Hello My name is Mark Hoffman and I have recently joined the list. I live in New Britain, CT. I've been interested in cycling and bikes since the early 70's when I helped found the Central Connecticut Cycling Club. I began working in shops after graduating college and deciding not to be an English teacher. Early mentors included Joe Tosi, Conrad and Paul LeMaire, Gerry Tullai, and Inge Scott. I'd like to thank the person who stole the Raleigh Sprite 27 I used to commute to college on, because I may not have ever sought a replacement. That turned out to be a Gitane Interclub, bought on the phone from the West Hill Shop in Putney, VT when Steve Grey ran it from an old one-room schoolhouse. We bought 3:for myself, my wife, and the friend who attended school in Putney and had heard that Gitanes were the best. I had insiststed we get "sew-ups" 'cause that's what the the "real" cyclists used. I'll spare you the early tubular stories. When we picked up the bikes, mine came through as billed, $130 with Huret Alvit and steel cottered cranks. The girls were mifitted 'cause they had to pay an extra $30 because they're bike came with cotterless alloy cranks and these new japanese derailleurs. First Suntour I had ever seen. Anyway, life progress as did my madness, which was confirmed by my hours of sitting and staring at my bike, which now was a Motobecane Grand Record. The first glimpse of a GR was on an ill-fated ride to Killingworth we had organized. We encountered a guy along the route. I was hypnotized by the Nouvo Record derailleurs and the fancy lugs. It didn't take much...
I got started in racing. I remember journeying to Amherst, MA to buy my first shoes and shorts from Doug Dale's Peleton Shop. I thought I had gone to Mecca. We decided to hold a Criterium in New Britain's Walnut Hill Park, to fulfill our USC,er I mean ABLA requirement . I proud to say that race has been held every year since 1972.
I ran a "EuroBike" store in Canton for a bit. Wes Gadd was a young lad that dropped in often to visit and ask lots of questions. Some of you may be familiar with the great lugs he cuts and his limited production frame. He learned alot from Paul LeMaire. Paul still makes some frames today out in Newport, RI. He was a tenant in my house back in the 80's when he first made frames in Berlin, CT. We all hung out or worked at Suburban Cycle in Kensington, which grew out of the Western Auto Store in New Britain (a Schwinn and Raleigh dealer).
After my first child was born, I dabbled with a small repair shop of my own, but ended up working non-cycling jobs until about a year ago. I still enjoyed riding and teaching others during that period, and have worked to develop cycling programs for inner-city kids for the past 5 years. This year our program opened a repair and retro shop at the same location of the above mentioned Wester Auto Store...talk about the wheel turning round!
Sorry to ramble on so long...but it has been a long, strange trip.
Current bikes include:
1948? Schwinn Paramont track bike (newer components) mid 70's Lemaire mid 70's 531 Trek (from the original waterloo shop) early 80's Raleigh Gran Course mid 70's Dawes Double-Blue 1999 Milano (Masi) 3v "Wing" (the filed version)
works-in-progress: 1953 circa Dawes 70's era Mercier 70's Austro/Daimler "Olympian" R.E.W. Reynolds road bike
Lastly, I have personally broken two Campy NR crank arms, curiously, both from the same crankset. I broke th right one about 25 years ago. I got it replaced by a campy rep who wanted an entry in our race. The relpacement was unfluted and had the sheild logo at a rt. angle to the crank arm. Broke the other half last March after running into Wes Gadd on the road...said so long and snapped the left one at a traffic ligh as I started to pedal.....now if I could only find that campy guy....