May Newsletter

Bike Switzerland Welcome Center is OPEN !
Man, I’ve been waiting for this moment for 8 years ! We’ve finally got our own place ! And it’s not just anyplace, it’s not a compromise. It’s perfect.
The new “Welcome Center” is at 22 Rue des Grottes. This is a great neighborhood. Well, now it’s my favorite neighborhood.
It’s convenient for us because we’re a 3-minute walk from the train station and from our the Hotel Cornavin which we use for our tours.
We’ve got a large storage room in the basement where we keep our gear, clothing and fleet of bikes, which means that we can keep the room upstairs open and clean…better for “welcoming”

So, what is a “Welcome Center” ? Here’s what we do:
• It’s a place to host our guided tour riders and our independent tour riders.
• A spot for where we welcome people renting bikes from us, or those simply coming in for free advice or to say “Hi”
• A shop where people can find the same products that are on sale at our on-line store: http://bikeshopswitzerland.com ; as well as other accessories and items that might be useful for bike travel (power bars, bags, guide books, free bicycle maps of the canton, etcetera)
• A center where english speakers can come for bike-related conferences and classes
• A bike club that hosts free weekly rides
Our hours are still a work-in-progress, but for the moment you can find us here Tuesday-Saturday 11am to 7pm. Of course, we’ll also open the shop on Sunday and Monday by appointment if you’re coming in to pick up a rental.

Anyway, if you’re in Switzerland, you’ve got to stop by. We’re making it a destination for any cycling tourist coming through town, (a little bit like Missoula Montana, but slightly more central

You can see more pictures by clicking here.

Brand New Website !
Yes, lots of BIG news. The new site went up the same weekend as our grand opening. Everything has been redesigned to give the site an updated look and feel.
Click here.
Perhaps best of all, the site is now “non-flash-based”, which means that you can see everything on your iPhone or iPad.  ENJOY

Events Calendar

As mentioned, we’ll be hosting weekly rides (Thursday and Saturday for the moment). As well as conferences and workshops.
You can find out more about these events by going to the “Events” page of our website.
Click here.

We’ve got a basic repair workshop scheduled for Tuesday. Other upcoming events in May include:
• How and where to buy a good used bike (and not get ripped off)
• Choosing a MTB (things to consider before buying)
• Basics of road cycling (posture, maintenance, handling, shifting, nutrition)
• How to watch professional cycling (understanding the sport, strategy, teams, history, etcetera)
As of now, all of these events/workshops are free and open to the public. All are in English unless otherwise stated.
Our shop is also open to YOU if you would like to use it to host a cycling related event and/or workshop.

NOT too late

We’ve still got spaces on most of our rides this summer. Keep these rides in mind:

Tour de Suisse: June 13 – June 18
Jura Tour: June 22 – July 3
Challenge Tour: July 10 – July 20
Lite Tour One: August 10 – August 21 (Full / Closed)
Lite Tour Two: September 7 – September 18

Write to john@bikeswitzerland.com for more information, or check details at http://www.bikeswitzerland.com

I hope to see you soon !!
JOHN

April Newsletter

Tour de Suisse: It’s “Official”

Switzerland’s premier professional cycling event, “The Tour de Suisse” is partnering with Bike Switzerland this June to give cycling fans something new and original.

Some quick highlights here:

Ride the same roads as the pros just hours before they do !(Be prepared to be cheered on by those lining the road !)

Watch the time trials in Gossau from the VIP stands whilst drinking wine and enjoying the tour’s gourmet buffet.

See the pros and their trainers up close at their stands as they warm up for the time trials.

Watch the huffing and puffing of a mountain finish on the next-to-last stage of the race.

Special pre-arranged meetings with key TDS organizers to better understand the race.

Shots on the podium, BMC bicycles, BBQs, beer halls, train rides…we’re packing it all in.

This video is much more descriptive than all of my bullet points ! This is the first and only official “Fan Tour” for the TDS. Be part of history ! Only 8 spaces left.

Bike Switzerland Grand Opening April 27 and 28

Our new store will open its doors at 10am and stay open until 8pm on April 27 and April 28.
Come in for a glass of wine ! Learn about our tours. See our new clothing line. Find out about upcoming cycling events sponsored by our shop.
We realize that most of you reading this are not in Geneva
But if you are anywhere near the shop that weekend, I hope you can come in and check us out.
.

New Lite Tour Date in September

We started the year with only one Lite Tour and managed to fill that date quite early.
Many people have requested that we add a second date and so we have: September 7 – 17th.
Because of late planning, not all hotels will be able to give us full occupancy and so spaces are limited. Best get on board soon !

New Look for Bikeshopswitzerland.com

We’ve remodeled our clothing website and added a few new products. You can see all the changes by clicking here.

Unfortunately, we have not had the time to retool the photos of the new clothing and so those items are not on line yet. We’ll send you an email when they are.
It will be early next week.

Jura Tour: What’s it all about ?

This is the second year that we’ll be doing the Jura Tour. Michael Sillitch will be leading the tour again this year.
This is Bike Switzerland’s only road bike tour and it’s also our toughest tour. Still, if you’re a regular rider, you’ve probably got what it takes.
If in doubt, take a look at the video and then send me an email and we’ll talk about it.

Finally…

My apologies for taking so long to get this newsletter out to you. We’re doing so many different things this year that I hardly find the time to promote those very projects. I’m hoping the dust will settle once the shop opens.

Until then !

JOHN

Work for Bike Switzerland

Most of our staff from last year are returning. However, we’re always open to new collaborators.
We’re therefore considering applications for the following positions:

Bicycle Guide

Van Driver

To find out more information about these positions, follow this link.

Newsletter February 2012

Bike Switzerland Shop Preparation…when’s the party ?

I’m not entirely sure, but of course you’re invited. We signed the lease on February 1st and so the windows at 22 Rue des Grottes are all ours ! At the moment, however, there’s not much to see.
I’m working with a architect here in Zurich to come up with a design concept that is original, yet within budget. At the moment, we’re taking all of our inspiration from IKEA. Still, I think you’ll be surprised.
This is NOT going to be a bike shop. I like to call it “Bike Switzerland Welcome Center”. Yes, we’ll have our clothing for sale, and the kind of basic accessories that all bicycle tourists need, but we won’t be doing repairs or selling bikes. The shop will be to welcome our riders and other cycling tourists coming through town…so maps, a coffee machine, comfortable chairs and a video monitor or two to make sure that we don’t miss any of the Tour de France.

Be Our Fashion Consultant

We’ve been working on new jersey designs since October. Of course, we think they look great, but they’re our babies and so we’re a bit biased. We need to know what YOU think .
So, we’ve put together a 5-minute survey which will take you through all of our new products. You’re asked to comment on the design and the price point.
We’d really appreciate your help on this since it will help us to decide how many of each product to make. Maybe there are some products that we won’t make at all !
If you’ve got five minutes, just click on this link and take the survey. We’ll then give you a discount code to use so that you can buy some of the products at a reduced price this spring. Just follow this link to take the survey.

New Lite Tour Date

We only put one Lite Tour date on the calendar this year, and it’s already full ! (not quite: two spaces left) So, since it’s only February, we’ve decided to add a second date to the schedule.
We’re not sure of the exact dates, but the tour will begin sometime between August 25th and September 10th. Check our trip dates page next week to see the date.

See you in Seattle?

We’re going to have a booth at the Seattle Bike Expo on March 10th and 11th. I won’t be there personally, but we’ll 6 or 7 of our former riders have volunteered to Bike Switzerland surrogates.
There will be over 250 booths, food, entertainment, etcetera. So, if you’re in the area and it’s too cold to bike (which may be the case), then stop in for a visit. Find more information here.

Podcast Library

Meanwhile, we’re still busy making the Bike Switzerland podcasts. We’ve just put up a new one about our Challenge Tour. Check it out below.

You can find all of our podcasts on our youtube page. Just click here.

Or look for us in iTunes podcast directory.

January 2012 Newsletter

Our NEW permanent location! Bike Switzerland has finally found a permanent home. After years of wandering from shop to shop, we have finally signed a lease at a perfect location. Starting in March or April of 2012, you can find us at 22 Rue des Grottes. It’s perfect because: • We’re only a three-minute walk from the train station. • We’ll have a large storage area in our basement for our fleet of bicycles • Lots of space and light to show off our tours, clothing and services. • Great restaurants and bars RIGHT NEXT DOOR! We’re not moved in yet, so no signs up, but here are a few pictures so that you can get a feeling for the place. Anyway, I’m very excited, and I’m sure the new space will help to make 2012 our best year yet. We’ll be having an open-house/party sometime in March or April, so stay tuned to our Facebook page for that announcement. Bike Switzerland 2012 Internship Are you a good mechanic ? Would you like to spend the summer putting those skills to use in Switzerland ? We’re looking for a young person, (21 years old to 31 years old) to help us out at the shop this summer. Responsibilities include: • Cleaning and servicing our fleet of BMC bicycles • Greeting customers, explaining/presenting our products • Helping out with as an assistant guide on various tour dates Ideally our intern will be available from May through September and speak some French, (not a requirement, but it does help). In exchange for the experience, Bike Switzerland will provide a cost-of-living stipend, housing and lots of perks. To find out more and/or apply for the position, please write to: john@bikeswitzerland.com Please send your resume which mentions work experience related to the responsibilities listed above, as well as a recent photo and your availability. Meanwhile, you can see a video of Jeremy Kalmus (our last intern) talking about his experience below.

Canary Islands: February 11- 18th OK, there is still time to get on board for this trip. Again, six days of hard-core cycling on new Cannondales in sunny spain. The price is 1,499 Euros which includes everything except the flight. If you can find a cheap flight to London, Barcelona or Madrid, then you’ll just have to spend a few hundred Euros more to find a flight to the island of Grand Canary, (airport code LPA). Once there, we’ll take care of everything else. I’ll gladly help you sort out the details. Just drop me a line: john@bikeswitzerland.com They’re here… Our winter jerseys are here are ready to be shipped. We’ve weren’t sure how popular they were going to be, so we’ve only made 50 of the Classic design and 50 of the tradition design. They are one-of-a-kind, toasty warm and Italian made, so get them while there is still a nip in the air. Include the code “CAP” and I’ll throw in a free Bike Switzerland rain cap, (while supplies last). Click here to buy!

Newsletters/ December 2011

Reserve now to keep 2011 prices

Just a reminder that prices will be going up slightly on January 1st.  So, in order to lock in 2011 prices, you just need to get in a 600 chf deposit (per rider) to us. You can do this through the website, or simply write to us at info@bikeswitzerland.com and we’ll send you a payment link.

Watch Bike Switzerland “television”

Well, not exactly…but close.  We’re developing a series of podcasts all about our tours, our gear and cycling in Switzerland.  You can watch these podcasts as they come out on our blog, or you can check them out on our Youtube channel.
It now even possible to subscribe to the podcast automatically through Itunes, so that the you have the episodes on your phone as they come out.

So, if you do use Itunes, just follow this link

I’m working on the assumption that people want to feel “connected”  to Bike Switzerland in some way before taking a trip, renting a bike or even just buying a jersey. I think the podcasts will do this.  You’ll see me and all the other Bike Switzerland folks behind the scenes and then feel like you know us by the time you get here.

Finally, we really need you to REVIEW the podcast on Itunes. This will help us because Itunes will give us a better placement as we receive more comments. So, please take a moment to do that. If you do, then list your name in the comments section below in this newsletter and we’ll send you 10 chf to spend at our shop.

Bike Switzerland

Mr. Bicycle Touring Pro on our Challenge Tour !

Darren Alff has created a life for himself that revolves around bicycle touring: he’s got a website where he gives practical advice on planning tours, choosing gear and making it happen. If you’re thinking about doing a self-guided tour, then you need to check out: www.bicycletouringpro.com

Darren’s next project is to create a documentary on cycling which he’s going to try to get distributed by a studio. He’ll be looking at BMX parks in Iceland, Police on Bikes in Montreal, Bike Rental programs in London and he’ll also be looking at the experience of a professional bicycle tour with: Bike Switzerland.

Darren will be travelling with us from July 10th to July 20th on the Challenge tour to experience it all with ourriders. So, come if you come on the Challenge tour this year, make sure you get your hair cut and bring a nice shirt because you might make it on HBO or the Discovery Channel.

Where in the world

This is a project that we’ve been working on for awhile. We though it would be fun to see a graphic distribution of all Bike Switzerland riders who have done a tour with us. So, we’ve got a new page on the website where you can see the names, pictures and geographical location of our pastriders. Just click here.

You’ll also see the tours the rider did and the years in which the tours were done

If you’ve guided tour with us and do not see yourself on the map, then let us know ! We’ve certainly overlooked some people. Conversely, if you see yourself, but don’t want your information on the site, let us know and we’ll take it down.
(Or maybe you just want us to change your picture ?)

Tour de Suisse: It’s On !

We’ve already got our minimum number of riders, and so this trip is a “GO”. The bulk of this year’s Tour de Suisse race is going to take place within 100 km or so of Zurich and so we’re developing a 5-night tour in which all of our rides will branch out from Rapperswil.

We’re working on updating the information on the site and should have it up very, very, soon. In the meantime, you can check out thisrecent blog post for more information.

Remember: this is Inaugural TDS tour ! You’ll be riding the same roads as the pros on our brand new BMC road bikes. You’ll be drinking hot cocoa as they whiz by and then we’ll follow (hopelessly) follow them as they make their way to the finish. If you’ve got the legs for it, then best get on board.

Newsletter / October 2011

Special Price on guided tours until December 1st

Anyone signing up for a guided tour before December 1st will receive 300 chf off any guided tour in 2012.

This means that you’ll have to put down your 600 chf deposit through our website (or bank transfer) before this date and we’ll deduct 300 chf from your final price.

Keep in mind that we’re only doing one of each of our tours in 2012, so spaces are tight.

New Clothing for 2011….in the works

We’ve hired a crew of designers to put together even more new offerings for 2011.

We’re still not sure which ones will make the final cut, but here are a few of my favorite at the moment

These are not your ordinary “custom” jerseys. Most clubs, teams and companies simply have their designs printed on a standard jersey offered by the manufacturer.

Our jerseys, however, are designed stitch for stitch this year. This means that we’re able to add lots of cool details:

♦ Ventilated side panels,

♦ Side pockets

♦ Colored piping at the seams

♦ Lasered cut cuffs and waist for perfect fit

I’m going to Italy next month to film some of the manufacturing process so that you see just what we’re doing.

We’re also working with several other manufacturers to introduce a line of Bike Switzerland helmets and gloves.

Oh, and ladies…we’re also going to get you some regular (non-bib) cycling shorts this year

New “Podcasts” and iPad/iphone compatible websites

Podcasts: We’re going to do our best to put out bi-weekly “podcasts”. You’ll be able to view them in a variety of ways: on our blog, on our youtube channel , and you’ll be able to download them through itunes and play them on your iphone and/or iPad devices. The podcasts will cover everything related to our tours, our crew and cycling in Switzerland. Our first podcast was released just yesterday. Here it is:

Ipad/Iphone compatible sites: Because our websites were designed using “Flash” technology, our cool animated pages don’t show up on your iphones or ipads. So, we’re in the process of re-doing our websites in HTML5.

This means you’ll be able to surf our sites on your devices and enjoy a bunch of new features. The Bike Switzerland Rentals site should be done by November 1st and our new www.bikeswitzerland.com site by the end of the year !

Bike For Sale

Wow…we sold our bikes fast ! About 60 bikes in just three weeks. We hope everyone is happy, (no complaints so far).

Anyway, at one moment, I thought we were going to run out of bikes and so I took everything off our webshop. As it turns out, however, we do have a few models left.

We currently have one of each listed below:

2010 Alpen Challenge (used):

590 chf + TVA (Retail price: 1,500 chf) / Sizes: 15 inch, 19 inch

2009 Alpen Challenge (used):

490 chf + TVA (Retail price: 1990 chf) / Sizes: 15 inch, 17 inch

2011 Street Racer (used):

1090 chf + TVA (Retail price: 1990 chf)/ Sizes: XL

2011 Street Racer (New):

1,490 chf + TVA (Retail price: 1990 chf)/  Sizes: Small and Large

2011 Street Racer ULTEGRA (new):

1,890 + TVA (Retail price: 2,490) / Sizes: XL

Stay tuned to upcoming blog posts for news about:

♦ Latest news on our tour of Gran Canaria
♦ Latest news on our Tour de Suisse tours
♦ New Internship positions with us for the Spring and Summer
♦ Our final choice for our 2012 bikes

In the meantime, don’t hesitate if you have any questions…about anything.

Bike Switzerland News /August 2011

Bike Switzerland 2012 Dates Don’t sit on the bench in 2012! Jura Tour: June 22 – July 3 Challenge Tour: July 10 – July 20 Lite Tour: August 10 – August 21 Why only three dates? We had five tour dates this year and a couple of those tours had low numbers. We have therefore decided to decrease the number of tours that we do in hopes of filling these tours and maximizing our resources. As the Swiss franc has reached kind-of-crazy heights, we’ll be keeping our 2011 prices. In fact, sign up before November 1st and we’ll give you a 300 chf reduction on a guided tour. Sign up for an independent tour by November 1st and we’ll give you 200 chf off the price. Canary Islands 2012 Dates We’ve also come up with a new date for our tour of Grand Canaria: Date: February 11 – 18 Price: 1,499 Euros (double room) This will be our third tour of Grand Canaria. Many of you know Majorca or other Spanish islands in the Mediterranean. But keep in mind that Grand Canaria is much further south: more than 1,300 kilometers from the Spanish mainland! It’s the only place “in Europe” where you can systematically swim in January/February. So bring your swimsuit and leave your bike at home. We’ll make sure that you get a triple-chain ring and a nice tan. Find more about our tour here.

New Clothing prices We’re always looking for new models One bright spot. That rocketing Franc means that the Bike Switzerland clothing brand is more affordable. Although our designers, distribution and headquarters are here in Switzerland. The actual manufacturing takes place in Italy and so our costs have gone down quite a bit this year. We have therefore reduced the prices of all Bike Switzerland brand clothing by around 12%. Follow this link to our store. Youtube This year we have outfitted our guides with a Sony Camera, a sony video camera, a GoPro unit and a Macbook. On every tour the guides have been uploading their pictures and film and then our secretary Emily knits it all together to create a film that we post on Youtube and Facebook. This means that family and friends don’t have to wait for a postcard or even the random email to have pictures and news. They can just tune in to our regular Youtube uploads. You can check that out here.

New Shop in Geneva: Doors open

Although having a physical location is great for Bike Switzerland is great, there is one big disadvantage: the monthly rent !

The operation, however, has grown a lot over the last couple of years and so we’ve made the leap…no choice really.

We’re getting calls every day for rentals and we now have too much stock to keep things as they were. So, as of March 15^th, we’ve been at 27 Rue Grand-pré in Geneva, just a 7-minute walk from the train station.

We’re sharing the storefront with “Sold” sports. Our collaboration means that we’ll be able to help walk-in customers with rentals and trip planning.

We’re also planning to increase our “Bike Switzerland” clothing line and the space will allow us to display and distribute to other shops more efficiently.

We’re planning to celebrate our collaboration sometime in June with a keg party ! Stay tuned for details on that.

New 2012 Trips Planned

This is the first year that I’ve had the time and resources to take Bike Switzerland in different directions. We’ve entered into partnerships with a few well-known events here in Switzerland:

The Cyclotour du Léman: a one-day event the end of May in which 2,500 amateur riders push themselves on a timed 180 km ride around Lake Geneva. www.cyclotour.ch

The Gruyère Cycling Tour: another one-day event usually in August. It’s a UCI-sponsored “Gran Fondo” like course in which participants of all ages can simply enjoy the ride or , if they finish in the top 10% of their age category, earn the right to compete in the UCI’s “United World Cycling Tour” final, (to be held in Belgium this year).

http://www.gruyere-cycling-tour.ch/en/home

Bike Switzerland will be at both events this year to promote our clothing line products. However, in 2012 we will be working closely with the event coordinators so that foreign riders coming to these events will be able to enjoy 2 or 3 days of more relaxed cycling leading up to each of these large events.

We think that these two new tours will be especially interesting to road cyclists who may not have time for our longer tours. If you’re a serious cyclist looking to have 3 to 4 days of hard cycling in Switzerland next summer, keep these new tours in mind.

Our 2011 Tours…get on board, there is room.

We’ve still got spaces on the following tours:

Challenge Tour: June 22 to July 2^nd (6 spaces left)

Lite Tour: July 8 to July 19^th (7 spaces left)

Lite Tour: August 12 to August 23 ( 8 spaces left)

Jura Loop: Sept 2 to September 13 (7 spaces left)

Sign up before the end of the month, and we’ll give you a complete Bike Switzerland kit for free if you mention this offer.

Staff Updates

• Congratulations to Jeremy Kalmus, our new Bike Switzerland intern. Originally from New Orleans, Jeremy will be coming to Geneva by way of University of the Redlands (California) and will begin work on June 15^th.

• Chris White “The Professor” has found full-time employment with a local bike shop and so won’t be leading tours for us this summer. However, he’ll almost certainly join us for a day of riding as his schedule allows.

• Thanks to all for your congratulations on the new baby. He’s doing great and we’ve already got his first bike on order. See below.

  
  

  Hoping to see you this summer.

  JOHN

  
  

Tags: Sold Sports Geneva, Cyclotour Leman, Gruyère cycling tour

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February 2011

Bike Switzerland’s “Tour de Suisse” tour !

For years, people have been asking us to organize a trip around professional cycling’s annual Tour de Suisse . Afterall, there are many tour companies that offer similar tours following the Tour de France. Still, it’s a big project and I wanted to make sure that we had the right bikes, guides and approach. I’m now confident that we’ve got all those stars alligned:

• We’ve just purchased a new fleet of BMC road bikes.
• Bike Switzerland’s own Chris White is taking care of our logistics and riding every kilometer of the tour before it starts, finding the sweet lookout stops and cozy overnights.
• We’re planning to work closely with BMC so that we see the tour up close: having a chance to talk with their support team and riders before taking a tour of their new Impec bike factory in Grenchen at the tour’s end.

Our tour dates are from June 10 to the 15th and the routes and details can be found on the landing page of the website under “Tour de Suisse”.

Bike Switzerland’s new Geneva Headquarters:

Starting on March 15th, Bike Switzerland will be sharing space with “Sold Sports”  at 27 Rue du Grand Pré in Geneva.

“Sold” is only a 10 minute walk from the train station, and their very friendly and unpretentious staff will always be there to give us a hand in case things get too busy.

You’ll also be able to find all of our Bike Switzerland clothing on sale at Sold.

Sold Sports in Geneva

Special Swiss Franc Exchange Rate for February:

The Swiss economy is doing better than most at the moment and this means a strong Swiss Franc. One US Dollar is currently worth 95 Swiss cents.

So, in an effort to speed up registrations and to make things more interesting for you, all sign ups from now until February 28th can benefit from our special exchange.

We’ll give you our tours for the price listed in Swiss francs, but allow you to pay in dollars at an equal one to one exchange !

So, if a tour costs 3,000 Chf, it will also cost 3,000 USD if you register in February !

Just come on the site, pay your deposit in Swiss francs with your credit card, and we’ll allow you to pay the rest in dollars. Our only condition is that you pay by bank transfer rather than credit card so that we can avoid fees. If the Swiss franc falls, you’re always welcome to pay in Swiss francs.

New Bike Switzerland Clothing, coming your way

New Bike Switzerland Clothing Line

Our “Swiss Classic” collection did so well last year, that we’ve decided to take our clothing line to a new level and create a brand 100% “Bike Switzerland”.

Most everyone will agree, that the world’s top cycling gear in terms of quality and design comes from Italy. So, last month I boarded a train from Zurich to the Venuto region of Italy and visited with several clothing manufacturers who specialize in cycling clothing. These are the same companies that manufacture for the top brands that you know by name.

I’m sure you’re going to love the result, and our new clothing line will go into “pre-sale” mode sometime at the end of February. Stay tuned because we’ve got some great new cycling kits coming your way. As always, you can find our clothing at www.bikeshopswitzerland.com

Website improvements:

We’re continuing to make improvements and updates to our websites. A few new things to look for:

Google Translation: We realize that it’s not perfect, but now everyone can get the “gist” of our website in almost any language imaginable with our “Translate Buttons” at the top of each page.

Staff Page: You’ll have problems finding a more experienced or diverse staff. Or a better looking bunch of boys. Should you doubt, take a look at our ALL NEW staff page at this link.

Honeymoon Tours: Do you know anyone cyclists getting married this Spring or Summer ? We’ve been doing tours for honeymooners for a few years, but have now decided to “package” them. We’ll create a unique “Wedding Registry” page, so that guests will be able to contribute to something a bit more interesting than a toaster or linen. Check out the concept here.

…and finally.

Irina and I had a baby ! Yep, we just brought home little Alexander Dennison Klemme today and he and the mom are having a well-deserved respite from those needle wielding nurses. Thanks for your well wishes !

JOHN