Listmembers,
Thanks to those who advised me as to how to get around this lame email system. It wasn't neccessary before!
My trip to VELOSWAP in San Francisco began as I left from my house in San Diego at 9pm to rendezvous with Matt Gorski in Belmont Shore/Long Beach. I arrived at the appointed time of 11pm. Matty slurped some Java as I funneled the same down the hatch as we loaded the gear. Full of enthusiasm and coffee, we hit the road towards the home of Chuck Schmidt in So. Pasadena where Brian Ignatin had already joined him. We arrived at the witching hour as they were standing curdside waiting, dutifully protecting themselves from the "rouge parrot" population that resides exclusively in the 100 foot tall plam trees that line his street. A rain poncho is the best protection, I'm thinking.
Once all four bikes and other baggage was tightly stowed, we started out towards Hwy 210 that would connect us with I-5 North to San Francisco. Off like a herd of turtles. Although the speeds we traveled on the highway would have peeled the shell right off of a turtle! I wasn't feeling too well and we had to pull over once just past the Grapevine for me to do a technicolor yawn on the side of the road. After that I felt a bit better. As Matty drove, the three of us tried to doze. We didn't have much luck for some reason, but all conversation stopped and Matt had a boreing drive. The only thing that got my attention was the intense smell of garlic processing as we reached Gilroy," the garlic capital" of the US. Whoa!
I think most on the list have actually never met Matt Gorski in person. Matty is really fun to be around. First he is always first class in his productions, his collections, his jokes and stories, and his character. A super host who is never frazzled. Life is a game, and he's winning. And not by being anything other than completely straight up, hard working, harder playing, funnier than hell kinda guy. We ALWAYS have a blast when Matty is around. He supplies most of the good jokes and funny stories. Loves bicycles and riding as well. I suppose he might be considered the West Coast counterpart to Pergolizzi, but in a completely different way. When both are together you might as well swallow a "FIZZY" and drink a Coke at the same time. Prepare to explode! Mattys collection of bikes and memoribilia is unbelieveable. His body of knowledge is considerable. His generousity is infinite. His friendship is priceless.
Everyone knows Chuck by name and reputation; but very few know the real in person Chuck Schmidt. As a vintage bike enthusiest, he is what would be called "the real deal". Chuck has been riding religiously pretty much every day for the past 25 years. His interest in cyclists and cycling began back then as well. It's not a "retro" interest; it has been continuous. I've only really been interested in vintage stuff in particular for the past 6 or 7 years. That's a huge head start. Many may think they "know " Chuck from the internet; but the in person Chuck is what is real. His knowledge and willingness to learn more shows how much he cares about what we are all about. He lives it full on every day. He's never about who is right, he's all about striving for the truth and the facts about the history and significance of that which we all love. Dedicated owner of a serious collection who is even more didicated to riding ALL of them. Like I say, the real deal. Chuck has also been around a lot and is quite social and well connected to lots of people. Someone like me that may be hanging around gets exposed to people and things that are over my head. I benifit tremendously by being attached as the heavy hitters do their thing. I don't deserve it, but I'll take it anyway. It enriches my experiences. We all have MUCHO LAUGHO when we all get together and Chuck supplies his share of unique stories and experiences to the mix. We're a real fun bunch.
Brian Ignatin I've known for a long time since he's an ex-racer and track rider in particular. He loves early track stuff and has close ties to Ted Ernst who is an former track star of days before our time. Another sharp wit and mind with a unique sense of humor that adds much fuel to our laughfests and storytelling sessions. Also a master brewer and winemaker who always has some of his handywork in tow when we gather. Has a thing for German track bikes in particular and various other classics. Very considerate travel mate and even more considerate as we camp out in the hotel room. We all function perfectly as a team for the most part, as we proceed through the days. You could not ask for better friends nor a higher caliber of company. This is part of what makes this hobby so great. I'm sure all of us have equally awsome groups of fellow vintage buffs that we hang around with. I certainly hope so.
The northern faction of "Party Amimals, Inc." are Peter and Jan Johnson, who were our local hosts. Jan arranged for us to have the prime deluxe booth courtesy of VELONEWS in which we were able to display our bikes and represent the vintage scene at Veloswap. Jan is priceless. She's an organizing and directing dynamo. She has adopted the same motto as the LAPD; "we treat you like a King"(Had to slip in one of Mattys jokes here, couldn't resist). She looks out for us and makes sure everyone has a good time if at all possible. She brought a large bag of left over Halloween candy along which turned out to be a partial lifesaver for some of us. The availability of food was limited and we didn't have time for breakfest. Like an angel from heaven, Charles Andrews (another So. Cal stalwart) and his ladyfriend Carmen, went out to Mickey D's and brought back a load of Egg McMuffins and a potato-like substance for everyone. He may well have saved our pitiful lives. Thanks Charles, you're another one of the regulars down south that we just couldn't live without and add so much to our experiences together.
Jan had her selection of Marino wool classic jerseys displayed in the booth along with our collection of vintage machines. Jan and Peter brought a Peter Johnson bike, a mid 60's Cinelli track bike, a classic Bianchi, a 1970 and '72 Masi GC. Brian Ignatin brought his 1979 Gios Super Record, Chuck his 1973 Somantania team Masi GC built by Mario in Verona, Matty a newley acquired 1972 Masi GC, and myself a 1962 Masi Special. We artfully arranged the booth and made ready to set out in search of treasure. Since we were vendors, we were in and hunting as other vendors were getting ready for the public. It's how all serious swappers operate. We were very fortunate to have this opportunity thanks to Jan Johnson and Velonews. As with most swaps these days, only a small fraction of stuff is of interest to us. But the searching is part of the fun. Making that find that fulfills your special needs is what it's all about. These parts allow us to bring back to life old bikes like the Frakenstein monster. The parts from one bike may eventually make another one whole once again. We are doing future generations a big service by breathing life into these bikes, wheather we realize it or not. Our bikes are a noble cause. It is also what binds us together.
I'll get back to this in the morning and test this much to see if it works. This is less than half of what I lost earlier. I'm tired now. I'll describe the feeding frenzy that followed next. The first table we stopped at was that of Curtis Anthony from Bikeville. I had to stand back as the attack began since I was trying NOT to spend money and anxiously counted to make sure I still had 6 fingers on each hand! ;-) Curtis had the goods and Peter Johnson, Brian Ignatin, Chuck, and Matty were in the frey. I backed off and watched the teeth and fins thrashing in the foaming and bloody water around the table full of vintage bike parts. It wasn't scary, it was really more like beautiful, mother nature at work, as the sharks discussed the subtle details of each piece and consulted one another as to the value of each item. I suppose you'd call that civilized sharks, no? A thing of beauty regardless. The maneaters were still plenty hungry once there were only bike part carcasses left; and they went in search of more prey. I'll finish the tale of the first attack when I come back.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
(This had better freekin' WORK!!!)