Am I Ready? (Day -4)

Even though it is four days before my travel group meets up in Mobile, I take off two days from now. (I will stay in Boston for a night, fly out of Logan, and arrive in Mobile a day early.) I'm excited, yes, but I also feel that my nerves are a bit taut. What was I thinking that I could do this trip?! As I scurry around packing my gear and cleaning my house, I keep giving myself little pep talks. (It will be fine. Fun even. I prepared well--at least as much as I could. The anticipation is more difficult and nerve-racking than the reality will be. Etc., etc., blah, blah, blah)

So...am I ready? Let's see...

• Do I have the right gear? I think so. I will write a whole separate post about the gear I'm taking with me. I'm in the middle of trying to figure out if the gear I have amassed will all fit in the two bags I've chosen to use for the trip. Final verdict on that is still out.
• Am I healthy enough? My doctor thought I was okay to go when I saw her. She sent me the results of my blood work with a note that said, "Blood work wicked, awesome, good. Have a great time." so I guess that's that.
• Am I physically fit enough? I think I have done all I could do to prepare physically for the trip. I tried to train wisely--pushing myself to improve my strength as much as I could with the amount of time I had, without pushing myself so hard that I risked injury. I have lost a total of 25 pounds since I began training in January, and I am delighted to have less weight to haul over the miles. There are times that I hardly notice the difference because, believe me, I could still stand to lose more weight; in other words, I'm not gaunt or wasting away. (I guess I was in denial about how much weight I had packed on these last few years.) My brother says I look different, though, so I guess those who haven't seen me for awhile might notice the difference. My core and my legs feel a lot stronger. I have spent enough time on a bicycle seat that my butt has "acclimated"; I'm sure fellow cyclists can relate to this. I have ridden enough over these last few months that riding feels like a given. When I'm on a bike, I feel like I can just go and go. I get into a kind of zone where I'm not thinking about every ache and pain or how heavily I'm breathing on the uphills; I just keep pedaling while I think about other things and enjoy the view. If I don't ride for more than a day, I feel like something is missing. Particularly since riding a lot of miles every day for six weeks encourages repetitive-use injuries rather than recovery, I do have some concerns about this aging body handling the demands of the trip (my knees are creakier than they used to be, my hands have some arthritis and don't rebound from the road vibration as well as they used to, and the soreness in my right ankle gets worse if I walk a lot [not so much when riding]), but I think these things are manageable and worth giving the trip my best effort. A few people who know that I have an artificial hip have asked how my hips are doing. Honestly, my hips have felt fine and have not given me any concern throughout my training.
• I have read a number of books about slavery and the Underground Railroad to give myself context for the ride and the historic sites we will see along the way. I will write a separate post about this.
• Have I arranged housesitting and pet care? Check and check. All set. (I have even been working on emptying out the refrigerator so I won't be met by green meanies when I return.) Well...then there's the matter of the extra cat that appears to be living in my yard like s/he has adopted us. I have not done anything about that yet--except to confirm that the cat is not wearing a collar. I have wondered if s/he might have a microchip. (My cats don't have chips, but you never know.)
• I have (hopefully) anticipated every bill that will be due while I am away and prepaid them. 
• I got a hair cut that is a little shorter than usual because I hope it sees me through the whole trip. Had my teeth cleaned and checked for cavities; none. I have my last chiropractic adjustment tomorrow.
• How about connecting transportation? I have a ride to the bus in Portland on Friday. I will take a bus to Boston and ride the T to East Boston (to my sister's place). I have flights to Mobile on Saturday and a reservation for a shuttle to the inn. I have reserved a rental car in Buffalo for May 23 and I have a campground reservation for that night in Ithaca (my old stomping ground--haven't been back there in decades). I haven't figured out the night of May 24 yet. (Turns out most campgrounds want a minimum three-night reservation during Memorial Day weekend, so maybe that means I should treat myself to a motel room.) I have a little time to figure that out.
• I confirmed with the bike store in Mobile that my bike arrived on Monday--earlier than I anticipated. They hadn't opened the box yet, but the box looked fine (had no damage), so I assume that my bike is fine and will be ready for me when I arrive.
• Emotionally? I mostly feel upbeat and excited. I have had to employ a few tricks (like the pep talks) to keep my nerves at bay. Another example: Even though I love maps and normally enjoy pouring over them endlessly, I set aside all of the route maps after studying them one evening--and I haven't looked at them again since. Anticipating the mileage and looking at the ride contours was freaking me out. I decided to protect myself from all that and just study the routes one day at a time once I'm out on the road. Whatever works, right?

I think I'm ready!

Spring Riding

Up until the end of last week, I was riding my fat bike five days a week (in addition to working out at the gym six days a week). Unfortunately, my longest ride was an hour and a half; it stayed consistently cold, and my frozen feet just couldn't tolerate riding longer than that. I didn't ride last weekend due to pouring rain and muddy roads. Finally, this week we have warmer (great road biking) weather! I have shipped my road bike to Mobile, though, so I'm still riding my fat bike. Today I rode 22 miles before I had to stop. What made me stop--my cold feet, my aching butt, my creaking knees? No, no, no. It was my sore, nerve-racked hands. If the snow/sleet/rain tonight and tomorrow keeps me from riding tomorrow, I think I will see if I can install the 29er wheels (narrower than the fat tires, more like mountain-bike tires) on the fat bike, which I hope will allow me to do longer rides next week.

Here are views from my ride today:

This next one is for you, Janet. I think of you and your dad every time I see a contrail.

Going Solo

"Who are you training with?"

That's what a nurse asked me last week when I was at the doctor's office. Simple question. Logical, too, I guess. It took me by surprise, though, since I'm so used to doing things on my own; it never occurred to me that I would/could train in any way but on my own. My answer: "No one. Everyone I know is working. I'm training by myself." She seemed as surprised by my answer as I was by her question.

I am well practiced with pursuing projects and adventures on my own. Of course there are benefits: There is no need to compromise differing dreams, visions, and agendas. Everything happens on my own timetable. There are downsides too, though: All energy, enthusiasm, and get-up-and-go has to come from me. There are times when I wonder how much more I might accomplish if there was some compatible "other" sometimes supplying a spark of enthusiasm to help overcome the struggle against inertia.

Getting Health Certified (Day -24)

Another person who was planning to do what I'm planning might think: "I should see a doctor for a checkup before I put this 57-year-old, overweight, stressed-out, desk-potato body through an intense training program and an 1800-mile bicycle ride."

Not me. My thinking was more like: "Okay, so my blood pressure has gone up a bit these last few years--but it's not dangerously high. I don't take medication for anything. If I pay close attention to my body, I should be fine." I plunged into training without another thought.

Through the Affordable Care Act (thank you, Obama!) I have a new healthcare plan that provides better coverage than I've ever had previously, and it's actually affordable as well. Unfortunately, however, this plan requires referrals for everything. (My previous plan no longer required any referrals.) When I tried to get a referral to see my chiropractor, I was told I couldn't have one unless I saw my primary care physician--since I hadn't seen her in over four years. Thus...I back-doored my way into a pre-trip checkup.

I saw my doctor today. She was enthused about my trip and had no concerns. The visit confirmed that I have, indeed, lost 20 pounds since I began training, and my blood pressure is fine (116/68). They took blood--to test for cholesterol levels, liver functioning, thyroid functioning, etc. I assume the results will be fine. I think I'm certified to go!

Some Days I'm Just a Hack

My brother, who is a runner, says that some days when he runs, it goes well and he feels great. In other words, he feels like a runner. Other days, it's a struggle, and he feels like a hack. Today was my day to feel like a hack. After weeks of riding almost every day and feeling great (even if a bit cold), today I felt all wrong. I did the miles, but it was a grind. I didn't pass any walkers today, so hopefully nobody heard me singing, groaning, and giving myself little pep talks. May tomorrow be a better day!

More Winter Riding

What kind of creature leaves these tracks?

Answer: A person wearing studs on her feet who is walking her fat bike down the driveway and trying not to skid on the treacherous slab of ice that lies hidden under that innocent-looking snow.

When I go out for a ride, I wear my Stabilicers to get down the driveway. Then I take them off and leave them in my trash bin at the bottom of the driveway. I have also been leaving my Moose Mitts in the trash bin, so they're handy in case I need them. I haven't used them yet, which surprises me. I thought, based on what I had read, that I would need them when the temperature was below 32 degrees F. In reality, I have been having more trouble keeping my toes warm than my fingers.

I have been continuing to ride on my road. No more dramatic spills, I'm glad to report. Every day the conditions change. In fact, sometimes the conditions change from one moment to the next throughout a ride. This has been a sobering realization. I'd hate to be stuck out in the middle of the woods on a trail when everything softened up and became unrideable. I had romantic notions of what fat biking would be like before I actually started riding. (For example, check out the photos in this article and this blog.) Now that I have read more about what it takes to create and maintain a fat-bike trail (like this trail system in Wisconsin), I'm realizing how new fat biking is to Maine. I don't think we have a single trail in the state that is created and maintained for this purpose. I'm lucky to live where I live because I can ride pretty much every day.

One great side benefit of all this training: I am enjoying winter! Probably more than I have in a decade or more. (It helps as well that I can stay home and avoid driving during the worst of the snowstorms.)

First Wipeout

It appears there was some kind of turkey convention at the bottom of my driveway this morning.

My ride today, again on my road, was quite different from yesterday's ride. We had received about an inch of snow overnight, so the world was newly white and fresh.

I thought I would be more comfortable on today's ride. After all, it was 22 degrees F--warmer than yesterday. LESSON 1: It's not all about the temperature. I actually felt more cold today. There was no sun and the wind was blowing at 11 mph. During much of my ride, there were big, fat snowflakes falling. Quite pretty.

I have renewed respect for winter athletes. It is really challenging to work this hard when the bitter cold is assaulting your muscles and everything else as well.

When riding on snow, the tires of my bike make such loud squeaky-crunchy sounds that I keep thinking there is traffic approaching from behind me. Today I was taken by surprise when a vehicle passed me. LESSON 2: Just because the bike tires give me false warnings sometimes doesn't mean I can stop paying attention entirely.

I was surprised to discover a couple of spots along the road where my bike unexpectedly fishtailed. LESSON 3: Until tire chains are purchased and used, this is probably the deepest snow my bike and I can handle.

About three miles into my ride, I had my first wipeout. It happened so fast, I went down on my side with the bike--like I was glued to it.

Do you see anything here that is particularly troublesome or concerning--that might cause a wipeout? Exactly. LESSON 4: When headed for a spot at which your bike has fishtailed twice already, it might be wise to avoid riding straight through that spot again. LESSON 5: This experience reaffirms my decision not to ride on regular roads; this wipeout on a regular road would have put my head right under a car. LESSON 6: Any doubts I had about needing a full-face helmet have been laid to rest.

I didn't get hurt in this fall. (Correction: Turns out that I ended up with a large, deep bruise just below the outside of my left knee. It was in such a weird place, though, that it didn't prevent me from continuing to train.) Notice that my first inclination, while still on the ground, was to get up and take pictures! LESSON 7: Falling in the snow is way better than falling on pavement. (This time, there were no bruises or scrapes and no torn clothing.) LESSON 8: Those very wide, straight handlebars serve a good purpose during a fall. They protect the cockpit; it's almost like having a roll bar.

When I stopped riding because of this fall, my glasses immediately fogged over and I had a devil of a time getting them functional again. LESSON 9: Always carry a good glasses-wiping cloth.

I may have just fallen, but check out this great view looking south downriver:

I finished the rest of my ride without incident. Needless to say, I stopped carving out new ground through the snow and stuck to the well-used tracks.

I used the Road Bike app on my phone to record my entire ride again today. I kept the phone in an interior jacket pocket this time, though. When I finished my ride, my phone still had a 65% charge. LESSON 10: Keep the phone protected from the worst of the brutal cold.

Isn't it great when a simple hour-and-a-half workout yields so many educational opportunities?

[Update: The photo below doesn't illustrate it as well as I'd hoped, but it turns out there was a very deep rut buried by snow--right where I had my wipeout. I think a tire either got caught in the rut or fell into it. Needless to say, I've been avoiding this rut ever since.]

Disaster Redeemed

I spent yesterday working on the fat bike brakes. All day. No exaggeration. From mid morning until well into the night. After I had worked for over an hour on the front brakes (back and forth, repeating the same steps over and over and over, every time hoping that time would be the magic one), I gave up, took a short food break, and switched to the rear brakes. In less than ten minutes, I had the rear brakes adjusted just right. Tight enough to have good stopping power, and no drag at all--perfect. This reassured me enough that I switched back to working on the front brakes. I tried everything. I researched online for more tips, I tried creative approaches with shims and washers. Still, I could not get those brakes adjusted right. I ended up leaving them with a little bit of drag. I figured it was better to have a little drag than not enough stopping power. Thankfully this doesn't apply to everything in my life, but there are things that I have such a hard time leaving alone when they are less than perfect!

I have been having trouble identifying places to ride. Not for lack of research or enthusiasm. I have swung by a few snowmobile trailheads near my house, only to be discouraged that the snow there was deep and soft--not packed down by snowmobile traffic. I have looked for other trailheads that remain elusive--some of the maps I have found online are rough approximations. I'm thinking you kind of have to know where some of these trailheads are in order to find them in the wintertime.

I decided that today was going to be my day for a nice, long trail ride. I packed my fat bike on my car using the new bike rack, loaded a bunch of gear in the car, and headed out. (Look how filthy my car is! I had just washed it the day before. Trying to keep it clean this time of year is an endless losing battle.)

My first destination was a mountain biking trail in Augusta. I might have found the trailhead; I did see footprints heading into the woods. There was no place to park, though, that wasn't right next to a fire hydrant, and the snow looked too deep and soft. So, then, I headed to a trail system in Waterville. I definitely found the trailhead and it looked perfect! The snow looked well-packed and there was no problem with parking. I add the fenders to the bike, threw on my helmet and backpack, and took off.

Not so fast! Riding around the parking lot worked great but, once I headed down the trail, I couldn't move! The wheels just spun; they wouldn't grab any traction. Great, just great. I loaded everything back onto/into the car and headed back home. The whole way home I was doing this catastrophizing thing I can do so well. What if I don't find anywhere to ride my fat bike? What if I can't do the workouts I need to do to prepare for my trip? Etc., etc., etc.

When I got home, instead of going in the house, I jumped on the fat bike and rode up and down my road--five round trips. Turns out that, in these conditions (18 degrees F, sunny, 6 mph wind), my road is the perfect place to ride. Packed snow and dirt surface, enough hills to get a workout, no car traffic, pretty views. I ended up riding over ten miles (a little more than an hour). I felt I had had a good workout and, surprisingly, I did not get bored.

Good News:

• If I can't ride on snowmobile trails as much as I had planned, maybe I can ride on remote (quiet) dirt roads. I guess more research is called for. Of course, once the weather warms up and these dirt roads become pea-soup soft, a Plan C will be required.
• It was cold today, but I seemed to have the right clothing on for this ride. I was a little cold when I was heading northeast (into the wind) and a little warm when I was heading southwest (toward the sun). Any colder or windier, and I would need my Moose Mitts to keep my hands warm.
• I love my fenders! They didn't impede my pedaling even once, they protected me and the bike from flying road/snow debris, and the rear one did not slide down the seat tube at all (as some reviews had led me to anticipate).
• The bar mount for my phone gives me easy access to it, but I guess I should research gloves that conduct through the fingertips so I don't have to remove them to operate the phone.
• The app I used to record my ride (Road Bike) worked great--right up until the phone completely died (see Bad News). 
• Not once did I hear the front brakes dragging. In fact, the brakes worked so well that I didn't even think about them until the ride was over.

Bad News:

• During the first four miles or so of my ride, the seat felt comfortable. Then, discomfort took over. Good wake-up moment. I need to get a lot more saddle time in to get adjusted to that discomfort so I don't notice it any more.
• My hands and wrists were the most uncomfortable parts of me on this ride. The hand position on straight handlebars does not feel comfortable after a few miles and there are only so many ways to creatively change positions. I'll have to experiment with gel pads, etc. I will be happy to switch to my road bike and have all those additional hand-placement options.
• The tube to my hydration pack froze up solid. No surprise there! I was wearing the pack mostly to assess whether I would find cycling with water on my back to be comfortable--and it is. I guess the hydration pack won't work very well in this weather, unless I come up with warming strategies for that tube. (Update: My son says there are insulated covers made for those water tubes. Of course there are.)
• Riding around in this kind of cold drains the phone's battery really quickly. I guess during this cold I should carry the phone against me inside my jacket, and maybe not continuously use the trip-recording app. More experimentation is warranted. I probably should explore options for powering the phone (maybe a backup battery for the tour?) and for recording sporadic "moments" along a ride instead of recording the entire ride. 
• I had been planning to take photos during this ride--but the whole phone-dying thing interfered with that idea.

All in all, a good day and a successful ride. Strange way to get to this result. Put the bike on the car and drive around for an hour and a half, and then ride the bike straight out of my driveway.

Lower Body Workout (Day -65)

I'm still working out at a gym six days a week. So far, I haven't been able to get my workouts on any schedule. I just get there when I get there. I guess as long as I'm getting in there and working out, it's all good.

As I mentioned in another post, I begin my workouts with aerobic time on a stationary bike, then move on to weight work on my abs and back, then stretch out. During the weight-lifting part of my daily workouts, I alternate between upper body workouts and lower body workouts. Today was a Lower Body day. That means that I did at least two exercises to work on each of these sets of muscles:
Quadriceps: (ex.: Leg Press, Dumbbell Squats)
Hamstrings: (ex.: Lying Leg Curls, Straight-Leg Deadlifts)
Calves: (ex.: Angled Calf Raises, Standing Calf Raises)
I work each set of muscles in a progressively intensive way--moving my way up through two or three levels of weights until I hit my high/exhaustion point.

Note: My insight for the day (that is not related to my UGRR tour or this post in any way): It is one thing to understand that you are replaceable. It is another thing entirely to be treated like you are disposable.

It's an Upper Body Day

For those of you wondering what I'm doing to get in shape for the UGRR tour, I am happy to say that I've been able to get myself to the gym six days a week since I left my job. That's particularly good since I have had no schedule these last few weeks. Considering myself to be on vacation, no two days have been the same, and I have only done what I feel like doing, when I feel like doing it.

My workouts started out easier than I expected. I'm not sure if I was in better shape than I thought (hard to imagine) or if the excitement of having time to myself carried me through. Week 2 was a bit of slogging agony but, even so, I didn't have trouble getting myself to the gym. At this point, I feel my body beginning to reshape itself; I love feeling my muscles get stronger.

I begin every workout with a ride on one of the various stationary bicycles. I ride 20-25 minutes. Between the warm up and cool down, I move from a low-intensity level up through four or five more difficult levels, changing levels every minute, repeating this progressive pattern three more times during the ride, and culminating with an all-out high-point minute. If you want to know more about this, there is a video online about this 20-Minute Aerobics Solution.

After the aerobic workout, I do two exercises to strengthen my abdominal muscles (ex.: Exercise Ball Crunch, Cable Seated Crunch) and two exercises to strengthen my back (ex.: One Arm Dumbbell Row, Wide Grip Pull Down). Then I spend some time stretching.

Then, I work with weights to strengthen either my upper-body or lower-body muscles. I alternate days, so on a day that I'm shredding (er, strengthening) my upper-body muscles, my lower body is recovering, and vice versa.

Today was an Upper Body day. That means that I did two exercises to work on each of these sets of muscles:
Chest (ex.: Dumbbell Flys, Chest Press)
Shoulders (ex.: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Side Lateral Raise)
Triceps (ex.: Dumbbell Extension, Close Grip Tricep Push Down)
Biceps (ex.: Dumbbell Biceps Curl, Bicep Curl Machine)
I work each set of muscles in a progressively intensive way--moving my way up through two or three levels of weights until I hit my high/exhaustion point.

I did not have to do a lot of research before beginning this program because I had done a lot of research and experimenting about 15 years ago. When I set foot in the gym (and even though the gym owner confirmed that the last time I had stepped through their door was ten years ago), it all came back to me. Those of you who know me will be surprised to learn that I have not yet recorded any of my workouts (is it really legitimate if no spreadsheet is involved?)...but I may yet.

More Inspirational Bits

I am in the middle of reading Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously by Bill McKibben. Originally published in 2000, I received a reprinted edition as a Christmas gift last month. The book documents the year that McKibben devoted to training as a competitive cross-country skier. When I read in the first chapter McKibben saying that "by year's end I hoped I'd have more sense of what life lived through the body felt like," I thought "Me too!" I may not be training as strenuously for a year, and I don't intend to race competitively, but I do want to shift the one-sided way I've been living (all mental work) significantly in the other direction. I am mostly reading the book for inspiration and entertainment, but I am paying attention to what he shares about appropriate heart rates and exertion levels for maximum endurance benefit. [Weird side note: Did you know that "in the brain of a committed cross-country skier, wax occupies the amount of space allotted to sex in a normal mind. Perhaps sex and money both." Admittedly, McKibben is funny, and when he says "normal mind" he should probably say "normal man's mind." Even so, I have found my mind coming back to and pondering this notion a number of times.]

I re-read an article in Outside magazine today about the historic 1963 American expedition to summit Everest. The article describes how Willi Unsoeld, famous mountaineer and professor of philosophy at Evergreen State College in Washington (until he was killed in an avalanche on Mount Rainier in 1979) "embraced risk as essential for growth." He said: "It has to be real enough that it can kill you." I agree with the part about risk being essential for growth. I disagree, though, with the notion that the risk needs to have the potential to kill you in order for it to produce growth. While for a very small number of people this may be true, I think there is so much variability in our minds, personalities, and psyches that most of us simply need to find a level of risk that means we have stepped out of our comfort zones, out of our ingrained habits. I don't think we have to literally risk our very lives in order to make significant change, discover new aspects of ourselves, or embrace life with more gusto.

I am also reading The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. I think if I understand how habits work and how they may be changed, I will be more successful at transforming my exercise and eating habits and, ultimately, my life.

Maybe this is a good time to explain why I chose BikeHome as the title of my blog. Although my son did argue passionately that I should bicycle from Niagara Falls to my home in Maine when the UGRR tour ends, I do not intend to bike to my home (over the Green Mountains and White Mountains) after the trip. After all, I have to get home and build a house. (See my blog about the house building.) Even so, I do consider this bike tour to be a vital part of my journey home to myself.

My Search for a Fat Bike

As I prepare for the extended UGRR tour, I face the challenge of figuring out how to ride a lot of miles. After all, it's winter here in Maine. Not great road-riding to be had just now. Riding narrow country roads without shoulders is risky enough in good weather; it's definitely life-threatening this time of year. I have been riding a variety of stationary bikes in the gym every day...but I don't think that's enough. I need to be riding a real bike. My solution? A fat bike.

A fat bike has very wide tires--almost 4 inches wide--with very low pressure. Fat bikes can be ridden over packed snow and sand and on mountain-biking trails. Seems ideal to me. I'd be able to ride on the extensive network of snowmobile trails in my area--in the peaceful woods (especially on the weekdays when snowmobiles are scarce), protected from the worst of the biting wind, and away from road traffic.

This is an idea that has not been as easy to execute as I'd imagined. Looking online (check out fat-bike.com), it appears that fat bikes are becoming all the rage. You wouldn't know it by checking out the inventories at Maine bicycle shops, however. Most shops don't mention fat bikes at all on their web sites. I did find two shops fairly close to me that stock a few fat bikes, but I am clearly not impressing them as a serious potential buyer. (Okay, I get that I look like an aging matron, when the typical fat-bike rider is an adrenaline-junkie man, but at $1,700 and up for these things, you'd think any potential buyer would be welcome.)

After some rigamarole, I did get to test ride a fat bike today. I rode the only model this particular shop had in my size (I do need a smaller bike than the average man does)--a titanium-frame custom model that costs $3,700! Anyway, what a blast! Most of our snow is gone at the moment (so much rain the last few days!), but I managed to ride through snow and mud, over grass and sticks and roots, uphill and down. The experience is quite a contrast with road riding, and definitely a great workout. Now I really cannot wait to own one of my own.

But must I spend $3,700 to own my own fat bike? I'm picturing this bike being my everything-off-road bike, which makes me think that I will beat on it pretty hard and use it in all kinds of disgusting weather and conditions. I don't want to own a model that is so precious that I'm afraid to use it, or cry every time I ding it on a rock.

There is another shop that is supposedly working on setting up a test ride for me--on a lower-end model fat bike that costs $1,700 (the only one they have in my size)--but they did not call today as promised.

In the meantime, I have scoured the Internet. I happened upon a brand new fat bike model that is in production now and will start to ship soon. I contacted the company to ensure they really will be shipping soon (so I don't completely miss my training window)--and they assure me that production is actually ahead of schedule, and the bikes should start shipping on January 20. It's a beauty--the Minnesota 2.0. I have compared specs and I think it is better than the $1,700 model I can get locally--but its introductory price is only $900. I like the fact that its top tube is a few centimeters shorter than the usual top tube. (My road bike has a short top tube, which saves me from the neck and back pain I used to experience when riding.) In addition to all of its other positive points, it also ships with an extra wheel set--so I could use it with fat-bike tires, or swap them out for narrower, more mountain-bike-like tires. This might be the model for me! Stay tuned.