[CR]collecting and competence

(Example: Books:Ron Kitching)

Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 07:55:20 -0400
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "ADP" <aphillips9@mindspring.com>
Subject: [CR]collecting and competence

I'm glad Kenji brought up the fact that not everyone who collects, rides - and because of this, not every bike in a collection may fit the collector. I'll also point out, that not every bike in a collection is ridable, size notwithstanding - the age and fragility of the machine is a consideration also.

I liked Kenji's comparison between stamp collectors and people who are into mail correspondence as a hobby.

Ken Toda points out that not every gun collector is a great shot and every coin collector is wealthy.

Something we touched on last week on the list, is how in Italy, the average citizen might have been considered a poseur riding a finely crafted racing machine without the credentials to go with it. Interestingly enough, I think that phenomenon comes in part from the fact that in Europe, cycling is a real sport AND also transportation and treated that way. In the US, bicycles are considered as toys, so I think there is somewhat less of that internal snobbery going on. I'm not sure about Japan, I'm not sure how seriously cycling is taken as part of the culture.

As far as collecting and competence goes, I see a lot more acceptance in the collecting cycling community for different levels of riding ability. A person isn't any more of a collector or an authority on restoration because they are running around with a heart rate monitor and 0% body fat.

Ann Phillips, Atlanta Ga
tornados and softball size hail spoken here