Ingredients

After a box full of some Red goodies showed up at my house the other day, it's a bit strange to think that the bike I started working on nearly four months ago is almost complete.

I really wanted to do one of those cool pre-build photos with all the components lined up looking spiffy, but with my current schedule this is the best I could do.  

Everything but the wheels and frame!

In just a few days, this is getting taken to be assembled by the pros - yup, that's right, I'm not building this one myself.  I feel like I haven't had enough exposure with modern components to do an adequate job, so I'm getting a professional building and fitting done at a nearby shop.  

I didn't want to jinx anything by taking it out of the box. 

The Thompson seatpost was a gift for another frame that ended up being too big for me, and the bottle cages were gifts from family.  

I used to tell Mohammad of The Old Bike Shop that someday, I would take Mr. Yamaguchi's class - and when I did, I'd call him up and order SRAM Red from him.  He would always laugh and say he'd wait for my call, and I think he was a bit shocked when I stayed true to my word!  

Even though I had to know the components before I made the frame, it took time to collect everything and finally get to this point.  

It's definitely surreal.  And I can't wait to see how it turns out.