John wrote: In the late sixties it was just beginning to be cool to ride a bike and boy did I ride. Even before I turned 16, I would go and visit Peter Rich at Velo Sport in Berkeley, a friendship that continues to today. Thanks for the walk down memory lane, I needed that.
Isn't ironic how the CR list so rarely mentions this pioneer of cycling in the U.S?
I remember starting out as a mechanic and racer wannabe in 1974, and my ambition was get good enough to move to Berkeley and work at Velo-Sport.
I actually made it to Velo-Sport in 1982 and got to work on some fabulous end-of-the-timeline machines and met some legendary characters.
Tops: Bruce Gordon stopped in after one of the last of the New York International Bicycle shows and Peter bought some of his frames, including a dark blue one with polished, assymetrical lugs like the one on his prizewinning touring frame of last year. Customer knew this was a special bike and asked us how we would build such a gem. He saw the wisdom of going all-out: Campagnolo 50th anniversary group, complete Cinelli special stitched leather bar and stem with matching alloy rail saddle Mavic SSC blue rims on 32-hole small flange hubs Clement Campionato del Mondo tubulars. This was a stunning bike which the customer actually rode, a lot, and I'm not sure he even stripped the gold bits off before he rode it. Unfortunately, I don't think we took pictures while it was new. What a marvelous machine to actually have my hands on, even if I didn't own it.
I still number Peter among my friends. He is one of the most interesting and generous people I have met through bicycles.
Earle Young,
Madison, WI