DIY Madsen Bucket Cover Frames

Folks have been asking, so here's more details.

Our Madsen rain cover frames are made from electrical conduit, specifically 1/2" EMT. It's light, cheap, durable, and very easy to work with. You'll want to use a pipe bender like this. You may be able to rent one from a home store or borrow one from a neighbor. It's a basic lever hand tool that is very easy to use. Measure twice, bend once. And make sure you are bending the conduit in the corrected direction!

The frame has only four pieces: two 10' lengths of 1/2" EMT (conduit) and two 1/2" couplers. Total cost is maybe $5. Ideally, the left and right sides of the frame are mirrors of one another and the couplers line up in the middle of the bucket. The structure sits on the edges of the bench seats; both benches must be used for the cover to stand on its own.

The frame can be covered with anything. I recently discovered that a burlap coffee sack from my local roaster is the perfect size and shape when you rip the side seams open. I added a piece of coroplast to the roof of this one to help dome the roof and take out the slack in the fabric.

To keep the whole thing from tipping out of the bucket, you need some sort of tensioner under the outer lip of the bucket to attach to the cover fabric. For our sewn covers, we used Sunbrella fabric and hemmed in a slot at the front and back to loop through a 1" web belt with some buckles.

In a pinch, the burlap coffee cover was attached with a length of rope and some zip-ties. Total cost of the burlap cover and frame: less than $10 and 2 hours of playing in the garage. This makes for a decent sun shade or windbreak, but wouldn't last long in heavy rain.

Related posts:

DIY Madsen Bucket Covers Revisited

Thirty Days Of Biking

From time to time I've seen folks using the #30daysofbiking hash tag. And since "thirty days hath September," I figured I'd try to keep track of what I did with my bicycle for the whole month. I don't ride every day, but maybe it would work out?*

It's important to recognize that on most days bicycles are used as transportation in our household to avoid at least some trips in the car. But on those car days, we often still do something with bikes recreationally.  Here's the recap.

Day 1. Snapdeck surfing lessons at the park.

Day 2. Biked the kids to a friend's backyard BBQ. 

Day 3. My first cyclocross race. Our kids raced, too, of course.

Day 4. To the park for one last playdate before school starts.

Then to the elementary school to drop off supplies and meet the teacher.

Spotted this supercool three passenger setup.

Day 5. Biked with our oldest to the first day of school, 

then found this awesome sidewalk philosophy art while biking to the shops.

Day 6. Borrowed a neighbor's bucket bike (and their preschooler) for a day at the zoo.

Day 7. Our typical Friday ride downtown to Frost Park for some chalk drawing.

Day 8. After a long day of home improvement, I needed a ride 

to a local brewery for refreshments.

Day 9. Up early for a 15 mile ride around Point Defiance Park.

Day 10. First day of pre-K. The whole family biked to school! 

Day 11. Biked to school. Evening cyclocross practice for me and the girls at a local park. 

It was just far enough that riding there and back would have been too much for the kids 

(or too much for me to haul on the Xtracycle,) so we loaded up the bikes and drove.
It happens.

Day 12. We need more coffee! And new tools from the lumber yard. 

This marks the first fall day where a passenger blanket was needed. Brrrr!

Day 13. This may have been the day I rode to Veggies and Pint Defiance. Or maybe it was the day I biked the kids to a playdate. I know I rode everyday, but it's all sort of a blur when you're just trying to get from A to B.

Day 14. Decided to return my cross bike to dropbar mode. This required a trip to 2nd Cycle to borrow tools and get supplies. I love this place.

Day 15. Ran errands on my revised cross bike to test it out. 

Caught up with a bicycle tour of community gardens on my way home.

Day 16. More cyclocross racing and shenanigans with 

Tacoma Cyclocross at Fort Steilacoom Park.

Day 17. After biking the kids to school, Mrs. TBR and I biked to lunch at Peterson Brothers, where we ran into our pal Ben Davis. He's opening a new hangout at 11th and MLK called Broken Spoke (canned beers, wine, espresso, custom bikes and racks, made in Tacoma everything). Potentially the most RAD spot in town. Stay tuned.

Day 18. Biked to school. Then an enjoyable evening ride along Ruston on my SS with a friend before cross practice. Highlight: tackling a few of Tacoma's steepest cobbled hills.

 Day 19. Biked to school. In the evening, we adjusted the kid bikes for growth and had to upgrade Super T to her big sister's 16er. They grow up fast!

Day 20. More biking to school. More practicing afterwards on big-kid bikes. Though it may appear repetitive, this simply does not get boring.

Day 21. Toured the Park(ing) Day spots downtown with Super T.

Day 22. Errands. 4 bags of ice and bbq supplies? Xtracycled.

Day 23. Carpooled north for the race at Lake Sammammish. There was nearly as much running with the bike as there was riding on the bike. Phew.

Day 24. Coming down with a cold. Did the school run and a few short errands.

Day 25. Sick. Rode with the kids to school and was glad I didn't have to 

carry them on the Xtracycle. Exhausted. 

Day 26. Feeling better. Biked Kid #1 and her bike to a playdate in the morning.

Then biked both kids to a playdate after school. 

Day 27. Just the school run.

Day 28. Picked up the girls from school and biked to a birthday party playdate.

Day 29. Cargo Trike deliveries by day, 

Harvest Moon ride on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge by night.

Day 30. Just a quick ride to the grocery store before the dinner guests arrive.

*Hey, it happened! #30DaysOfBiking

DIY Madsen Bucket Covers Revisited

I am constantly amazed that most of the TBR web traffic is directed to our posts about DIY Rain Covers for our Madsen Cycles Bucket Bike (which we sold over a year ago.)

There was version 1.0 that we used for our bike:

Then we made version 2.0 for some friends in Seattle:

There is apparently a HUGE demand for these things. Maybe not huge, but folks want 'em.  While we made ours to keep out the rain and cold, others are simply trying to keep out the sun. This brilliant shade cover photo was sent to us from Ryan in Sacramento:

Here's another great shade cover by @conanlow: 

(photo used with permission)

Meanwhile, Madsen Cycles is finally testing what appears to be a more finalized prototype of their bucket cover.

Is your bucket covered?  We'll continue to add a few more pics and links here. Leave a link in the comments or email matt (dot) newport (at) gmail.

For Sale: Our Beloved Bucket Bike

UPDATE: SOLD!!

There comes a time when you have to thin the herd. It's as Nature intended. And so, we are selling our Madsen Cycles kg271 Bucket Bike.

- 2005 Madsen Cycles kg271 with 8-speed gearing
- Bucket features 2 bench seats, seat buckles for 4 passengers
- Modular DIY rain cover with vinyl windows, Sunbrella fabric
- Upgraded front disc brake (Avid BB5)
- Velo Orange sprung leather saddle
- Schwalbe tires: Marathon front, Big Apple rear
- $800 for the whole kit and caboodle


Between the adjustable handlebar stem and the long seatpost, the bike can accommodate riders of nearly any height. I'm 5'11" and it fits me well with plenty of seatpost to spare.  The whole bike is weight rated to 600 pounds of payload (rider + cargo/passengers.)


We purchased the bike two years ago and are the original owners.  You can see more pictures of the bike in action here.  The bike is currently located in Tacoma, but delivery to the Seattle area can be arranged.  


Email your inquiries to matt[d0t]newport at gmail or post in the comments. Thanks!

UPDATE: SOLD!!

Until Warmer Days

Our van has been voluntarily parked for over 3 days. We've had 3-7" of snow and daytime temps between 25°F and 34°F.  To my surprise, we've managed to do ~25mi of errands and commuting by foot or bike during that time.  We haven't avoided any trips; getting to school and work on time and even picking up a 40# bag of dogfood when we ran out.  While this isn't a big deal for many local-living families, even I am impressed to keep this streak alive in the coldest, nastiest part of winter.

Perhaps the best part about this little bout of undriving is that the kids see it as completely normal.  Tula's been riding in the Madsen since she was one, and the rain cover is now on it's second winter.  Gwen has adapted to riding the Xtracycle deck in it's many configurations and she expects to see a bike parked outside of the school everyday when I pick her up.

That bucket cover has been key to winter riding with the kids, because of windchills.  Once the temp falls below freezing, one can subtract another degree for each mph of wind.  I stay warm trying to keep a cargobike at 10mph, but the kids just turn into popsicles without the windbreak. This was the result of a fast descent in an uncovered bucket:

Keep everyone safe and warm until spring, but remember, that doesn't always mean you have to take the car!

You can reach your goals; I'm living proof

I usually don't set goals.  Maybe something obtuse like, "Read more books!"  But last December I realized that after a full year of stay-at-home-dadding, I had become overweight.  I kept thinking that the trips to the playground with a bucket bike fully of pre-schoolers would do the trick, but it apparently did not.

When I started riding bikes (again) in 2005, I was training for STP and bike commuting, so I started a mileage log which I continued diligently as my bike commuting habit grew stronger.  During that time, my body hit a sweet spot and stayed the same size and shape most of the year.  Yay cycling!  2009 marked the first year where I wasn't counting every mile, which is probably why I was surprised when I got on the scale after Christmas and saw a much larger number than normal.  It was resolution time, and figuring that I had only ridden about 1200 miles in 2009, I set out to ride 2010 miles in 2010.

I don't own any cyclometers, but wanted my data to be relatively accurate.  Most of my bike trips are to/from home, so I made a reference table with distances to places I frequently ride.  The occasional long ride usually gets googlemapped post-ride.  I broke everything out by bike, taking care to separate cargo vs. solo miles.  Cargo miles are almost always transportational, while solo miles are often recreational, but not always.

This method of data logging is helpful when I'm trying to justify why I keep certain bikes or why I should be willing to spend money on maintenance.  My Xtracycle has a ridiculous number of miles on it, but I haven't so much as changed the chain.  Even if I have to replace the entire inexpensively equipped drivetrain for $150 at mile 3000, I'll know that was money well spent since all those miles replaced car trips.

I did so many charity rides this summer, and led enough short weekly training rides, that I met my 2010 goal in early September.  I never reached my weight-loss goal, but I did figure out about how many miles per month it takes for me to break even with my nutella toast and beer consumption habits.  And that's the key folks: finding balance.

The really interesting thing about these stats is that I've racked up 800 miles on cargo bikes alone.  These are the short day-to-day trips that most purely recreational cyclists would probably ignore, or just simply drive a car.

Xtracycle: 335 miles (average trip length: 4.3 miles)

Madsen:   425 miles (average trip length: 3.7 miles)

The best part is that the year isn't over!  There are still plenty of opportunities to pedal to my destination and burn off all of those holiday goodies.

Do you track your cycling miles?  Do you find it motivates you to ride more?  What kind of cycling goals do you have?

On Bucket Bikes

The new Madsen bucket bikes debuted today!  It's worth checking out.  There are many improvements and new features, some of which I've hacked or wanted to hack onto my own bucket bike.  One of my biggest issues with our original model has been the kickstand.  Here's my final fix using a piece of 5/16" all-thread and some nylon lock nuts.

The solid rod not only fixed the kickstand so that it stays in place when deployed, but it also keeps it from bouncing around as much on bumpy terrain.  And Madsen has confirmed via Twitter that their new model kickstand is "upgraded and improved, [with] new factory, bolted-on rubber feet, [and a] solid rod stop pin."  Along with the new parking brake feature, this sounds like a rock solid way to load rambunctious cargo.


In other news, TBR fabricated rain cover v2.0 for a neighbor to the north.  Brynnen Ford and her kids use their e-assist Madsen year-round on the hills of Seattle.  (Thanks for sending these photos, Brynnen!)

This one is a bit taller than our original and incorporates hi-viz fabric and a Scotchlite-trimmed porthole on the back. The passengers love it!

Any other thoughts on the new Madsen model and accessories?  I'd like to see that rear rack in my stocking at Christmas!

Fiets of Parenthood - Seattle Style!

We finally made it to one of the many community bike events in Seattle!  The good folks at Car Free Days and Totcycle organized Fiets of Parenthood, a huge gathering of family cyclists of every age who rode in on nearly every kind of bike and bike-combo you could imagine. The Xtracycle went in the minivan for the first time and we still had plenty of room for my sister and her borrowed Peugeot folder.

FoP was nothing short of awesome!  There was something for everyone and we stayed busy for a solid three hours with the bicycle decoration station, a huge walk-thru/bike-thru sprinkler, slow bike race, family bike obstacle course, helmet fitters, and the kids' favorite: a Madsen bucket bike full of free gelato.  The playground was a cargo bike explosion of Xtracycles, Big Dummies, tandems, trail-a-bikes, kick bikes, trailers, bakfietsen, a tall bike and even a Larry vs. Harry Bullitt.  One lucky attendee won a Globe Haul 1 through a raffle benefitting Bike Works.

Not only were there tons of cool bikes, but there were many enthusiastic parents and kids, eager to show off their cycling skills and talk about how they use these bikes in their daily lives.  Many thanks to Julian, Tim, Anne, Chris and everyone else who helped to make this event a fun time for the rest of us.

If you'd like to see more, there's another write-up here, a great video here, a bit of press here, and a Flickr group here.  The wheels are already in motion for a TBR Family Fiets event in Tacoma next summer.  Who wants to help?!

Kickstand Fail + DIY Fix

Just a few days after the pre-school year ended, I found this little doodad on the floor of my garage:

It took me a few minutes to figure out that it was formerly attached to the kickstand of the bucket bike, and that it played the important role of "kickstand deployment keeper". [World Cup jargon, in the parlance of our times. -Ed.]

note the hole on the right

I didn't trust the remaining keeper to hold the bike steady for child loading/unloading, so the whole bike was out of commission until I found a fix.  At least the kickstand still held the bike upright and parked in the garage.  However, several days later an unsuspecting houseguest used the Madsen for quick errand to pick up bags of ice and when he returned, the other keeper had also gone AWOL.  The kickstand would simply continue forward until the feet faced the front wheel.

I notified Madsen Cycles of the issue, but haven't heard back from them yet.** Meanwhile, I came up with my own DIY fix.

I purchased a 5/16" bolt and washer for each side and tapped the keeper holes in the kickstand to accept the bolts.  I threaded the bolts in the holes nearly all the way, then added thread-locking compound on the last few threads before tightening the bolts in place.  It seems to be holding up ok, though I'm still cautious about allowing too much weight to be placed on the kickstand while loading and unloading kids.  In fact, I'm making my 50-lb passenger climb out on her own before I put the stand down.

This is the first non-maintenance issue we've had on the bike after 14 months of regular use.  I figure the bike has nearly 1000 miles on it.  Since the bucket is meant for passengers, it's obvious that this failure is a safety issue.  You may want to take a look at those keepers and make sure that they still appear welded in place.

**UPDATE: As Jared Madsen commented, their official fix was very similar except they use one long bolt to go all the way across.  After they realized this was an issue, Madsen Cycles started pre-installing such a bolt on their bikes before they were shipped to customers.  If you still have the keepers on your kickstand and not a long bolt, you may want to consider doing this to avoid the failure.  Contact Madsen Cycles for hardware, etc.

Meetin' at the Swap

The 2nd Annual Tacoma Bike Swap happened yesterday on the UPS campus, one of the first events celebrating Bike Month in Tacoma/Pierce County.  The kids and I arrived a little late, but there was still a good crowd and plenty of deals on bikes and parts of every kind.  One vendor had a matching pair of folding Raleigh Twentys and some awesome Moultons.  Another vendor with a 46cm Surly Cross Check frameset caught my attention, because I didn't know they'd ever been made that small.  After chatting with the seller, I eventually spotted my only purchase of the day among his wares:

I plan to retrofit this beauty on to my own green Cross Check, a project which will likely require numerous trips to the hardware store.  I can't wait!

The local paper covered the Bike Swap, too.  You can read the full article here (TBR is quoted and linked - woot!)  If you stopped at the Swap, what caught your eye?

Our First Madsenversary

One year ago today, our Madsen Cycles kg271 "Bucket Bike" showed up in an enormous box.

We quickly realized that this bike was going to do everything we had hoped, and more.  I was looking for a bicycle that would help this a stay-at-home dad get out of the house more often, carrying three small children on errands and outings around the neighborhood.  We already had an Xtracycle, but this would be a back-up for when our minivan wasn't available and we needed to mobilize the whole gang.

It may sound funny, but the bike gives me a physical outlet that is key to my parental sanity.  I went from bike commuting 100 miles/week to my old office job with hauling 100 lbs of precious cargo between neighborhoods, and those seem to be comparable challenges.  For me, it's far more mentally stimulating to ride a bike than drive a car and the kids certainly keep things interesting.  Plus the they have had a chance to interact more with their neighborhood since we're moving at slower speed.  We play I Spy or wave and say hi to people that we pass by.


In the summer we took the bike to the parks and the library and the farmers market and a wedding.  We took great-grandma and her great-granddaughter for a spin (at the same time.)  We tricked it out with leather and cork and rubber.  We used the drive-thru windows at the bank and the donut shop.

When fall rolled around, we rolled the Madsen to pre-school and play-dates and tea parties.  A friend borrowed it to move house.
By winter, we were scheming ideas for a bucket cover, so that we could just keep on riding through the rainy months.  We're doing that now, over 250 miles of Tacoma in 2010 so far.  It's been a wonderful ride.

We bought a "scratched" model direct from Madsen at a discounted price and also took advantage of a free shipping offer.  Over time, I made a few changes to the stock setup:

-Avid BB5 mechanical disc brake caliper up front
-VO Tourist Bar and cork grips (amber shellacked)
-VO Saddle Model 8
-Schwalbe Marathon 1.75" front tire
-Schwalbe Big Apple 2.0" rear tire
-DIY Rain Cover

I've appreciated the simplicity of the 1x8 drivetrain and mostly use the lowest five gears.  The 42T chainring is welded to the crank, and I always figured that I'd swap it out for a nicer crankset with a 36T ring.  However, I kept putting that off and simply became a stronger rider instead.  I've been able to make the climb up St. Helens from downtown Tacoma with two kids in the bucket, my litmus test for cargo hauling.  Remember that the rear wheel is 20", so a gear calculator is helpful to compare gearing options.

For the kind of work it does, the bike and components are holding up well.  I estimate that we've put 700+ miles on it (I only started keeping track of mileage in September.)  It's frequently been ridden in the rain, though the fenders keep it relatively clean.    The full length cable housing has kept everything smooth.  I've just replaced the rear v-brake pads.  It still shifts great - no adjustment ever that I can recall.  The kickstand tension has also never needed adjustment, though I've had to re-allign the kickstand when it has occasionally twisted in it's clamp.  Though it has always been garaged, a few bits have a slight tinge of rust.  I've tightened and trued the rear wheel twice, but had no flat tires.  It's been semi-dropped only once when it tipped hard onto a brick planter box while loading a queen-sized mattress on the bucket.  The dented head-badge is now a badge of honor.

Overall, I've been very happy with the bike.  It's a purchase I would make again.  However, I've already got one...so to celebrate our Madsenversary, I would like to share with you...


A SPECIAL OFFER!

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about this.  A while back, Madsen Cycles sent me a $400 coupon towards the purchase of another Madsen bike, a coupon that we could give to a friend.  To date, I'm still the only Madsen owner in Tacoma.  :(  So, in order to share the love, Jared Madsen has agreed to apply my coupon to the next person who calls to order a kg271 directly from Madsen Cycles and mentions "Tacoma Bike Ranch".  Here are the details:

The coupon cannot be applied towards any already discounted bike (i.e. the "scratched" ones) and cannot be used in combination with any other coupons or discounts.  So a $1299 bucket bike would only be $899.  That's less than I paid for ours!  At that point, you could add the "Classic Dutch Upgrade" and an extra seat bench and still come out ahead.  Call Madsen Cycles at 1.800.206.0941 and tell them Tacoma Bike Ranch sent you!

Only one person gets to use this special offer, so don't delay.  I'll post an update here once the coupon has been used.

[UPDATE: The coupon has been claimed! Another bucket bike is on the road!]

Cheers to another fun year of family cycling!

Playdates

I think this is the first time we've ever had four people in the bucket.  Playdates are easy with the Madsen because you don't have to worry about carseat swapping; just bring your helmet!  There was much laughter and potty jokes coming from under the rain cover on the ride to our house...ah, kids.

We've kept the rain cover on pretty much every day since we made it.  It hasn't seen much rain, but works great when it does.

Bike'n'trike derbys on the patio are becoming part of the daily routine, rain or shine.  I memorialized the occasion with a chalk drawing.  Long live the Bucket Bike!

Dry Run

Today was the first ride with our new DIY rain cover.  It wasn't raining, but 40°F and damp would have to do.  The kids were so excited that they practically tripped over one another running out to the garage.  There was quite a bit of giggling en route to pre-school while they played with the camera and read books.  Compared to our normal ride, I couldn't tell that the cover was on, but the kid noise was slightly muffled. (I'm putting that in the pro column.)  It looks big, but it doesn't have a profile much wider than my body, so any added drag was unnoticeable.

The kids arrived warm and dry, I didn't have to spend five minutes pre-ride finding hats, gloves, scarves, etc. for each one, and the van stayed parked in the garage the whole time.  Win Win Win.

Madsen Rain Cover

This is our first attempt at a rain cover for our MADSEN kg271 bucket bike.  We wanted something simple, inexpensive, light, and hopefully durable (i.e. kid-proof.) that would keep the kids warm and dry for short trips around town on the rainiest of days.

The support frame is made from two pieces of 1/2" electrical conduit coupled together, so it's modular for summer storage.  The frame sits in the bucket on top of the seats.  The cover is primarily Sunbrella fabric, a light awning material, with zippered vinyl windows.  The nylon strap, sewn into the bottom of the cover and fastened under the lip of the bucket, keeps the whole thing in place.



Conception and production was a group effort.  Many thanks to my dad for helping with the pipe bending, and many many thanks to my wife for showing off hew prowess with a sewing machine.  Hat tip to Crow for sending us to Seattle Fabrics - they had everything but the conduit!

Unless the weather is too nice, we'll have a full review soon.  What do you think?

Take It Off!

Last night I finally found some time to put on the 2.0" Schwalbe Big Apple on the rear of the Madsen.  I had trouble seating the tire, so I swapped the rubber rim strip for some cloth rim tape, which seemed to help.  Many spokes were very loose, so I tightened them.  Attention Madsen owners: I know the bike is awesome, but it should still be serviced periodically.

When I visited Madsen Cycles in SLC, Jared assured me that this tire would fit with the stock fender, but he added that one must clip out the crimped section of the rear fender with tin snips to accomodate all that rubber. Most plastic fenders are missing this section anyway.  I was able to hack it without removing the bucket.

However when I took the kids to the library today, I found that the chain now rubbed a bit on the hacked fender when I used the large cog.  And the taller tire caused the kickstand to float just a bit too high off the ground, which allowed  the bike to roll when parked - not cool.  The bucket needed to come off so I could finish what I had started doing half-assed.  Typical.


Removing the bucket is easier than I had thought it would be.  You must only remove three screws.  There are two small nutted screws at the bottom of the bucket that hold the bucket to a cross bracket.  Then under the rear seat, there is a screw-type hose clamp that holds the bucket to the round top-tube of the support rack.  That's it.  I pumped the tire to max pressure (70 psi), adjusted the kickstand down (the kickstand is held in place by what is essentially an upside-down seat post clamp), then reduced the tire pressure a bit to soften the ride.  I trimmed my fender hack job, then adjusted the v-brake pads while it was convenient.  Note the blue sticker that indicates that this is one of the discounted "scratched" models.


While I had the bucket off, I also took a few measurements.  Using the highly accurate "bathroom scale" method, I found that a 2-seat bucket weighs 24 lbs, and the bucketless kg271 (with aftermarket VO saddle and fat Schwalbe tires) weighs 46 lbs.  I rode the bucketless bike around the block and found it to be as zippy as my 50 lb Xtracycle.  Yes, zippy is relative in this case, but you'd be amazed how well these longtails can lurch out of the gate.

I would also say that the Avid BB5 front brake I put on the Madsen (upgrade from the stock Promax brake caliper) works about as well as the Avid BB7 on my Xtracycle when the bikes are unloaded (160 mm rotors on both.)  However, the BB7 allows far better control and stops the loaded Xtracycle much better.  Madsen owners, if you are contemplating an upgrade to the brakes, go with the BB7.

It's taken me 8 months, but I finally have the bike dialed in the way I wanted it.  I was really pleased with it on Day 1, but a few simple upgrades and comfort modifications have made it one of my favorite bikes to ride.  And for the second time this month, I talked to someone outside the library who already knew about Madsen Cycles, but stopped to chat because he was completely shocked to see one in Tacoma.  Most of the folks who ask me about the bucket bike think it's a home-made hack and are surprised to find that I bought it fully assembled (without ever seeing one in person!) and ready-to-ride straight out of the box.  Hopefully these recent encounters with other bike enthusiasts indicate that the cargo bike wave is finally headed for T-town.  Any of you shop owners want to hop on the Madsen dealer train?  C'mon!