Well, the Cirque is now less than six weeks away. If you haven't made up your mind about attending by now, you're on the verge of being too late. A few important bullets before some more detailed information below:
-=09CURRENT PRICES ARE GOOD THROUGH MAY 5TH ONLY!! THAT'S ONLY NINE DAYS AWAY!! After that, the increased prices will be in effect until the event. Please see the registration page on the Cirque site for more info. As a courtesy, and since the 5th is a Monday, we will extend the deadline for MAIL-IN registration to anything post-marked by May 8th.
-=09AS OF THE LAST "SIGHUPS" UPDATE, WE HAVE 79 PEOPLE SIGNED UP FOR THE BANQUET AND 72 FOR THE SEMINARS. SPACE LIMITS THE BANQUET TO A MAX ATTENDANCE OF 140! That means there are only 61 spaces still available. We may have to cap the Seminars as well, but are still determining just how many people we can fit in safely.
-=09PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL PROVIDES FREE TRANSPORT FROM AND TO DULLES AIRPORT FOR REGISTERING GUESTS. The hours for that service are generous, but still limited. Arrangements for the service must be made directly with the hotel (703-777-9400). Please check with them for time details as well.
-=09THANKS TO ALL THAT RESPONDED TO MY REQUEST ABOUT VERIFYING HOTEL RESERVATIONS AFTER THE HOTEL'S UPGRADING OF THEIR RESERVATION SYSTEM. ALL 80 ROOM RESERVATIONS HAVE BEEN VERIFIED. Will all those that have asked to be, or wish to be, included on a waiting list for a room please contact me to confirm.
-=09DETAILS ABOUT THE $5 GENERAL ADMISSION FEE FOR THE SUNDAY SHOW AND SWAP WERE NOT CLEAR ON THE SIGN-UP SHEET. Some people checked the box and included the $5, some checked the box but did not include the $5, and some did neither. We will sort all that out at the hotel prior to Sunday. Starting Friday at the Opening Reception, MJ will have a list of those who have paid. You can pick up wristbands from her then, or at any time prior to Sunday. In addition, anyone/everyone else can pay the $5 to MJ at that (or any other) time and also get a wristband. Please remember that people that have reserved vendor spaces get attendance (and wristbands) included. Those can also be picked up from MJ beginning at the Friday reception.
SEMINARS There a couple changes to the Saturday Seminars schedule. Due to business conflicts, Hank Folsom (Henry James lugs, etc.) will not be able to attend. He is hoping to reschedule for next year. There will now be a few video presentations, including the Richard Sachs documentary "Imperfection is Perfection".
The Frame Builders Forum looks like its coming together, even though we cannot yet confirm the full panel. The forum will be focused on custom (not general production) bikes, and we will have a number of frames and built bikes to help stimulate questions and discussion. Again, the intent of the forum is to examine build and finish techniques, details, styles, influences, etc., not to discuss relative value, sales trends, etc. If you are bringing a frame or bike that you think might be germane to the discussion, please let me know.
RIDES Thanks to a lot of work by our ride committee, it looks like we will have some very nice ride options plotted out. A group of us rode the proposed longer Saturday ride last week, and it's a beautiful Western Loudoun county route through a couple of small towns and rural farmland, and even passes right by my house (which is about 23 miles from the hotel using this route). The full ride is about 43 miles, with a few fairly hills (not difficult, just enough to keep it interesting). There were two fixed-gear bikes on the ride last week, but I'm glad I was on a geared bike. I hope the length won't discourage people, it's really a nice ride, and there are several stop/rest/re-group opportunities. We will have a modified version of the same route, at about 20 miles, as an alternate option. Another option will be a very easy out-and-back W&OD bike-path route of about 17 miles, with a very nice restaurant at the turn around point in Purcellville, with new tables right next to the bike path. There are several other food options and a bike shop in Purcellville as well.
The fixed-gear ride on Friday will be through the more developed Eastern section of Loudoun county, and is pretty flat but a bit more congested. There are a couple versions of the ride in the works, so I'm not sure of the distance yet, but expect it to be about 22/25 miles.
Comments and/or questions about the rides are welcome.
BANQUET We have confirmed our Keynote speaker for the Banquet, and are very pleased to have Peter Nye as our special guest. For those uninitiated, Peter is the author of six cycling-related books, including "Hearts of Lions \u2013 The History of American Bicycle Racing" and "The Six-Day Bicycle Races" (done in collaboration with Mark Tyson and Cirque alumni Jeff Groman). The final version of the documentary film "The Six-Day Races" will also be shown at some point during the Cirque (but probably not at the Banquet). Peter is still active in the local race and touring scene.
SHOW It looks like we will have about A DOZEN bikes for the show on Sunday. Well, I hope that's not really true, but that's about the number I got from my earlier request to let me know what you were bringing to show. Is everyone really that undecided, or are you all just trying to keep it a secret? I promise not to share the information, but I'd really like to have some idea about what to expect, so that I can do an appropriate show-floor layout. We hope to have the show segmented into the various time-blocks, and I want to allow enough space for the largest blocks. SO, I'M REPEATING MY REQUEST TO PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU INTEND TO BRING AND ENTER IN THE SHOW. This is another reminder that the floor of the show building is stone-dust (fine crushed blue-stone). It is a very level and stable floor, but is not the same as a tile or concrete floor. That's why it is particularly important that you provide stable display stands with your bikes. We strongly discourage the use of the little "J-hook" stands, especially in this environment. --------------- It looks like we will have a number of "newer" builders in attendance this year (particularly as vendors on Sunday) as well as "first-time" Cirque attendees. We are very excited about that, and are encouraged by the participation of new members, and the expansion of our "base" constituency. Please make all our new participants welcome, and help them with tips on how to "survive & thrive" at the Cirque (that was actually one of the questions I received from a newbie).
See you all soon!!!!
Wayne Bingham
Lovettsville Virginia USA
http://www.cirqueducyclisme.com/