Given some past discussions of wives, spouses and/or significant others, I consider myself lucky. Not only does she enthusiastically support my six motorcycles in the garage, happily lives with the fact that I'm a patch holder in a rather hardcore club in the Richmond area, and is seriously considering that we may be moving back to my old home town in the next year or two so I can end up prospecting a chapter of a national 1%er club who just happens to be the primary family I've got on this planet . . .
. . . . . but she shows up for my birthday two weeks ago with a shabby but complete (minus wheels and pedals) early 70's Gitane Tour de France, remembering in some of our conversations my waxing lyrically about a Gitane I rode 35 years ago (Super Corsa, in white). I've spent the last two weeks with the parts on my lap and OLN on the telly, a situation I find somewhat poetic. Once the crud was removed, I found the paint to be amazingly complete, and the decals in better condition that I would have expected a two year old rendition in daily use 35 years ago.
I finished the assembly tonight, while watching Floyd Landis perform just as magnificently as I've believed he could. Except for one minor problem . . .
You'll notice earlier that I mentioned that the bike came minus wheels and pedals. Wheels were easy, as I've got that Campy Record/Super Champion tubular 36 hole combination I built last fall. However, I'm in a somewhat desperate but slighly skint need of a set of properly period pedals with French thread.
If anyone's got something fitting that they'd be willing to sell, please contact me off-list. Mint NOS original is not desired, this baby is going into the morning-while-the-coffee-brews roadwork bunch along with the Rossin and the (modern) Fuji. I'll happily settle for mechanically sound and cleanupable.
I've been looking at those NOS Zeus that Bananna Brain is offering, but they are a bit above my budget . . . .
George R. "Syke" Paczolt Montpelier, VA USA Deranged Few M/C
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