On Thursday, Sep 05, 2002, at 09:29AM, Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Sounds like a riddle to me... When is a tool not a tool?
>
>I put tools to good use.
I understand Chuck's words and reasons, but it still puts a chill down my spine. I love bikes and I love riding them even more but my background as a lover of history overrides my feelings for bikes. We spend a lot of time on the list lamenting the loss of bikes and their histories and trying to reconstruct those histories. The reason is because of the attitude of "hide the hell out of it." Why are there so few bikes left from before WWII? Because it wasn't until recently that people have started to think of bikes as other that "tools." Most of the listmembers see themselves as preservers of history, if they're riding your truly rare bikes you're not. Would you use a stone hammer to fix your porch or a flint knife to make dinner? Would you use an early printing press to print your Xmas letter?
You can't have it both ways. I make no judgements on what is truly rare or not, that's up to the owner. I can say you wouldn't believe the satisfaction of seeing something you've placed on display to the public. How many of us have gone WAY out of our way to see some bicycle display or other? Wouldn't it be nice to have the general public appreciate the historical, and other, importance of classic bicycles?
enjoy,
Brandon"monkeyman"Ives
SB, CA