First you have to suffer through my take as a first time Cirque attendee. Hard to put into words but imagine all the bikes you read about, see pictures of and wish you could see for real. Well I did that last weekend. Not much left to the imagination. They were all there. New and old Richard Sachs bikes, Bruce Gordons, Mike Barry's Mariposa's, Rene Herse, Brian Baylis, Peter Weigle and I am sure I left out some because of bike overload. Then you get to meet many of these folks in person. You hang out, swill beer, break bread and it is all good.
I can write a lot more but time is tight for me right now. Perhaps more as my thought come back to me and things settle down. I did want to say a special thanks to Bob Hovey who not only helped me out several times in the past but gave me some kick ass software that basically is a comprehensive Masi guide. John Pergolizzi was fantastic for keeping things going, your never at a loss for something to do if you are near John, he generates his own energy field. Mike Schmidt for being my co-pilot on the 11 hour trip from NJ. Last but not least, Dale Brown, not for only a great weekend but how he ended it. After dinner Sunday night, Dale ran up to me and put me in a tremendous bear hug. He officially welcomed me into the Cirque family with that hug. I was not hugging back as hard because he caught me off guard and I had a wet tootsie roll pop in my hand and was afraid that it would stick to his shirt.
I have been to many many bike shows, swaps, gatherings, etc. Many more than you know or have been to yourself. Trust me when I say this, nothing compares. It is the best of the best and all under one umbrella.
I want to leave you all with one final vision. The last evening a group of about 7 - 9 grey haired men gathered around a television set at the Battleground lobby. Someone, maybe Roy Drinkwater brought a DVD of the Triplets of Belleville. Anyone entering the hotel that evening got to see these grown men, giggling, laughing out loud, guzzling beer and chips while watching a cartoon. What a sight to anyone who did not know what was up. Also what a way to end a perfect event with friends.
The photos here are not the best but still they will provide some small flavor of what the weekend was like. I provided some captions but missed many as I do not have time at this moment to do them right. If I misspelled your name let me know and I will fix it. If you would like your name to be recognized as being owner of any bike shown, again write me and I will add it. I will be away this weekend so if you write me please be patient as I will not be able to reply till next week sometime. Wish it were June 2006 already.
Here is the link...
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ