The invitation said 10:00 am, and traffic was quicker than expected. I arrived around 9:30 and cruised the park for a bit before showing up at Ken's only to find John Barry and Paul Raley already unloading, John with his Raleigh Super Course and Paul with a beautiful Alex Singer (or for those of us in America, its pronounced A'-lex Sing'-er), only massuesses get called Sogne's around here. 8o) "So Paul, where's the Sachs?" Paul had offered to let me try the Sachs on today's ride. "Already in the garage!" Ooooowhee! I get to try out a new SACHS! Others started to show, Ken was welcoming guests, great bikes were being unloaded and life is good with my third vintage ride in four weeks including the two in Joisey at Steve Maaslands and Gabriel & Rita Romeu's.
Being a fixed gear ride, I brought my Jack Taylor curved seat tube with the ASC hub, and there were a couple folks who hadn't seen it before. While all this talk was going on Ken just says "I'll trade you the Cinelli for it". AUUUGH!!!!! I've wanted a Super Corsa since I first laid eyes on one around 1970. I've been hearing the hype about how solid and lovely handling these bikes are. And this one's silver, the color mine would have to be! And I couldn't do it. I just really like the Jack Taylor, short wheelbase, light, spindly frame, but so comfortable and such a nice handler, a no hands machine at just five mph. And the ASC hub, it's just too cool to let go of. Maybe someday Ken, but its going to have to wait awhile at least ...
And I got to try the Sachs. Stiff, set up totally for racing, really stretched out, cast iron stem, A** hatchet Rolls saddle in Ritchie red. Absolutely lovely bike, wish I could own it, almost as nice as my tourer. Almost! After all, the tourer was built for me. But the Taylor spelled comfort for me today, so I turned down the Sachs. And Paul was offered a chance to ride the ASC hubbed bike. As much as he liked it, the Singer was his ride for the day. We both ended up cruising the neighborhood for a mile or so on each others bikes, admiring their finer points before the ride took off.
And the ride was lovely, all along Rock Creek, and what seemed like all park land for 27 miles. I was impressed at how many people were riding track and fixed bikes. I've only got two photos on the road of riders in front of me, way in front of me. Meade Anderson, riding a bobish bike had a computer to let me know we'd been averaging around 16 mph with only a couple miles to go. That explained my tongue hanging out. There were no stops for me, so all my photos are back at Ken's. I did manage to talk to a lot of folks, but spent a lot of time just keeping people in sight.
Back at Ken's with bikes parked all around, the crowd gathered and enjoyed each others company and our hosts' Ken and Betsy's chili, and sausage, and pizza, snacks and all manner of beverages. Harvey Sach's who rode his old beater Roma, the one that keeps getting prettier every time I see it, also had the '38 Schwinn Paramount that he's centuried on recently.
Peter Czapiewski's Cinelli track machine was a stunner. Peter Kohler's bike like no PX-10 I'd ever seen before. He really finds some pristine bikes. I was digging into the garage's 'frigidator to get what I'd brought and found the 52 Rotrax fixed gear frame I'd admired on e-bay, and had to walk it around back for everyone to see in the daylight, bacon slicer hubs the only things attached. Very nice, and my size. Marty's Schwinn Volare in Paramount red w/ chrome lugs and ends was a sleeper, a really nice looking bike. And Ken's Carpenter was just the prettiest bike there, just a lovely mix of lugs, chrome, paint and parts. Ken assured me it rode just as nice as it looked.
I was talking bikes w/ Tom Witkop, when I mentioned the 62 cm Masi beach bike I'd picked up earlier this year. Tom, towering over me by at least an inch or two, said he had a 60 cm Masi, would I like to see it and would I be interested in a possible trade (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!). After someone assured me that Tom only had ratty bikes, I followed, driving behind him while he rode his 70's Schwinn Super Sport the mile or so to his house. Bikes in the garage, bikes in the attic, bikes in the basement, lots of rust but lots of class too. Bella, DeRosa, Masi, Paramounts, Italian, French, American?, many bikes in various states of build. And the Masi, an orange twin plate crown, Dave Stoler bike. The paint was better than mine, a bit of rust and touchup, but a classy ride. I immediately told him he'd get the worst of the deal, nothing's going to happen anytime soon, but he's considering ... No hurry. Tom's wife Carrie showed up, the kids were there, three dogs, great people.
My thanks to all who hosted me and all the others. Today was great fun. And since I was near College Park, Maryland, I had to stop in and say hi to Jill DeMauro at Proteus. A hello turned into an hour or so of talking bikes, trash, and inviting her to my next vintage ride, hopefully coming up soon. The Proteus shop was kind of a cavern when I went there after last year's ride hosted by Ken. Now its fully stocked, big and warm, a comfortable sofa, a bike heaven with bike ephemora dripping from everywhere. When I invited her to a vintage ride, Jill questioned her ability to bring an appropriate bike, but kept pointing out the Cinelli up there, the Paramount hanging here, the Mercian getting some work done, the Cilo on top of that stand, the cast aluminum deco wheel truing jig on the floor next to where we were standing (no, its not the Eldi, though she had one of those too). The shop's a great place to visit for the vintage cyclist, not sure how much of the vintage stuff's for sale, but you'll be welcomed and treated like a close friend when you come.
And then heading back up the road with a bit of Danny Gatton blasting on
the car's juke box. Another day in paradise. Hope the rain holds off
for a ride tomorrow. I've posted a few shots at:
http://sports.webshots.com/
Regards, and Happy trails,
Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland