Veloswap Pt. II 1/2.
Listmembers,
But I digress...
Please pardon me for the names I may misspell. I'm LAZY and don't have time to check them all. Thanks.
I need to go back and cover a few things related to the actual event of Veloswap 2003. Aside from the dance performance by Mr. Wonderful around our booth, I forgot to mention the many CR members or simular types that I had the pleasure to interact with. I'll do my very best to remember everyone, but I expect something may slip through. I wasn't in top form that day, thanks to some "sub-standard" foodstuffs the previous night.
As I wandered through the place I met Curtis Anthony, Steven Thomas, Roy Freitas, Joel Metz, Brian Marcov, and Tom Hanson. All of these guys were vendors, so we all had the run of the place along with the crew from the South made up of Matt Gorski, Chuck Schmidt, Brian Ignatin, and the honorary Jan and Peter Johnson. Jan was setting up and organizing her booth as the rest of us scurried about the place like rats. As the doors opened to buyers the number of encounters increased. Jim McCoin showed up with some trade booty meant for exchange towards a genuine Nervex BB shell. Jim is going to build himself a frame. I'm anxious to see how that project turns out. It will be full Nervex fittings. Cool!
Throughout the day Rob Hawks dropped in, Charles Andrews (and his very patient honey) joined us (and later generously supplied all of us with breakfast as we were trapped in the Cow Palace). Charles is another dedicated vintage rider and caretaker of classic bikes who I enjoy tremendously. He makes it to lots of rides and events so I have the pleasure of seeing him alot. I talked to Bernie Mikkelsen, Paul Sadahoff (Rock Lobster), Felix Chiu, Brad Stockwell, Charles Neibor, and certainly a few more that I remembered earlier today but I can't recall now. I really like to talk to people and hear the stories of the "bikes that got away" and so on. Having the old classics there causes the old timers to cough up their tales(tails??). I also had an opportunity to talk with Brett Horton. Of the three bikes he had on display I found the Specially built 1981 Colnago ridden to victory by Freddy Martens in the World Road Championship. Brett asked me what I thought of the bike. First I looked over the lugs and jointery and it's all very simple and clean. Still made with Prugnaut longpoint lugs at a time when most other Italian companies had gone to IC lugs. The first thing that stood out were the chainstays. The bike was fairly small (about 56 or 57cm maybe) but had the large oversized Columbus PS track chainstays. Martens was obviously a sprinter! I tapped the tubing gently with the back of my fingernail and it sounded like it was made of lead. Holy smokes! I tapped all over the frame and the whole bike was made from heavy straight gauge Chrome Moly or something. Old Schwinn Paramount track tandems barely had tubing this thick. This guy won the world championships that year on probably the heaviest bike in the peloton. Personally I've never given lightness any consideration on a frame unless it was for a time trial on the road or track. This obsession with weight and modern frames has never made sense to me. Be fanatical about components, especially wheels, if you must. But a bike frame to last for many generations is probably best built with somewhat traditional tubing. As far as how fun it is to ride such a bike; if you don't know how to have fun on a great steel classic then you're just not getting it, really. Anyway, this speciality frame was the most interesting thing I saw at the Veloswap. The other special treat for me was to speak with Peter Rich, who actually imported the 1962 black Masi special I had on display. I asked him to check out my machine and tell me if he thought it was from the very first batch of bikes. He came back with a yes! Oh Goodie!! He asked me if I knew the history of that bike. I told him what I had heard. Traded to Albert Eisentraut for some frame fixturing. Albert presented it to his wife Catherine as a wedding gift in 1963. Peter said "That's right". Oh Goodie!! So the story has been confirmed on both counts. I felt VERY SPECIAL owing that beautiful Masi (my size even) and having Peter Rich there to bask in the knowledge that it has a proper and loving home after 41 years!! Peter Jonson told me later that my bike was the "hit of the show" (I didn't know that) because it was the oldest and most pristine. Fortunately for me Mrs. Eisentraut didn't take to cycling.
I just wanted to let everyone who dropped in that I really had a good time. I encourage everyone who can make it to next years event to do so. We can all party down or whatever. Hopefully Dave Martinez and some of the others who didn't get there this time can make it. The ride was awsome also. This should be a regular vintage event. Jan Johnson in particular did a fantastic job. True to the new motto for the LAPD " We treat you like a King", she really did! She was connected directly to the big boys at Velonews and we got to hang around. Adds to the experiece tremendously. There is always some interesting inside buzz. Wait until I tell you how she handled breakfast at the Raddison the next morning. Another priceless CR experience! Also I have to thank Matty for heading up the expedition. Those of us who know Matty really love him; he's the kind of guy that brings out the best in an experience and in people. It's hard to explain the level of coolness, class, and fun loving spirit Matty exhudes. To me Matty is a ROCK STAR! Everyone is great on these trips, but Matty is always tops it off. That's why we here in the south has selected him "Man of the Year". We will celebrate that at a ride comming up in Janurary. Chuck and Brian Ignatin complete the experience. Brian and Chuck are both real easy to get along with, full of bike information, and generally great to ride and travel with. I'm sure all of have friends like this, but I think we may get more of our share of vintage experience amongst us.
Maybe Pt. III tonite, but don't hold your breath.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
Whoa, 9pm already. Forget Pt. III