jerry,
I agree with you about the benifits of riding at a "social" pace. Our rides out here are usually a combination of social pace and some moments of testosterone attacks. I'm comfortable with that myself. Sort of the best of both worlds. We regroup as our rides hit points where critical turns might be missed by stragglers.
I can see having a bike or two one doesn't ride. I can accept if one chooses to collect bikes and not ride any of them. In the case of "vintage lightweights" I don't see the point of having too many bikes that one doesn't ride, though. Even if you ride a "beater", at least you will be out there with the rest of the riders learning more, and having a good time. If you want to ride like it was a tea party, just don't tell Pergolizzi when and where you're going. ;-). If you bring John along you might end up wearing the tea cart. Most deffinitely your tea will get STIRRED!
Bike collecting is not stamp collecting. Stamps lose their value almost entirely if they have been used. With an old bike, used is what you want. A NOS bike from the early 70's might be "too valuable" to put on the road. Good as a wall hanger, but maybe not the best thing to ride. Same with parts. I prefer good condition used stuff; why hang NOS stuff on bikes if you plan to ride it? That's just my point of view in general. Sometimes I have something NOS (like the Stronglight track crankset I put on my fixed gear bike) that finds the perfect place and might as well get used for what it was intended.
There is room for every point of view with respect to bike collecting; but I prefer to ride them for the joy of being with my friends and a little to "show off" what is new in the Baylis camp. I love to see what everyone else has or has dug up also. If you don't ride it, how are we going to see it? I suppose one could show up to a ride with the bike strapped down in the back of their pick-up and drive along side everyone as they blast down the road. Whatever.
Looking forward to riding. Haven't had much time for it here lately. I almost died in the Fallbrook back counrty last week. I may have to join a tea party in Greensboro. We'll have to seek out the back so Pergolizzi doesn't see us. Or maybe someone can fill his tires with lead during the night. Inject his grease with super glue. We'll figure out something.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
>
> ----- 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