John,
Reading your missive, I can understand completely, plus probably up the ante to two types of isolation: Time and distance.
I dropped out of the sport back in the fall of 1977. Completely. Totally. Never walked into a bicycle shop again, didn't notice anything of the bicycle displays in the local big-box stores, completely lost touch with the technology changes that happend in the interim. Got back into riding last fall, and immediately had to start from scratch, having nothing more than 35 years of memories and some long-dormant skills.
Of course I started with a vintage bike, not because I was necessarily interested in vintage, but because it was cheap, a brand that I revered (Raleigh), and if I was going to start again, let's at least start with something I could understand. Discovered immediately that of the four LBS in Richmond (not exactly just down the road), three had absolutely no clue on anything earlier than 1995, and the fourth, while fully understanding my needs and being willing to help (they have on occasion), couldn't understand why I'd want to bother.
Swap meets? Until I found out about the MD one in February, I never knew they existed. My best initial source was the local bicycle/recycle shop in the college district, who caters to the usual poor college student, but the owner (mid-20's) has an enthusiasm for old bikes, and happily listened to me prattle on anytime I walked in the door.
Thank God for Google, which got me here. I've been picking up a lot from the missing years, and it feels good to be able to toss off the occasional story from my days behind the workbench to add to the general knowledge. More importantly, as I get tired of watching a needed part on eBay go well beyond my current horribly modest budget, or getting dual sniped with my snipe being the loser I learn to appreciate the members who have stuff available to sell, and are willing to do so at what have been, to me, bargains. For which I'm very greatful. There's already been a number of times where this group has made the difference between staring at a frame hanging in the garage, and being able to ride it - my Rossin is the prime example. The initial stage of rebuilding will be complete by next weekend.
It's not enough just to discuss the subject, imparting knowledge and opinion to the group at large. It's also necessary to assist in the restoration and function of of these selfsame bikes, and selling parts certainly falls within the group's intent.
No, I'll never bitch about too much being offered for sale. If I'm not interested, or more accurately, not in the mood to torture myself with what I can't afford, I just hit the down arrow and scroll past to the next message. No, the only frustration I find with this group is the 1984 cutoff. Don't get me wrong, I know enough now to both understand and completely agree with why the date was picked. My frustration is that there's still another 15 missing years for me that I wish I could find some place where it's covered with equal intensity.
George R. "Syke" Paczolt Montpelier, VA
Original message:
Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 11:19:09 -0500 From: John Thompson <JohnThompson@new.rr.com> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Was: Departing member. Now: Too much Buying & Selling on CR? Message: 6
oroboyz@aol.com wrote:
> I see many folks (like myself!) who live in regions
> where there are few if any vintage buffs or swap
> meets or sources other than eBay to find old parts &
> bikes.
That's were I find myself as well. Bike swaps here are almost exclusively gas-pipe MTBs, with a smattering of modern, non-ferrous bikes. Few, if any, road bikes, and what there are are thoroughly dismal.
The nearest swap worth considering is two hours distant by car -- the Madison/Cronometro venue, which is very nice but only once a year and often takes place on weekends when I'm working.
Bike clubs here have nice people, but the bikes are almost all gaudy, modern, non-ferrous machines that make funny noises when you shift gears and clip the pedals, festooned with wires and screens and buttons and goodness knows what all. My newest bike (1993) is almost always the oldest bike there.
-- John "no one to commiserate with" (john@os2.dhs.org) Appleton WI USA
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