..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
good grief charlie brown, not again?
as we rode sturdily along uiskentuie strand yesterday lunchtime, the true nature of what feels like a straight road made itself perfectly plain as we neared the hill at black rock. the road actually follows the contour described by loch indaal, the sea loch that almost slices islay in two. the three miles between its northern shore and the southern tip of loch gruinart, are all that stand between transforming islay into two separate entities. according to common lore, this was the case thousands of years in the past, the most blatant evidence for which is the substantial raised beaches overlooking the road itself.
however, the road's curved nature inevitably means that any tailwind that exists at the start of the ride, will have transformed to a headwind by the end. and vice versa.
when there's a southerly wind blowing, as is the case at present, riding the strand features variable crosswinds, the strength of which can sometimes make for some very interesting angles as we attempt to avoid being blown off the road. and that very fact effectively makes a mockery, in my opinion, of the current trend for so-called aero bikes, with their flattened downtubes and deep rimmed wheels which frequently act as sails in the face of atlantic crosswinds.
in the bike shed lies a pair of campagnolo bora wto carbon wheels, a set that augmented the ritchey logic for a season and a half, and very nice they were too. however, since i have no way of accurately predicting the direction or strength of a sunday morning wind, it was often hit or miss as to whether the boras helped or hindered my bike ride. however, following one weekend where the prevailing crosswinds made life very difficult and often threatened to take me out altogether, i removed the boras in favour of a normal pair of wheels, and have now settled on the oft mentioned handbuilt pair from condor cycles.
as i have reiterated to the point of boredom, the hebrides is not the best of locations to ride aero.
that fact, however, seems not to deter the major cycle marques from continually bombarding us with aero, as if it were simply a bandwagon on which to jump. in point of fact, that may very well be the case, though i'd be slightly reticent to be quoted on that point. i have previously been advised that deep rimmed carbon wheels really only come into their own at speeds between 30 - 35kph, speeds that i can only attain downhill with a following wind. and that goes for the rest of the peloton with which i ride. yet, we have apparently now enetered the era of the hyperbike, bringing us neatly back to bianchi's recently released oltre.
i am well aware that i have bored you to tears about this machine on several previous occasions, but the latest revelation has invoked the spirit of monty python; an opportunity surely not to be missed?
of course, we have already learned that the two air-intakes sited each side of the head tube are outwith the approval of the uci, and thus not legal in sanctioned competition. these 'air deflectors' reputedly reduce drag on the frame while amplifying the purported aerodynamic prpoerties of the one-piece handlebar, a construction which features a hole in the centre. according to bianchi, the vortex-generating cavity "...creates low-pressure vortices in the same area and reduces the air pressure hitting the athlete's legs, so less power is needed to generate more speed."
notwithstanding that this hyperbole has been called into question by aerodynamicists, let's agree for a moment that it does precisely what it says on the tin. yet only last night, i watched a gcn video which purported to feature the 'latest tech' from this year's rouleur live show at truman's brewery in london, during which the presenter queried just where, on that handlebar, a rider would affix a bracket to hold the inevitable gps unit or power meter? the reply, from bianchi engineers, revealed the existence of a bespoke bracket featuring an expandable wedge which could be easily fitted into the aerodynamic hole under discussion. for those slow on the uptake, this would seem to entail said 'vortex generating cavity' being well and truly blocked from undertaking the very drag reducing properties for which it was engineered in the first place.
so now bianchi are in possession of a much-vaunted 'hyperbike' that can only be made uci legal on removal of the head tube deflectors, and on which pretty much every pro rider is going to fit said bespoke bracket to carry their gps unit or power meter, effectively removing the two main talking points engendered by the bike's existence. though there are low-cost versions of the bicycle available, the pros are likely to be aboard the £13,250 edition which is no longer able to provide two of the much promoted aerodynamic benefits.
the phrase, 'shooting oneself in the foot' springs to mind.
monday 7 november 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................print is not dead
i mentioned recently that, despite having purchased a superb handbuilt wheelset from london's condor cycles, i do actually possess the ability to build a decent pair of wheels myself. sadly, leaning heavily on the creative's standard excuse of being naturally untidy, the interior of thewashingmachinepost bike shed is so disorderly, that it probably took condor's wheelbuilder less time to complete my wheels than it would take me just to find the necessary tools, spokes and nipples to build my own. add to that, the fact that it is several years since i last laced a wheel, it seemed far more pragmatic to leave the job to an expert.
and i have also paid lip service to the very reason why i make no attempt to undertake framebuilding (aside from the financial outlay). in truth, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to braze and solder a lugged steel frame of my very own, along the downtube of which i could label thewashingmachinepost in its original velo font from house industries. yet this is a pipe dream that is highly unlikely ever to come to pass.
i have therefore contented myself with acquiring a basic level of mechanical ability; if i can't build wheels at the moment, i can sure as heck true them when ncecessary. i can fit new chains with ease, replace headset and bottom bracket bearings without creating too much of a mess in the process and i can swear at a professional level if ever again faced with a pair of tubeless tyres. but there's still that innate hankering to be a tad more creative and actually make something velocipedinally related.
if only i knew what.
though i have a set of thread taps, doohickies that can remove boy scouts from horses' hooves, a suprisingly large collection of small files and a set of screwdrivers that i assume were intended for bicycle use, though i can't remember ever having used them for that particular purpose. it's hard not to recognise that those are all tools, but tools that hardly seem likely to help create the next big thing in bicycle design. however, there may be the very solution staring me (and by implication, you) in the face...
3d printing.
it's an area of technology that i originally feared was financially out of my reach, hardly altered by my original google search for such devices. the formlabs form 3+, described as a 'basic package' would have lightened my struggling bank balance to the tune of £3,189 excluding vat. bear in mind, that's only the printer, a machine that would subsequently require some form of substrate in order to actually print something even remotely useful. a few more investigations taught me that, though formlabs' software is free to download, i would need to possess (and understand) my own cad/cam software package to design my world-beating widget in the first place, before exporting to the formlabs programme to create a suitable file for their not inexpensive printer.
there is a wide range of cad software available, beginning at remarkably amenable prices, and leading up to the professional level solidworks pro at £1292.40. the disappointment quotient rose considerably on discovering the latter price was simply the price of a quarterly subscription. thankfully the alternatives all seemed to land at under £200, though i'm now wondering how efficacious they might be for less than a sixth of the price of the solidworks software?
the good news is also that there are 3d printers available from as little as £140, illustrations of which demonstrate that these are perhaps more akin to the level of product i'm likely to come up with in the first place. in case he's reading, i'd advise filippo ganna that i'm someways distant from printing an entire pinarello track bike, but if he'd like to call back in a decade, i might be able to better supply his requirements.
yet, despite all the above, i harbour a sneaking suspicion that i've gone into this not only with my eyes shut, but possibly the wrong way round. it is generally recognised that systems such as this begin with a lightbulb of an idea, before figuring out the best or most economic means of production. for though i now know that i could probably design, print and extensively test my very own bar end plugs (for example), i haven't actually designed (or even thought of designing) any bar end plugs in the first place. or, to put not too fine a point on it, anything else, for that matter.
oddly enough, there is a moral to this story, tenuous though it may seem. i have recently come across one or two individuals who have begun training initiatives, well in advance of the usual new year resolutions that encourage spending on gym memberships that subsequently lie unfulfilled. in the past, i have reviewed more than a few training manuals, all of which have advised that a successful training programme (for any sport), relies heavily on having an attainable goal at the outset. simply to train for the sheer heck of it rarely brings satisfaction unless the trainee has something to train for. if you are deficient in the art of climbing, there's little point in concentrating on exercises that improve your sprinting prowess.
since we are now in what might reasonably be termed the off season, and bearing in mind the maxim that next summer's victories are surely won in the winter months, many will now be settling into a winter training schedule. if that's you, now would be a good time to figure out if you've set yourself a goal and have a training programme that will point in that direction.
you will also understand, hopefully, that this monologue isn't autobiographical.
sunday 6 november 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................a misunderstanding
though i'd prefer not to be drawn on political matters, principally because i am ill-equipped so to do, i think it would be safe to recount that former prime minister, david cameron, holds at least some degree of responsibility for the mess in which the country currently finds itself. it was cameron who stated that, should he fail to receive the assurances he required from the european union, he would have no alternative but to put the option of leaving the eu to a public vote. and this, despite having allegedly achieved the result he went to brussels to get.
this, in my humble opinion, was an abrogation of responsibility. surely one of the more important reasons for voting any political party or politician into power, is that we expect them to work on our behalf, with our best interests at heart? conducting an ill-advised referendum, even if cameron was sure it was a vote likely to go his way, seems like monopoly's 'get out of jail free' card. the result and repercussions of that referendum are now an unfortunate part of british history, led by a man in whom many of the country's voters had placed their trust.
but, of course, cameron played his 'get out of jail free' card, and deserted the voters who had put him in the very position that had allowed him to ask the referendum question in the first place. sadly, those who followed seemed grossly unqualified to sort out the mess that mr cameron had created, and we are now paying (literally) the penalty for his incompetence.
should you wish to pursue a career as an architect, for example, you must resign yourself to seven years of study in order to qualify. similarly if you wish to join the nhs as a doctor. lawyers and accountants must also qualify before they are allowed to practise, yet it seems anyone, including a former columnist for the daily telegraph, can become a senior politician, based predominantly on strategic public relations campaigns. i know i'm not the only one to think it odd that politics can be left to the machinations of individuals who were never under any requirement to study and graduate in politics. you'd imagine that so doing would be the minimum demanded of those who wish to receive the public vote.
and then we have british cycling, who have recently seen their ceo step down after little more than a year in the position. ostensibly, this has been as a result of his accession to sponsorship from one of the worlds largest purveyors of fossil fuels, at a time when many national institutes are severing their ties with such sponsorships. it seems hard to believe that, for a man (brian facer), described by british cycling's chairman, frank slevin as "a passionate cyclist", he could have read the situation so badly. but then being a chief executive officer of any modern day organisation, seems not to demand any specific interest or grasp of a functional body's principal raison d'etre.
mr facer joined british cycling from rugby union team, london irish, prior to which, he was the commercial director of northampton saints rugby team. and while it is hardly unknown for an individual to profess an interest in more than one sport, it would be nice to think that the installed head of the country's national cycling organisation would have demonstrated some history within the sport, confirming to the membership, if nothing else, that he was at least au fait with the sentiments held by his new 'subjects'. i'd imagine if he'd put the shell deal to a british cycling members' referendum, the answer might have kept him in his relatively recently acquired position.
though his departure has not been specifically linked to the sponsorship deal with shell, it seems highly coincidental. thus, in the manner of david cameron, he has made an arrangement that turned out to be largely unwelcome, but rather than see it through, or attempt to remedy the situation to a favourable result, he has bailed out and left that to others. it may be that he was asked to leave by the rest of the board in order to nullify any further bad publicity, but either way, the end result is the same.
i am, fortunately, not quite naive enough not to realise that many can be qualified for a position of ceo, without having demonstrated any particular affinity for the principal activity of the business or orgnaisation. we need only return to the world of politics to note that this week's home secretary can easily become next week's minister for trade and industry, and the following week's chancellor of the exchequer, despite having demonstrated no specific prowess for any of the above. thus, a ceo of asda (for example), is hardly barred from accepting the same title with british aerospace or scottish power renewables despite there being nothing in common between any of the above.
but when it comes to organisations such as british cycling, where there is not a product range that can be sold for a profit, but a membership keen to see a leadership that aligns with their own collective train of thought, would it not be more pertinent to appoint someone like chris hoy, jason kenny or brian smith (to name but a few)?
just a thought.
saturday 5 november 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................correct, in a round about sort of way
i have regularly had cause for second thoughts when the opportunity arises to agree with the ruminations of a fellow member of the cycling media. it has occurred to me that so doing smacks of not-so-hidden collusion; as if by doing so, we are indulging in subterfuge to change the minds and opinions of those to whom we think we are preaching. in other words, we're right, you're wrong, but let's try not to make that too obvious. however, every now and again, it seems worthwhile taking sides and doing so publicly.
in the latest issue of cyclist magazine, editor pete muir, in what i can only describe as an opinionated editorial, has attempted to make the case for round tubes on bicycles, rather than the frequently cuboid cross-sections that have infiltrated in the name of aerodynamics. in pursuit of the latter, bicycle technologists, presumably aided and abetted by our old friend, computational fluid dynamics, have flattened and widened the majority of bicycle tubes. and as an aside, it is surely somewhat tendentious to continue referring to the component parts of the double-diamond frame as tubes, when, in carbon fibre language they are anything but?
the flattening of tube shapes (let's continue to hold with the conventioal description) is curated in order to present the oncoming airflow with as narrow a profile as possible. however, as we all well know (particularly in the hebrides), airflow (or wind, as we like to call it) doesn't always arrive from the front, and a long, flat downtube has the potential to act as a sail. two steps forward, two steps back.
mr muir has at least had the good grace to admit that he is no engineer (me neither) and thus contacted someone who knows more about tubing than the majority of us.
if you want to discover more about the truth about real tubing versus the carbon fibre equivalent, i suggest you acquire a copy of cyclist magazine and turn to page 28, stopping off at page 22 en-route to place pete's article in an educated perspective.
in the late 1980s, early nineties, yorkshire-based pace cycles were the poster boy for square aluminium tubing, which, they contended, was inherently superior to the essentially small diameter steel tubing employed by their competitors, drawn directly from contemporary road bike tubing; pretty much all that was available at the time. their current carbon full suspension model does feature a slightly rounded, but essentially square profiled frame, however, their steel framed hardtails are very definitely round, so perhaps the square thing was more of a marketing gimmick. mind you, i doubt there's much demand for aerodynamics in the offroad world, so who can tell?
yet, while i can't speak for mr muir, the majority of my favourable disposition towards round tubing is curated by my inherent luddite nature and possibly enhanced (i like to think) aesthetic sensibility. but if flattened, squarish tubing is the pinnacle of aerodynamic thought, how come boeing and airbus seem not to have noticed? though many a stealth oriented fighter jet has sported flattened panels and the odd square cross-section, those obliquely shaped panels are there more to avoid radar detection than any promised velocity enhancement. many are totally reliant on computers to keep them flying, making thousands of corrections every second to prevent the aircraft falling from the sky.
we only have us.
when it comes right down to it, the continual search for the ultimate aerodynamic bicycle profile is geared (pardon the pun) towards one section of velocipedinal society: the professional racer. if we cast an askance look towards ordinary commuter bikes on the shop floors of halfords and evans cycles, few, if any, sport anything other than round tubes. because the majority of us fare no better on the world's roads aboard square tubing than we do sat upon round tubed machinery. having consulted my own expert in the field several years ago, it seems likely that many of today's carbon frames look that way because they can, not necessarily because they have to.
though beauty is allegedly in the eye of the beholder, i would contend that, while carbon shapes have a tendency to date as quickly as automobile designs, a round-tubed steel frame, with seatstays that actually meet a horizontal top tube, encapsulates the ideal described by the word 'timeless'.
go on. tell me i'm wrong.
friday 4 november 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................colour coded
many, many years ago, an american colnago group offered a series of colnago master framesets (if memory serves correctly) with one-off, bespoke paint jobs. the only one i can recall featured a white frame with large and variously coloured dots, part of an artistic exercise, the purpose of which i simply cannot recall. bicycle manufacturers, just like car manufacturers, like to vary the colour schemes from one year to the next, though the emergence of particular trends might point to there being at least some manner of collaboration behind the scenes. we can probably all remember the days of clear matt varnished carbon frames from considerably more than a single marque.
the colour angle is, of course, not restricted to bicycle manfacturers. several of the world's cycle clothing purveyors are guilty of pursuing a similar trend; if you've nothing new to show this year, then offer it in a different colour. i would be surprised if so doing actually results in sales to folks who owned last year's model, but i wouldn't discount it entirely. take colnago, for instance. on the latest of their 'c' range, the c68, the website offers five available colours, though i believe that particular model allows a certain degree of customisation, including that of colour.
like many marques that sponsor the world tour, they have produced pink, yellow, polka dot and green frames throughout their career to match whichever rider happens to have hold of the matching jersey. and it is not at all uncommon for world tour bikes to have either custom paint for individual riders, or team colours, as in the iconic mapei colnago. some of these are subsequently added to the range, either as part of every day availability, or limited editions, such as the pogacar v3r following his second successive tour de france victory.
but even then, there's plenty of scope to offer limited editions, the latest of which was released by cambiago at the beginning of this week. designed by the renowned (i confess, i'd never heard of him before) milan-based japanese designer, motoki yoshio, this particular model, a colourfully decorated c68 has been issued under the heading of respect, harmony and colour. according to colnago, the project was designed to pay tribute to the tradition and uniqueness of the c series, though to be honest, that reads more like a press release from one of islay's distilleries, than a premier bicycle brand. and although such matters are entirely subjective, i for one, don't find the end result particularly appealing, especially if i'd paid the better part of £15,000.
to be perfectly blunt, it's a c68 with a non-standard, metallic colour scheme.
to quote directly from the release, "The design of the Motoki Yoshio x Colnago color scheme started with analysing the geometry of the frame and the intersections of the parts from which it is composed. The different colors are arranged along the lines of the junctions." born in japan in 1975, yoshio moved to italy in 1997. he graduated in transportation design in 2001 and acquired a master's degree in transportation-interface design from madrid in spain. after joining pininfarina in 2002, he was seconded to motorola in miami before going freelance in milan in 2001. but with no disrespect to his abilities, qualifications and experience, even the accompanying video shows him colouring in a pencil drawing with a felt pen. given colnago's embracing of modern technology, i had envisioned the man using photoshop or illustrator to create accurate colourways ready to present to the paintshop.
however, the part that has me a tad confused is the provenance; colnago have placed great emphasis on this particular model's italian lineage, equipped as it is with campagnolo's super-record eps, a set of bora ultra wto 45 wheels, selle italia carbon saddle, and pirelli race tyres. again, no disrespect intended to mr yoshio, but despite his milan residence, he's not italian. and italy is renowned as a country featuring an excess of superb, italian born designers.
you see my point?
thursday 3 november 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................making bikes better
wheelbuilding was, and possibly still is, regarded as a black art, encompassing the sort of skills that can only be passed down from master to pupil, much like the introduction to the vintage tv series, kung fu. and having garnered such skill, it was imperative that you kept it to yourself, as if anyone might actually comprehend such arcane secrets describing lacing patterns, spoke lengths, wheel tension and the inscrutable art of truing. were this an easy set of tasks to master, the story went, why would wheel truing stands resemble mediaeval intruments of torture?
however, in a forlorn attempt to impress the locality with my technical skills, in the early 1990s, i purchased a steel bicycle frame, the necessary componentry, and a pile of spokes, a couple of rims and a pair of hubs, intent on producing a bicycle on which i could ride the principality, displaying my avowedly hard-won skills. as it transpired, the wheels were far easier to build (successfully, i might add), than my opening paragraph would tend to suggest.
and, sad to relate, nobody was even remotely impressed.
framebuilding itself was never on the cards. aside from a distinct lack of the necessary materials and building equipment, i could see myself standing back to admire the handiwork sitting on the workstand, and putting the gas flame through the hose and blowing myself to kingdom come. the very thought of that scenario actually taking place convinced me to stick to wheel-building.
though it would be some years before i was introduced to the fastidiousness and enthusiasm of sugar wheelworks' jude gerace, i opted to attempt the furthering of my new-found skills by acquiring relevant reading and instruction material: the art of wheelbuilding by gerd schraner, and the bicycle wheel by the legendary, jobst brandt. as it transpired, the former was of immense and immediate practical use, the latter almost impenetrable. but for all that i could become lost in the incomprehension of a single paragraph, its relevance to the art of kung fu made it all the more attractive.
though i'd be fibbing if i said i could lay my hands on my copy of the book (or any other bicycle related book i own), it still remains an essential item if only for its iconic status. and if nothing else, it demonstrated that its author was several levels of intellect above the average when it came to discussing velocipedinal matters.
brandt passed away in 2015 at the age of 80, a californian cyclist and engineer whose intellect effectively changed the bicycle very much for the better. he was a strong influence on californian bike builder, tom ritchey and doubtless influenced ritchey's insouciance when it comes to riding road bikes on gravel, several years before the 'invention' of the mountain bike. in addition his influence can be found behind the bike computer (he founded avocet) and road tyres bereft of any definable tread pattern. yet, i'm almost certain that, were i to announce his name in the sunday peloton, i would receive little response other than quizzical stares.
in an attempt to redress the balance in jobst's favour, noted cycling journalist and writer, max leonard, publisher of rough-stuff fellowship archive and rough stuff cycling in the alps has begun a kickstarter campaign to raise sufficient funds and publish jobst brandt ride bike!, paying tribute to a man of whom too many are unaware. contributing interviewees include tom ritchey, gary fisher, joe breeze, along with family members.
leonard's book plans to tell the story of jobst brandt's life and bike rides, from high school in switzerland to his years working for porsche (where amongst other things, he designed race-car suspension), before his return to california's bay area in the sixties, "...where he became involved in world-changing ideas in technology, engineering and cycling." a pledge of £30 will get you a softcover edition of the book when it delivers in june 2023. at the time of writing, kickstarter showed almost half of the total raised, with 28 days still to go.
if, like many, you've never heard of jobst brandt, then you really, really need to subscribe to this publication. having read both of max leonard's preveious isola press publications, you'll be kicking yourselves for years if you miss out. yes, it's cycling history, no it doesn't concern electric gearsets or hydraulic disc brakes, but in the days when those and factory built wheels reign unchallenged, if you count yourself as a real cyclist, you need this book.
wednesday 2 november 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
as we head inexorably towards winter, i can say with tried and tested justification, that my choice of wheelset, built by london's condor cycles, has been one of the better decisions i've made this past year. for those who missed the original review, the wheels comprise 32-hole front and rear campagnolo record hubs, married to mavic open pro eyeletted rims via double-butted, stainless steel spokes, built three-cross. what i have tenuously named 'proper wheels', the very style that was in vogue when i began road cycling many years ago.
shod with challenge 700x27c strada clinchers, i make no claims to their being amongst the most aerodynamic i have ridden, nor indeed, the lightest available, but to be honest, for my purposes, and those of many others, those are hardly demands that were uppermost in my mind when commissioning the build. and they are remarkably comfortable. over the years, i have ridden wheelsets from lightweight, campagnolo, roval and others, featuring wind-tunnel tested aerodynamics and minimal weight, the very specifics to which it is expected we should all aspire, almost without question.
yet, here i am questioning it.
though i freely admit i was only out for my morning constitutional and nowhere near a bicycle at the time, early friday morning, 28 october, islay airport recorded a wind gust of 100kph, likely the first of many between now and next march. in fact, tomorrow, wednesday 2 november, those speeds will yet again be approached; calmac have already issued warnings and cancellations regarding several sailings. and last sunday's morning ride was afflicted by winds hovering around the 55-60kph mark, conditions that, while not at all unusual, will become our birthright into the foreseeable future.
last winter, the ritchey logic featured campagnolo's 45mm bora wto carbon wheelset, which, in retrospect, was frequently an error of judgment on my part. though i have ridden the wheels in winds in excess of 60kph, more often than not, it was unwarranted and occasionally risky work to do so. though deep carbon rims are de riguer in many quarters of the velocipedinal world, i often wonder whether that is more for aesthetic reasons than those of speed. i am led to believe that the proposed benefits of just such a wheelset are minimal below 60kph, while the number of riders of my acquaint who could sustain such velocities for long enough to find out is dismally small.
and this comes as british made parcours wheels introduce what they claim to be their fastest yet. while i do not dispute their claims, depths of 68.6, 75.7 and 83.6mm have made my toes curl. having been unceremoniously blown across several roads while riding roval 60mm rims, i'm aware that the depths offered by parcours are very unlikely to find a home in the hebrides, and possibly several locations across scotland's west coast.
granted, parcours claim that they have improved crosswind stability over their previous iteration, but i do wonder whether this is simply quantified in the wind-tunnel rather than real-world, uiskentuie strand type riding. when optimising deep carbon wheels for riding in crosswinds, do they subject the wheels to intermittent, unexpected gusts, as opposed to continuous crosswinds which, and i speak from experience, are not the same thing.
the shallowest of the new wheelsets is apparently designed for triathletes, time-triallists or road racers, but probably not any living near me. following the weekend ride, two of the participants who have recently moved here from elsewhere, expressed themselves keen to return home over the festive season with bikes in tow, to demonstrate to their 'homies', how much stronger they have become as cyclists after riding in considerably more onerous conditions.
i'll happily stick with my handbuilt non-aero wheelset. but you already knew that.
tuesday 1 november 2022
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................