[CR]A Madison Tale (was: andy muzi)(long and rambling as usual, maybe typos)

(Example: History:Ted Ernst)

From: <ABikie@aol.com>
To: ferness261@voyager.net, GPVB1@cs.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]A Madison Tale (was: andy muzi)(long and rambling as usual, maybe typos)
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 23:11:44 EST

For years I'd seen and talked shop with andy Muzi at the bike shows- the ol' days of New York Coliseum, Long Beach, Anaheim, Philadelphia.....

We'd known each other over the years, and several years ago I got a chance to visit Madison and paid him and the lagendary shop a visit.

I had attended the Chicago CABDA show and had two days left to travel across the Cheddar frontier to where Willinoisans go for vacation.

After a quick stop to see two Chicagoland legends - the first McDonalds in what many there call 'dess' Plains, and then to see Lee Katz' Turin bike- formerly co-owned by mike Neel.

anyway, my first stop was Waterford to see Richard Schwinn wife Shoe along with the shop folk.

Neat place- concrete floor, waded through oily metal shavings and people were drinking coffee out of laboratory beakers and other less-than-formal glassware.

Quick tour of the joint and a great education. Having grown up as a hanger out at Proteus during my lunch breaks (sigh) from the old Schwinn shop in College Park, as well as having been in on some of the early doings at Alpine, I was familiar with many of the operations and this took me back.

My kinda place.

That night I binked down in Whitewater to rest for another day of Wisconin bike Immersion.

Up early and a drive to the Trek Plant. Talk about a fast forward - actually a time warp, jump from cylinder records to mp3's, a transition from black and white to color TV, Whitewater was bright as a studio, quiet, free of any smells usually associated with shops or factories.

Truck-long tubing coming in on rail, multi-gang laser cutters and piercers, and a powder coater processor that had me thinking I was in a dry cleaning plant - except this hanging converyor took raw frames behind a curtain and brought them out ready for decal.

The assembly line lookes as boring as a , well, and assembly line.

After doing lunch and Wisconsin Water (draft of course) with my inside rep, we went over to Waterloo to the old plant. little more at home. Fumes of wet paint and an older ventilation system made this place seem just a bit more like a factory.

Stray sparks and some hand welding were nice to see. Likenesses of Kleins, Fishers, and maybe LeMonds were present.

Another smaller plant downtown rounded out the day. This was where they made the carbon frames and fabricated their 'Matrix' rims. They took these really long spools of ectrusion that were trucked in (looked like sewer culvert corrugated pipe!) and cut, welded or pinned, drilled, and finished them into the hoops we use

These are lecensed or purchased from Rigida- the name many of us know from the old days.

Nex stop- the finale and favorite- Madison. I checked into a room downtown and took a walk in the brisk night air. It was a chilling november evening, but Bicycle tracks were everywhere in the snow and bikes filled the racks. Haven't seen so many since visiting Gainesvilleand Berkeley. U of M at home couldn't come close, and this was more than we had at Ohio U during the '72 bike boom!

Speaking of which, this campus was not unlike OU was back then - the reference to Andy Muzi and hippiedom is a natural.It was election week and the campaigning took me back to the year Tricky Dickie and Senator George. Slogans, bedsheet banners. Tie dyes, street vendors, and even a few chanters. This was a throwback of 27years.

The next morning I was at Andy's shop soon after opening. The dusty, well-worn, ripped-and-taped carpets were maing me feel at home- just like College Park, and I was feeling good vibrations from the spongy wooden floor as it creaked beneath my feet.

The tidy old boxes of Campy classic parts neatly stacked in old wooden cupboard-like shelved bvehind the old showcases were a sight to behold. We're talking warm fuzzies.

Soon, the Man himself emerged from his tiny office half a floor above, took a break between Camels and came out to greet me quite graciously - I told him earlier I was coming for a visit.

It was no time at all that he had a well used shop mountain bike between my legs and a seven pound Kryptonite strapped to the rack.

A helmet wasn't an issue- this was going to be a mellow city ride in a town that lives bikes. My heavy stocking cap was all I needed that day. A quick briefing on the must-see shops and I was off.

The Trek factory shop took about ten minutes. Nice, clean, and I liked the wooden polished floors. Quaint but the product mix was, well, not quite tutti fruitti.

On to Williamson on the lake. Whew! nice floors, loghting, a warm and cozy place with all I's dotted and T's crossed.

Pro all the way. Attentive staff, a little on the high side of humble, and the building was the thing- an old warehouse or something from waaaay back- must have been 100 years old and they left the bricks exposed in the walls and columns..

(by the way, Williamson was the subject of a painful overthrow or re-assignment recently-but i won't get into politics) Budget bikes was the next place. This place would take severalpages 4 stortes in a depressed city block The owner, whom i did not meet, lives bikes with a passion- and old ones too. One show was filled with boring row upon row upon row of new bikes.One level- 8 foot ceiling each had an 8"x11" cardboard with price on the handlebars. From $139 to $4499. There was then a 2-story shop featuring tandems, recumbents, and very nice antiqure and classic bike displays, posters, and memorabilia

Third shop- Accessories, clothing, parts, service. Very cozy Carpeted- old and not modern, not particularly organized.Bluemels in all colrs, classic parts abounding, but nothing really super rare

Last shop. Met my match and then some 10,000 sq ft. 15' ceiling 2000 used bikes. From $99 cruisers to Varsities to balloons from the 40's to rare pieces like a Bowden and some fine lightweights.

After the tour it was back to the YJ and andy and I strolled down mainstreet towards an informal sit-on-the-floor Japanese restaurant. In the three short blocks, this was like walking with a known star. there was hardly a soul in that crowded city that did not extend a warm smile and greeting to my host for that day. I was honored and priveleged to spring for the lunch, it was a very small token for his hospitality and the opportunity to have one of my most memorable days in bikedom heaven before I reach the real the real thing

I wanna go back

Larry Black Woodbine, Md.

tern Standard Time, ferness261@voyager.net writes:


> I just finished reading their nice piece on Panasonic / National bikes--of
> interest to me since I just bought a Panasonic-made Schwinn Peloton (c.
> 1984, so it may technically be outside the CR timeframe). The Peloton sure
> is a nice frame, though; I haven't ridden it much, but it feels really
> good--and will feel even better with a longer stem and wider bars.
>
> One day I'll get into Madison and report to the list on the bike scene
> there.
>
> nath dresser
> spring green, wi