[CR]Edward Albert's abandonment of KOF's

(Example: Framebuilding)

To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Bianca Pratorius" <biankita@earthlink.net>
Date: Fri, 1 Apr 2005 19:30:24 -0500
Subject: [CR]Edward Albert's abandonment of KOF's

I read with great interest Edward Albert's story of how he races and or trains on a Carbon Colagno. I can understand the ego and competitive spirit that "just doesn't want to get dropped." Somedays, I myself, fantasize about buying one of these modern conveyances. Today, I rode with a friend of mine who edged me slightly on the a near sprint where he probably maintained a steady 26 mph for quite a period of time. I thought "well maybe if I had one of those throwaway bikes I could go a little faster.... and so on and nnaa de da nonsense.."

There are so many reasons to ride and enjoy one of the older machines with all their quirks and concerns. Most of you live every week the thrill of just looking at an aged beauty, no less the pleasure of working on one and maintaining it. We know the advantages of a springy steel frame and the jewel like old mechanisms that dependably power the drivetrain decade after decade.

There is a book, " Fast Food Nation". It talks about Ray Crocs dream about bringing the assembly line to restaurant dining. It talks about how by simplifying the way food is made and served and rung up, skilled workers are no longer needed. It talks about how the employee turnover of these restaurants is on average 3 months, and the next day a new worker can be used and abused without any learning curve. It talks about how the Golden Arches is a more recognizable symbol throughout the world than the Christian Cross. There is a discussion of Crocs dream to place a Mcdonalds at every major intersection on this planet. It talks about how UNIFORMITY is the watch word of fast food. AND THAT IS MY POINT HERE. I know that thankfully Richard Sachs is not really going to have production moved to Asia and Giant Cycles. In a world where every major consumer product has its soul ripped out by mass production and world wide market needs, there exists in one small corner of every real man (or woman's) heart the desire for something handmade, and personal. Something made by skilled hands, while in the background of the workshop plays some classical or jazz music on a local radio station not owned by a conglomerate... rather than something made by a machine or a human turned into an automaton. Individuality is what is lacking not only in the production of bicycles, and furniture, and clothing and restaurants, but in the minds of citizens who must live in a characterless world. And as the world is goosestepping to the sound of one corporate drum, there are those few who feel they just must live life on their own terms, even if it means losing an occasional sprint, or spending two weeks extracting a seatpost out of an old classic. I don't eat at Mcdonalds, I don't watch popular TV. I don't ride Giant. Maybe they will come and get me in the middle of the night and beat me into a promise to live my life as do the rest, but I will always dream of life I know is better, and live it proudly when I can.

Garth Libre in Miami Shores Fl.