Cycle Caledon Challenge

Saturday, July 28 2012, I participated in a charity ride called 'Cycle Caledon Challenge'.

Chris, my son in law, informed me about this fully supported bicycle ride. I decided to participate as a training ride and a test of my readiness to tour around Lake Ontario.


 The information provided mentioned that the route challenge cyclists with the rolling terrain of the Hills and Headwaters of the region. Great! Is this not what I need to practise for the hills (gremlins) around Oswego, NY? So, I registered to do the 100 km distance, which consists of 2 loops; loop 1, 40 km, and loop 2, 60 km. This distance is the maximum distance that I plan to do for a one day ride on my fully loaded bike. Doing this on a non loaded bike should be much easier, right?

Chris, Shadow (my bike) and I, at a rest stop just before embarking on the second loop.

One of the many beautiful landscapes along the way.









Hills? No kidding!!!
Look at that hill beyond the trees,.... close to 'heaven'..... I just climbed that one.

 More hills in front. They just kept appearing one after the other.

After climbing uphill, going downhill was fun. I did over 60 km per hour going down this relatively short but steep hill.

I started the ride before 8:30 AM and I completed after 2:00 PM. I took many breaks because of the never ending hills. Along the way I did not overtake a single cyclist, but many passes me with ease. Many of them are half my age and rode a road bike that is half the weight of my touring bike. I did not feel bad.

I had one small incident. An insect, most likely a wasp, stung me just under my right eye. How did it fly and get behind my sunglasses? I stopped and applied polysporin spray right away. It happened near the end of my ride. Looked like I had a botox treatment under my right eye.....-:).

This ride was a good training and test for me. I had cycled each and every hill, sometimes at 6 km or less per hour using Shadow's 'granny' gear. It was tough and very challenging. The weather was perfect and the event was well organized by SUL (Shut Up Leg) bicycle club, all kudos to Ben and his team of volunteers. See you guys next year........

My home made camping stove

As I was researching on what camping stove to purchase for my upcoming bicycle tour around Lake Ontario, I came across articles and you-tube presentations by back-packers about the stove that they made and use for their hiking adventures. I was impressed, so I decided to build my own stove as well.

There are basically three types of fuel used for the home made stove. They are, wood, gel (sterno) and alcohol. After some experiments with the different fuels, I decided to go with alcohol. The alcohol I use is Methyl Hydrate 99% pure and sold at Canadian Tire as Gas-line antifreeze. With this fuel a cup of water boils in 3 minutes and burns very clean. Wood as fuel is not reliable, hard to find dry twigs after a rainy day, and it creates lots of smoke. Using gel as fuel, a cup of water boils in 12 minutes, way too long for me.

My cooking system consists of an alcohol stove and a cooking stand, a pot and a pan.
Unlike the many fancy home made stove I saw on you-tube, my  alcohol stove is just an empty small "Clover Leaf Flaked Tuna" can. I am able to do this because I am using a separate cooking stand.

The cooking stand has several functions; besides holding the pot or pan during cooking it also provides wind protection and flame containment, which are very important when you are cooking outdoors. The stand could be used with wood, gel or alcohol as fuel. It is made from a large empty can of bamboo shoots. The can was cut and drilled to provide air flow, access and rack support; its diameter was also re-sized to match the size of the pot. The rack to support the pot or pan is made of clothes hanger wire.

The system is put together to be simple and functional, complementing the pot and pan set (Primus 1L) that I already have.

The pot stand is a large empty bamboo shoot container, cut and holes drilled and diameter re-sized to be just slightly larger than the Primus pot.

Here is how they look together in operation. Coat hanger wires are cut to size and put through holes to act as racks to support the pot. They are removed when the system is stored. A cup of water boils in less than 3 minutes using 15 ml of fuel.

Here is how they are stored. The stove, base, cups (2), spoon, fork, knife etc goes inside the pot. The pan goes on top of the pot as a cover. The pot and pan handles are folded in. Then the pot stand goes over the whole thing and they all fit inside the Primus storage bag.

Total material cost.........$0.00.
I had a great time experimenting and putting them together. Retirement time well spend.......-:)

Bicycle touring around lake Ontario

Yes, that is what I will do in the month of September 2012.
Why?
Because: 1. It is a new challenge for me.
               2. To celebrate my 70th year on this planet.
               3. To view the world from a bicycle point of view.
               4. To learn about myself and become a better person, I hope -:).
               5. To meet and learn from strangers.
               6. To inspire others to take on new challenges and realize their dreams.

I have about 8 months to prepare, lots of time. Unsupported bicycle touring requires a lot of preparation and planning. I have to prepare myself physically, make sure that I can cycle 100 km a day for a few days in a row. Plan and study the route. Gather the proper equipments and supplies. Learn to do emergency repairs on the bike.

At my age the most important and difficult area, is preparing myself physically and mentally for this challenge. I have started to do a more discipline and rigorous exercise program. At the end of each month I will update this blog and report on my progress, on what I have done and what I still have to do to be ready for this tour.

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Today is Monday January the 30th. It is time to write a little report on what I have done this month to get ready for the tour. For the first two weeks I exercised regularly. I had one of my bicycle mounted on a trainer stand and rode it every other day, increasing the time and cadence gradually. At the end of the second week I was able to ride for 45 minutes and maintain a cadence between 85 to 90. I was pleased with my progress. Unfortunately the last two weeks I did not ride at all. Theresia and I drove to Clearwater Florida last Sunday, January 15. We are planning to return to Brampton before February the 12th. The training went out the window; but I did some research and study the route. I will keep on doing this and get myself familiar with the route as well as possible. My family do not like that I go by myself  on this tour, so I have invited others to join me on this tour or part of the tour. I received two maybe replies. So some progress were made this month.

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Wednesday, February 29, another month is about to pass. We came back to Brampton on Saturday, February the 11th and were welcomed with windy, cold and snowy weather,......yuch! I am back with my exercise program, back where I was a month ago. Continue studying the route whenever time permits. Bought a new tent and sleeping bag; they were on sale at MEC. Also bought a new saddle for my training bike. It is comfortable, no more numbness in the groin area after 45 minutes of hard pedaling. I may use this one on my tour.

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Finally I am able to cycle outdoors. On Sunday, March 18, I flew back to Clearwater, Florida and for the first time this year, that day, I rode my bicycle outdoors on the road to go shopping for groceries. It felt great.

My preparation for the tour is now more focus and steady. From 45 minutes on the saddle indoors to 2 hours pedalling outdoors on the road. I will keep increasing the time and distance. Progress is slow but steady, and I am having fun.

The first 5 days of the tour is also roughly planned. I decided to go counter clockwise around the lake and stay overnight in Grimsby, Queenston, Fourmiles Creek Sate Park, Lakeside Beach State Park and Rochester. On the 6^th day I will rest in Rochester; go to mass and visit the Kodak museum.

 Training ride around Professor's Lake Brampton, late April.








Time flies,.........today is Monday April 30th. the last day of the month. Four months left to prepare. I got back to Brampton, Ontario on April 19. I was pleased with the progress I made with my training in Florida; with the help of the fantastic weather I managed to put in 550 km ride during my five weeks stay and gradually increased the riding distance to a 45 km ride. Unfortunately only yesterday, Sunday April 29, was I able to ride my bike outdoors since my return to Brampton. Have to push myself harder next month, that is starting tomorrow.......-:)
Bought a pair of bicycle shorts, used them on yesterdays ride. My bottom was happy after  2 hours on the saddle, no more irritations.
I was shopping for a small camp stove, but decided to make my own alcohol and or "sterno" gel stove. Lots of info about them on the internet. I will let you know next month how it goes. Am I having fun or what.......?

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 My touring bike, Shadow, is a 2010 MEC Shadowlands.








The month of May was a good month; I rode 615 km total with one 66 km single ride. In the beginning I rode around Professor's Lake in Brampton, later on I went North West of Brampton towards the city of Glenn Williams. I am getting stronger. I feel that by the end of this month, June, I will be ready physically to do the tour. So I may slow down a little on my physical training but I would try to do some mini tour, that is an all day cycling carrying some loads or a one night camping trip with a fully loaded bike to test my gears.

I have made my own camping cooking system and had a great time researching and testing them; see my separate blog about it. I appreciate your comments. 


Although still a little bit too early, with 3 months to go, I had contacted two members of the warmshowers.org and received positive replies. I am looking forward to meet and learn from people who loves bicycle touring.


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Today is Saturday, June 30th; the last day of the month. I did not do much cycling this month, just enough to maintain my current fitness level. Neither did I do some mini tour or camping to check out my gears and practice cycling fully loaded as planned. Must do those in July and pick up my physical training again; only 2 months to D day!
I have moved mounting my bicycle pump from below the bottom frame to the left chain stay frame. This allows me to mount another water bottle. By using the lower screw mount and one tie wrap, I manage to mount a water bottle holder on the bottom side of the lower frame, which could just hold a 500 ml water bottle without hitting the front fender.

Another water bottle holder is mounted at the handle bar level using two tie wraps. This one holds another 500 ml water bottle which I have modified to fit a small hose that functions like an adjustable straw.

I can pull out the 60 cm hose and use it as a straw while cycling, and push it back into the water bottle to store it. The hose is a left over from our old aquarium system.

With this set up I now have 3 water bottles on the bicycle, two 500 ml and one 750 ml. The 500 ml water bottles are filled with drinking water and the 750 ml with Gatorade drink of my own mixture from Gatorade powder.


From the pictures you can see that I have a handle bar bag and a frame bag on the bicycle. The handle bar bag will carry maps, passport, wallet with id's, credit card and cash, cell phones, camera, energy bars, shower caps and a bit of toilet paper. The frame bag will carry first aid kit and sun screen.




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Tuesday July 31 2012. Only 33 days to D day!!! 
I tried to cycle more in July. During the work week I cycled two or three days around the neighbourhood for about one and a half hour each time. On the week ends, Saturday or Sunday, I cycled North of Brampton for three to four hours. Sometimes Julian and Kristian accompanied me for the week end rides.

Cycling to Badlands, Cheltenham with Julian and Kristian. It is always nice to have company.

Shadow on the Trans Canada Trail, Caledon East.


Last Saturday, July 28, I participated a fully supported ride for charity, called 'Cycle Caledon challenge'. It was a 100 km ride through the rolling hills of the Niagara escarpment North of Brampton.

As D day quickly approaches, I feel that I have not prepared adequately for my tour. I have to do at least one mini bicycle tour with all my gears.


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Tomorrow is D day, Monday September 3 2012. It is the day I will start my solo unsupported bicycle tour around lake Ontario. I have planned and prepared as well as I could. Many things goes through my mind. Many feelings aroused. I do a lot of self reflections. This tour is truly a self discovery process.
This will also be my last entry in this journal. I will write a follow up journal upon my return from the tour. Keep me in your prayers, so that I may stay safe, healthy and have some fun. Thanks for reading my journals. Bye.

Exploring my neighbourhood in Clearwater Florida - part 1

After cleaning and oiling my bicycle, I went out for a ride exploring my neighbourhood in Clearwater Florida. It was Sunday afternoon about 4:00 PM, November 20 2011. My first visit was Bayview Park, about 1 km South West of our condo. This park is small and very isolated. I had visited this park a couple times last winter and had never seen anybody using the two sheltered picnic areas that are available in this park.

This park extends to the Tampa bay on the South side. Perhaps a good quiet place for fishing. At the end near the shore I saw some signs of a homeless person spending the night here, a shopping cart filled with clothing and a mattress on the ground. Yeah a good place for stealth camping, very secluded -:)

I cycled around a little bit. I wanted to see if there was anything new or any changes made since my visit last winter; I saw an orange tree full with miniature oranges. It was a beautiful sight among those huge 'scary' trees with hanging Spanish moss; the fruits looked like flowers. I did not know what kind of orange it was. I picked one orange with a couple leaves attached. See if Theresia could tell me what type it is.

 Next door to Bayview park, on South Bayview Avenue is Our Lady of Divine Providence House of Prayer. It is a place for retreat and prayers, it has a chapel and a beautiful garden with stations of the cross statues along the garden path.

Theresia and I had visited this place and attended mass in the chapel several times. We loved to walk around the garden. It has a pond with water fountain and it is bordered on the south side by Tampa bay.  This place is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. I walked around, took some pictures and settled down on one of the benches facing the pond. The background noise, a combination of traffic noise coming from nearby Bayside bridge and the sound of the water fountain, gave me a weird 'urban tranquility' feeling. It was very peaceful, a good place to pray and meditate.

I wished I had a book with me. I could just sit here and read my book for an hour or so. Perhaps I should get that Nook e-reader I have been contemplating to buy and carry it with me on my bike all the time.

A young family with three small children came by. The kids chased each other along the garden path. I got up and head for my bike; it was time to move on. I rode East on Gulf to Bay Blvd, my destination was the local beach. I had to cross underneath McMullen Booth overpass. It was hard to believe that there was no crossing light on the South side of this busy intersection. This is the on and off ramp access to and from Bayside bridge. I had to make six crossings before I reached the other side.
Bayside bridge connects Clearwater with St. Petersburg, while the SR60 causeway connects Cleawater with Tampa, and it is at this intersection the two ends and intersect each other. This is certainly one of the busiest intersection in Clearwater, especially with Tampa international airport at the other end of SR60 causeway and St. Petersburg airport at the other end of Bayside bridge.

The beach is about 1 km East of the Bayside bridge on the South side of SR60 causeway. It is a small beach. It does not have an official name, I call it the local beach. Tourists do not visit this beach. Mostly local people visit this beach. It is the only beach in Pinellas county that I know of, where you can drive and park your car right on the beach, and for free.

On the weekends, this beach is a bit crowded, especially in the months of March and April. Many came with their trucks loaded with water ski-doos. Those ski-doos are very noisy and pollute the air, they disturb our enjoyment of nature. I very much dislike them. There were a few of them in the water, so I made a beehive and headed for the crossing light to cross SR60 causeway. Here I saw a memorial, this was the first time I noticed it. It looked fairly new. It had a pair of shoes on top; I did not know what they signified. The memorial is dedicated to Laura, apparently she was hit by a car at this crossing; may her soul rest in peace.

Occasionally, during the work days, I visited this beach on foot and jogged up and down its soft and clean sandy shore. During those days this beach is always deserted. The water is usually too cold to swim in during the winter.

When I arrived back at our condo my cyclometer told me that I had spend about one hour and travelled just over 5 km. Not far but time well spend. See you in part 2.

Living without a car

Since July 2008, whenever I come and stayed at our winter home in Clearwater by myself, only once did I rent a car. That was before I have a bicycle. I bought a $70 bicycle, made in China of course, from Walmart on December 9 2008. The seat that came with that bicycle was so uncomfortable that I replaced it that same day with a $40 gel seat with spring support. I bought this inexpensive bike, thinking that nobody would care to steal it, but now someone may just steal the seat -:).

The $40 seat is protected from rain and......theft? -:)

Is it easy to live without a car? In the beginning it was not, now I am comfortable without a car during my short stay, a few weeks at a time, in Clearwater Florida. I enjoyed the life style and benefits of living without a car. I saved money, always dear to my heart -:), by not renting or buying a car. No insurance and maintenance to worry about. Also an important benefit, I reduce my carbon foot print and it helps me stay fit and healthy.

The climate in Clearwater makes it possible to ride a bicycle, without much difficulties, year round. The terrain is relatively flat. Wind is more of a problem here. A good bicycle helps a lot. I do not use the $70 bike much anymore, I still use it to go to the beach nearby, about 1 mile from our condo. I have bought another bicycle, a used Giant Sedona DX for $150 from a neighbour; he said he bought it new and paid over $400 for it. This bike is classified as a comfort bike. I am happy with this bike. The frame is 17", just perfect for me. In my opinion it is the perfect bike to go around the city doing errands and exploring the neighbourhood. It has front suspension, gel seat and seat post with suspension, 26" wheels with 36 spokes, Kenda 26X1.95 tires. These make it very comfortable to ride and handles the side walk bumps smoothly. I installed fenders and a rear rack, and purchased a pair of panniers; with this setup I can do my grocery shopping with ease. The tires are a little bit too wide for the fenders, someday I will replace them with a 26X1.5 size.  The right front fork does not have a hole to attach the front fender; I used tie-wrap, it seemed to work fine. The previous owner had installed a rear view mirror and lights, I added a bell and a cyclometer.

My 'new' Giant Sedona DX

Our condo location is not too far from all the places I needed to visit. The grocery store Publix is 3 km away, Walmart is 6 km, my favorite store, Barnes and Noble is 7 km away. The church is about 9 km from our condo. Many restaurants and stores are nearby, under 10 km. This makes it easy to live without a car.

So, yeah, with a good bike and the right setup it is very enjoyable to go shopping, exploring the neighbourhood and visiting the local parks. Riding a bicycle is the best way to explore your neighbourhood. I can say that within a short time, perhaps 2 winter seasons, I knew more about the trails and parks in our neighbourhood compared to other snowbirds that have been coming here for more than 20 years, because I had to tell them and show them of the wonderful things that we have around the neighbourhood. I am looking forward to visit and explore our neighbouring cities like Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, St. Petersburg and Tampa with my bicycle.

See the tie-wrap?

I enjoy cycling. The more I do the more I enjoy. I encourage everybody to take on cycling and walking, to be more active and use less of your car. It is good for the environment, good for your pocket, good for your health...............adios.

How true it is!!!

How I celebrated my 10th year retirement anniversary

Soon after Sept.11 2001, I decided to retire from the workforce. For me, the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the inconvenience and nuisance caused by the extra security measures at the airport.

I was 59. Now at 69, I am looking for something that I have never done before to celebrate my 10^th year retirement anniversary. I like new challenges, it makes me feel alive. I highly recommend this, taking on new challenges, to my fellow seniors.

Bicycle touring and camping seems to be the perfect thing to do at this time. Bicycle touring means travelling by bicycle from one place to another, carrying all the stuff that you need to survive on your tour with you on the bicycle. I have never done this before. I have done long distance cycling, but not touring. In 2009 I participated in a fundraising ride, ‘The Ride to Conquer Cancer’; it was a 2 day 200km ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls via Hamilton. This ride was fully supported, I did not have to carry anything with me, everything was provided; all I had to do was cycle the distance. Touring is much more challenging.

Last year my daughter and her husband bought me a new bicycle for my birthday. It is an MEC Shadowlands touring bicycle. It is by far the best bicycle I have ever owned and rode; very comfortable, smooth and stable. So it is only natural that I should do some touring on this bike.

As the destination of this first tour, I chose the Albion Hills conservation area campground; a beautiful place with nice hiking and cycling trails, and canoe rental. It is about 35 km from my house in Brampton. Besides enjoying the trails and nature of the conservation area, my objective of this first tour was to test my touring and camping gear and see what I could learn.

In early September I started to gather, order and purchase the items that I would need for the tour. I purchased fenders, front rack, and four panniers with rain covers for the bicycle. Chris, our son-in-law, helped me install the front rack properly. The bicycle has disc brakes so it was a bit tricky to align the rack with the front wheel. We had to use and modify the spacers that were provided for the fenders. I bought a blue foam sleeping pad from Walmart which is extremely light. This is to replace the air-mattress that I have, which is too bulky and heavy to carry on the bicycle. I also left my heavy and bulky electric shaver behind, and replaced it with a disposable manual shaver blade. You’ve got the idea; things need to be light and compact to carry them on the bicycle.

The shopping and preparing for the tour went well, but breaking the news about my plan to my wife Theresia did not go too well. She did not like that I would be going by myself. So I invited Jusni and Cecile – a husband and wife team - who are avid cyclists and expert campers to join me on this tour. I also invited Bob, my former colleague, an adventurer who likes challenges. Unfortunately Jusni and Cecile were not able to make it due to appointments during the week I planned to go. Bob accepted my invitation or should I say challenge; but he could only go on Wednesday to Friday. So I had to forgo the luxury of choosing a good weather day.

 Bob is a rugged, strong and easy going guy. He loves nature. He had walked and backpacked the Bruce trail from Tobermory to Niagara on the Lake, carrying 40 + lbs on his back and camped along the way. Perhaps I should do this – would anybody like to join me?  Just kidding!  I was happy that Bob could accompany me on my first bicycle tour.

 Tuesday September 21, the day before my tour, was a beautiful day. I packed everything that I would take with me on the bicycle and tested the setup by riding around the block. With the loaded panniers on the front wheel, the bicycle became hard to manoeuvre. It took some time to get use to it. I made some adjustments in securing the sleeping pad and sleeping bag to the rear rack.

D day:  Wednesday September 22; the Weather Network forecasted rain for the afternoon, so I put the rain covers on the panniers. After a quick lunch I started my tour, around 12:30 PM. I headed for Professor’s Lake, then North on Torbram Rd. On Torbram in front of a church, I met up with Bob. Earlier in the morning Bob had dropped off his camping gear at the camp site, because his bicycle was not equipped for touring. It does not have racks and panniers to carry stuff. He has a very old bicycle that he picked up second hand and fixed it up. I was a bit concerned about how he would do climbing some of the hills that we would encounter. Soon my worries were put to rest, on the first decent hill, just North of Mayfield Road, He passed me with ease.

We took a break; I call it a Pit stop, at a coffee shop in Caledon East. So far we had ridden 22 km, mostly on asphalt. The next 13 km would be mostly on dirt road. The extra 45 lbs load did not seem to matter much on flat asphalt road and had little impact on the hills, but on dirt road I could feel the difference; it was slower and more difficult to manoeuvre.

About 2 km from the campground it started to rain lightly. By the time we arrived at our campsite the rain poured down. We put on our rain coats and setup our tents. Half an hour later, the rain stopped. We were done setting up the tents and I stowed the panniers inside my tent. The rain covers worked, my stuff inside the panniers stayed dry, but I was soaking wet, my rain coat did not work. I changed into dry T-shirt and made tea and miso soup. We enjoyed our tea and soup under light rain; they tasted sooooo.... good. 

It kept on raining on and off, sometimes hard sometimes just a drizzle. Our plan to have a campfire did not materialize. We went to bed early. In spite of the lulling sounds from the Humber River and from the chirping of insects, I could not sleep all night. The sleeping pad that I bought from Walmart did not provide enough cushioning. I could not stay in one position for long. My hips and shoulders hurt. I heard Bob snoring softly inside his tent. He used a self inflating air mattress with a built in pillow. 

The morning was beautiful. I walked around a little, enjoying the morning sun. After breakfast we cycled around the campground and got a hiking map from the campground office. We went hiking on the most scenic hiking route as recommended by the person from the campground office. Albion Hills conservation area has several hiking trails as well as mountain bike trails. The trail we hiked on was beautiful and easy. As we approached a turn, we came face to face with a white tail deer, less than 50 feet away. He was a beautiful specimen. We stared at each other for a few seconds; as I grabbed and turn on my camera he turned around and darted away.

We rested near a clearing. As we were enjoying our drinks and snacks, the sky changed. We felt a cold breeze and saw some dark clouds covering the sky. I called Theresia on my cell phone. Yeah, do not go on a bicycle tour without a cell phone. It is an essential tool. She told us that the weather forecast called for rain tonight and all day the following day. So we decided to head home that afternoon. We did not want to break camp and ride home in the rain. Secretly I was happy about our decision, since I dreaded another sleepless night on that awful sleeping pad. Our hike on the trail lasted 2.5 hours. 

After cooking and enjoying our last meal at the campsite, we broke camp. I packed all my belongings on the bike again, this time I did not put the rain covers on. It was around 3:00 PM when we pedalled our bikes out of the campground. The first few hills leaving the campground felt a bit difficult to handle. The campground is in a valley. As we rode on dirt road, the Trans Canada trail, I felt really sluggish. It was difficult for me to go above 15 km/hour. There was some head wind but we were mostly protected by the trees on both sides of the trail. It must be due to lack of sleep. 

We took a pit stop at the same coffee house in Caledon East. An elderly senior arrived on a bicycle, parked his bike next to mine and studied my fully loaded bike. We chatted a little, he was amused. We had 2 km to go on dirt road, after that it would be asphalt all the way home.

To overcome my sluggishness I pushed hard, and managed to do above 20 km/hour on asphalt. I also wanted to arrive home before dark. But after about 12 km I needed another rest. We stopped just south of Old School road. The farmer field with its different shades of green and yellow was beautiful to watch. I finished a snack bar and my sport drink. Bob and I parted at the corner of Torbram and Bovaird; he continued south and I went West. I arrived home just before 6:00 PM, tired and happy.

All in all I am very happy with the tour. The weather was not perfect but it gave me the opportunity to test my gears and readiness to do a longer tour. I have learned about myself, what worked and what did not work, what to do and what not to do, what to take along and what to leave at home. I have enjoyed the ride, the outdoors and the beautiful Albion Hills. I had achieved my objectives.

Next year I will be 70, what should I do to celebrate?  Looking forward for a new challenge................