What a weekend! (Forgive my incomplete sentences.) Piled into a van with trailer with the Orlando attendees on Thursday--Jonathan Greene, Brent Harrell, first time attendee Diane Blake. Bess David is an honorary Orlando member and she joined us from Houston. We arrived at midnight to find a few hardy souls still partying. Brian Baylis presented me with an early Christmas present--my Baylis frame!! I'm stoked about it. It slept on the pillow next to me for 3 nights, so we are now well acquainted. After a "few" hours of sleep, I was ready for day 1, Friday. We did the usual meet and greet at the Battleground, reacquainting with old friends and making a few new ones. Diane Blake displayed her wonderful high wheeler. She builds them from scratch in Orlando, right down to the bolts and nuts, to replicate an 1885 model. I know she has a Victoria badge on it, but don't know whether that was the 1885 model or not. A saw Jonathan Greene and Brian Baylis ride it and that was fun. Jonathan took 3 laps around the parking lot before he was able to get off! His butt kept sticking on the saddle. Several trips to Cycles DeOro to admire the bikes and meet more people occupied the morning. Karen Rawls twisted our arms to go to Stamey's for Carolina barbeque. The rain finally cleared enough for us to get in a short ride on the wet streets of Greensboro. Over to Dale's house for the lawn party, which is not only a wonderful way to see bikes and friends, but a very gracious hosting by Dale and his wife. I spent time getting acquainted with Dale's Welsh Corgi 'pups'. Paul and Rita Lee brought a case of Masi wine. Over to Anton's restaurant for more food and drink. My friend Ted Miller had arrived from Delaware while we were at the restaurant. And, as usual, the Battleground Inn was a hopping place until well after midnight. I thought I had alcohol poisoning by the time we turned out the lights! Saturday morning a few of us took a ride through the Battlefield instead of the organized rides. Then, off to the Rec Center for the Seminars. A friend, Gary Williams met me at the door for a handshake and then he was off to Hilton Head. I would have liked to have spent more time with him. That was quite a detour for him to take from Vermont just for a handshake and less than five minutes of talk. The theme for the seminars was "French". Mike Barry gave a wonderful talk on derailleurs. I had the opportunity to finally meet Mike and also his lovely wife, Carla(?), who it turns out has a lot in common with my wife. Dave Herlihy, Mike Kone and Jan Heine took us from Da Vinci (although I think Dave gave early credit to a Frenchman instead of a Florentine) to modern development of the bicycle, with emphasis on the French connection. Hilary Stone talked about the French influence of E. Bastide on the English market, with a fascinating piece of detective work showing how one English builder, Granby (?-not sure whether I got that right), copied Bastide's designs. After a short recess, we were off to the evening banquet for more great food and company. John Barron presented the 2005 Mike Richardson Memorial Classic Rendezvous Vintage Bicycle Award to Sheldon Brown. It was my first time to meet Sheldon and it was nice that he could be present to receive this honor. Jeff Groman presented a wonderful film in tribute to the Six Day racers. This was the second iteration of his work I've seen on this subject and it is fascinating. After the banquet, we headed to Cycles DeOro for the Charity Auction. It was another great event and my hat is off to Gianni Pergolizzi for coming up with wonderful entertainment for a great cause. By Sunday morning, I was lucky to be standing given a severe case of sleep deprivation. It was raining, so I passed on the dawn patrol. We packed the van and headed to the Rec Center for the swap and show. My friend Brian Hammill showed up from Murfreesboro TN with a boat load of Gianni Motta and other bicycles/parts for sale. I called my wife for a counseling session to prevent me from buying a beautifully pantographed Motta that he had. I believe in all he had five Motta bikes/frames and about six others. When I left, only the nice Motta and a Peugeot were unsold. The eye candy at Cirque was absolutely mind boggling. Lots of wheeling and dealing took place. I picked up a Derosa and Masi pantographed chainring. I understand the Masi ring was pantographed by listmember Jack Gabus. Jack, if you are offering this service to the list, I think many people would like to hear the details. The awards were all well deserved. I'm sure Dale will announce them this week, but framebuilders Mike Barry, Bruce Gordon, Richard Sachs, and Brian Baylis (via Wayne Bingham's bike) all got awards that I recall. Eddie Albert's pair of Dick Power bikes won Best of Show if I recall correctly. After the traditional group picture, it was time to pack up, say our goodbyes and hit the road. We were wheels up at 3PM and arrived back in Orlando at 3AM, so I'm still running on fumes this morning. I'm sure someone will correct some of my recollections and add to the others. I had a wonderful weekend. I come away from Cirque every year both energized and depressed. I get back to my meager collection of bikes and say, "I'm not worthy". But, I also realize that I'm blessed to have the opportunity to see the bikes and most of all, the people, on a regular basis. I missed some of the regulars, particularly the California contingent and Tom Hayes, but there were many new faces to put with names. The CR list is nice, but nothing beats face-to-face meetings. Thanks again to Dale Brown and Scott Ramsey for setting up the Cirque. As I understand it, next year's event will be in June 2006. It is already on my calender. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL