you haven't seen it yet, go rent The 40 Year Old Virgin. I saw it a couple of nights ago with Holly and I think it is the funniest damned movie of the year. Best line: "I hope you have a big trunk, cuz I'm puttin' my bike in it."