Wouldn't you know

We planned in February to go away at this time in April. So now the repair shop is undergoing its busiest April since the beginning of the 21st Century.

We have a couple of good trainees, one in particular with the time and inclination to show up regularly, but it was looking like they'd have to fly solo way too soon.

Fortunately, a former star of the workshop has agreed to make a guest appearance while I'm gone. The shop's alpha couple is also going away next week, so Alpha Male made the plea. So the trainee will be in excellent hands. Guest Star just returned from a year engagement at the illustrious Harris Cyclery. A bike he built there was purchased recently by Grant Petersen of Rivendell. It uses a fascinating two-gear system called retro-direct. Like a bizarre magic trick, pedaling forward gets you one gear and pedaling backward gets you another one.

Guest Star has become like so many area celebrities, spotted by others and seen only briefly by me. He'll be working because I'm not there, so I don't get to work with him. But at least I'll know he's there spreading the good training to the student mechanic.