Another Cirque has come and gone and as far as I could tell, a good time was had by all participants. I definitely had a great time finally putting a face to people who were hence-to-for only email addresses or telephone voices.
There was a very high quality and wide range of bikes on display. The auction on Saturday was once again a resounding success with well over $3000 donated for a worthy charity.
A personal highlight for me was being able to speak with many of the framebuilders present. The cirque really has become a mecca for the North American framebuilding elite and an ideal venue to admire examples of their work, speak to these builders, and hopefully place an order for a custom frame. Some random outtakes from the show that stood out for me, were: - Ed Litton's recreation of a Campagnolo cambio corsa bike (having seen the donor frame before Ed worked his magic, I was literally blown away at how well the bike turned out! He truly is a magician.) - Bruce Gordon's touring bike and titanium frame fit pump. If you can't buy one ofhis bikes, at least consider one of these pumps. - Mike Barry's incredible restoration of the Praderio bike with the Cervino derailleur. Again, having seen this bike before the restoration, I was once again reminded as to why Mike should be considered one ofthe top restorers in North America. ... I could obviously go on, but I'll leavethat to others.
I would like to extend warm thanks to Dale and the whole crew for the tireless effort in hosting the whole show.
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Steven Maasland
Moorestown, NJ, USA