CR folks:
Well, the first San Francisco VeloSwap is now in the record books. I know Brian must be busy re-writing his epic report, and I don't want to take the wind out of his sails, so I'll try to be as brief as I can.
After two full days of preparing the Cow Palace, I arrived there at 05:40am on Saturday and set up my wool jersey rack next to some really gorgeous bicycles that had just been wheeled into the booth. It was great to see so many CR listmembers and it was totally fun to be part of the coolest booth at VeloSwap. We were known collectively as the "Left Coast Vintage Cycles" group - Chuck Schmidt and his Sammontana team Masi in pearl yellow; Matt Gorski and his newly acquired Masi Gran Criterium; Brian Baylis and his black Masi GC; Brian Ignatin and his Gios; Jim McCoin and his Bianchi Specialissima; Peter Johnson and his 1959 Cinelli track bike, 1959-60 Bianchi Celeste Team Issue, 1969 Faema Masi GC; and my '71 'salmone' Italian Masi GC and the 2002 Peter Johnson fixed gear. Charles Andrews also made the trip up from Los Angeles, but I don't remember which bike he brought. Could it have been another Masi? The Horton Collection was located next to us. Believe it or not, Brett, Shelly, and Brett's brother Carl (from Salt Lake) came in on Friday night, set up the entire booth, then broke it down, for security reasons. No way could you leave Eddy's or Fausto's jersey just sitting there overnight for some yuckapuck to abscond with! Brett's display was exquisite. Some framed prints on easels, a couple of original framed art pieces, and of course, Eddy's yellow jersey and Fausto's maglia rosa jersey. In addition, he had three bikes on display: Zabel's Pinarello(?), one of Freddy Maertens' bikes, and Lance's Motorola team bike. Pretty cool.
Directly behind us was the VeloPress section, where Graham Watson made an appearance to sign books and posters. What a pleasant and genuinely nice man. Bay Area cycling legend Owen Mulholland also made an appearance, due in part to my insistance that he be there to promote his new book Uphill Battle. Owen's book, on several of cycling's great hill climbers, is a must-read. Last on the celebrity book signing agenda was "Bobke" or Bob Roll, looking as tough and surly as ever. But what a funny and engaging man he is! So many stories and so little time. KFOG, the San Francisco Classic Rock radio station was inbetween VeloPress and Bradley Woehl's American Cyclery area, where David and the guys from the shop were selling some pretty cool vintage stuff. I didn't check out the goods closely, but I heard that sales were brisk all day. So now you can see why we had the coolest booth at VeloSwap. At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, everyone flocked to our 1200 square foot mega-booth and stayed for a long time. Traffic was heavy all day.
All told, we had five Masis, two Bianchis, a Cinelli, a Gios, and a PJ custom. People tried to make offers on the bikes, but I would always say "they're to look at and appreciate". Many of the admirers told me that they had never seen five Masis in one place at one time. I didn't have much opportunity to look closely at what was being offered in the other booths, so I'll let Brian give all those details, but I can say that it was fun to watch the guys come back to our booth with their 'purchases', comparing notes and discussing the rarity of certain items found. I was busy selling some wool jerseys, then would have to leave to make sure things were running smoothly with the event. Charles and his sweetie Carmen were real pals and minded the 'store' while I was out running around. Matt also helped a lot as well. Thanks guys!
It was a really exciting event and after the doors had closed and we could finally breathe a sigh of relief, I learned that 5000 people had attended VeloSwap that day. Pretty amazing considering it's the first time ever this event has been held. Next year, we will try to get the main arena and the South Hall of the Cow Palace. Having two venues that are connected is a necessity. It was a real pain to walk from the South Hall all the way over to the North Hall, ouside in the rain. And from what I heard, the attendees were not too pleased with the 90-minute wait in line to purchase tickets. Issues we'll try to correct for next year.
For those who attended VeloSwap, I encourage you to write an e-mail to me, detailing your thoughts about the event. Your feedback is highly encouraged - be it positive, negative, or neutral - I welcome your comments. If there was something you really liked or was really annoyed by, please let me know. We hope to make this an annual event, and have visions of it surpassing the Denver VeloSwap in attendance (12,000+) by 2005. We managed to cram 5000 crazed shoppers into a 50,000 square foot building and it was elbow to elbow for most of the day. Not impossible trying to walk around, just time-consuming. Let me know what your thoughts are on San Francisco VeloSwap.
On Saturday night, we paired up with the VeloNews guys, visiting from Boulder, and we all trekked to the Marina District of San Francisco and enjoyed a delicious meal at E'Angelo Italian Restaurant on Chestnut Street. After some homemade chianti, thanks to Brian I., that we consumed while waiting for our tables to be set, everyone was in a good mood after a frenzied day of bargain-hunting. Several CR listmembers have been here. It's my personal favorite and is at the top of my list for taking out-of-towners to. Great food, great ambiance, the waiters are jovial and entertaining, and the lasagna is "to die for".
On Sunday, Matt, Brian B., Chuck, Charles, Peter J., Felix Chiu, Peter from S.F., Tom Hardy from S.F., and several other classique velo aficionados met at American Cyclery for a sunny but brisk ride across the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito, a brief stop for lunch in Tiburon, then a picturesque ride on Paradise Drive back through Mill Valley and Sausalito, with a stop at Tony Tom's A Bicycle Odyssey bike shop. Several purchases were made and after answering nature's call , we rolled back over the bridge to the shop. The drizzle falling from the sky was refreshing as we rolled through The Presidio, the now decommissioned army base. The perfect end to an exciting weekend.
Thanks to everyone who made the 2003 San Francisco VeloSwap a huge success. We couldn't have done it without all the manufacturers, retailers, clubs and teams, non-profit agencies, and bike enthusiasts who made it all come together at the last minute. With your input, we hope to make this not only the world's largest but he world's GREATEST bicycle swap meet. I hope to see more CR members at next year's VeloSwap.
Best regards,
Jan Johnson
VeloSwap San Francisco
Portola Valley, California