----- Original Message ----- From: "ADP" <aphillips9@mindspring.com> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2003 6:55 AM Subject: [CR]collecting and competence
Ann Wrote:
>
> 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.
>
I think that is a very good point. I recently sponsored a business client in the MS 150 bike ride from Houston to Austin, being too busy and out of shape to ride it myself this year. He emailed an account of the ride to all his sponsors, including the account of completing the first day's 98 miles in 5 1/2 hours including stopping to perform his duties as a ride marshall by calling an ambulance for a rider injured in a crash. I commented that I intended to ride next year but at nowhere near that pace. He said he would have done it considerably faster, but he was moderating his pace so as not to drop his teenage son.
I think it is true that the cycling mainstream in the US regards racing as the only "serious" use for bicycles and therefore tries to make every century into a road race. In Europe, where bicycles have been an important means of adult transportation, cycling is seen as a social as well as a competitive activity. Thus the popularity of randonneuring in Europe, an activity focued more on participation and comradeship and less on competition.
I do believe that bike collectors in the US are less obsessed with competition than most "serious" US riders. This is witnessed by the pace at the Cirque rides. While some of the CR members can certainly hammer with the best of them, many rides at Cirque are closer to 20 kph than 25 mph. And the CR guys are not adverse to taking on a few extra calories at the brew pub afterwards. At the first Cirque I attended, I was riding the modest paced ride before the bike show, and had some of the most serious collectors on the list for companions. I enjoy this attitude much more than that of the "mainstream" which has to try to finish every century in 4 1/2 hours.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX