Scott!

Was out of town for work last week, so today, for the first time, got to ride the new Rainier for my commute. VERY NICE! Between Woodinville and Bellevue I have 7 miles of flat along the Sammamish slough and 9 miles of hills as I climb into Bellevue, one especially steep --- essentially a wall (30th avenue). The geometry of the Rodriguez with the AMAZING fit made this a non-event. I was on top before I had even realized it! To quote a U-2 pilot I used to know years ago when I worked at NASA in Mountain View, CA : "She goes up like a homesick angel." That says it for the Rainier! Beautiful!

My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the whole crew at R & E especially Todd (frame), John(build), Teresa(paint), Dan(QC), Smiley (tips on hand-positions while climbing), and you! (design and fit).

I LIKE THIS BIKE!!! From a 1 mph crawl to airborne speed, it is a pure pleasure to ride! It's right beside me here in my cube at work as I write this email. Looking good!!! (Teresa, that Snow White Pearl front-end is something-else. I don't know how you did it, but it has a jewel-like, opalescent finish that is deep and amazing. It is set off beautifully by the True Blue fade making a kind of blue-sea and white-clouds effect. Whoa! Good job!!)

Mike