I got word from George that he’s putting the shop up for sale. No clue when it will sell, but he said he’s out no later than the end of 2026 due to his wife retiring from teaching at that point. Not real excited about the idea of not just losing a friend and mentor (he says they’re moving to a North Carolina beach), but also a super friendly space to work in and keep my lift, tools, parts, bikes, etc. Chatted with Ted about it, he’s got some ideas on how I can continue to support the MOA with content, but I’m actually kind of alarmed.

Thinking of options. Dave maybe? (I visited his shop, he doesn’t have space and his situation seems tenuous.) Steve? Jinks’ shop in Fredericksburg? I’m trying hard to be glad for George but it’s hard in the moment—feels a lot like when I got laid off by the robber baron CEO back in 2016. I was really counting on his support throughout this year of riding the Airhead and with my luck, he’ll sell the shop on the first of February.

One night last week we got about three inches of wet, heavy, slushy snow—then a coating of about a quarter-inch of ice on top of that. The next evening we got another inch of snow, but it was light and powdery. The first batch of snow we had to scrape to the side of the driveway with shovels, but the second round I cleared away with my backpack leaf blower. We got another snowstorm at the end of the week (Friday, 10 Jan), but it was only a couple of inches. I should have cleared the driveway and the cars on Saturday, but I didn’t have anywhere to go. Clearing it away on Sunday with the leaf blower required a bit of extra time and effort. I need to remember to get gas to create fresh gas/oil mix for the leaf blower’s two-stroke engine.