Last year I bought a Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7 with SRAM AXS eTap drive train. I opted for this version over the pricier Di2 version for several reasons. First, I’m not happy that Shimano has been blocking Hammerhead from being able to support Di2 after being purchased by SRAM. Second, the Di2 version had DT Swiss ARC 1600 wheels which added €1000 to the price. Those wheels are about €1,600 without disc rotors or cassette, so the price difference is justified. I wanted a set of slimmer wheels for riding in the winter, so it worked out.

I figured I would buy a set of DT Swiss wheels for this bike to have a spare set. I also wanted a 10-36T cassette for riding in the mountains instead of taking the stock 10-30T. I started visiting and emailing various bike shops in the area (in a 200km range). So far, I have not heard back from any of them. Not one. I guess local bike shops here don’t need my business or money.

I ordered the wheels from a firm in France, along with the SRAM Paceline disc rotors. I have the cassette from a bike shop in Austria which arrived four days after I ordered it. I have all the ParkTools I need, purchased from a bike shop in London, UK.

From now on, it looks like I’m on my own, which is fine. Being able to maintain my own bikes is a skill I should have. I had always tried to support local bike shops rather than buy on Amazon, but it looks like they are just fine without me.

[u] I heard back from Mehls Bike Shop in Rheindahlen yesterday. The owner apologized for overlooking my email and asked if I still was interested in having the wheels built. I told him I had already ordered all the parts and would build them myself. He kindly offered assistance if I had any problems or questions.

The start of another year. Let’s see if I can accomplish at least one thing on my list this time. My number one goal is to drop more weight. I did okay for 2022, but I only lost about half of what I wanted. Of course, being sick for part of the year wasn’t in the plans or surgery.

The book will have to be put on hold as I need to focus on the B1 certificate in German. I also want to get back up to speed on the current PMBOK guide and refresh my SQL skills and Python and R.

The biggest thing is to get more biking in. With my luck, I will find a job and not have the time. The flip side will be that at least I will have more money.

Let us all hope that the idiots running several countries with large militaries don’t do anything foolish. The thing is, I always bet on stupid. So far, I haven’t been disappointed.