Jerry Moos wrote:
I think the competition only becomes a problem if one allows it to. For me, the key is not to take it too seriously. I've only ever won one prize, last year at Larz, and that was quite enjoyable and frankly unexpected. But I never come to an event with the primary purpose of trying to win a prize. I enter bikes more because I think someone might find them interesting. A few years ago, there was not a single French bike entered in the show at Cirque. So the following year, I took it upon myself to bring about half a dozen French bikes to Cirque, just so they would be represented. I didn't really expect to win a prize, and I did not, as someone else brought a Rene Herse demountable. But attendees new to the hobby at least knew that classic French bikes existed, which was the point.<snip> ++++++++++++++++ Jerry - I like your attitude. Do ya'll remember the year that Larry Black and I brought a contingent of Austrian bikes? All of the Austro-Daimler, Puch, and Sears Roebuck families. A-D Super-Leicht, Vent Noir, and rattle-can. Sears 1974/75 double-butted, in lime green, and my favorite, my beloved* 1965 Ted Williams Sport Racing. That bike is the ultimate example of a near-original frameset for which the parts (Campy "steel" Record rear and "with cable stop" front) are clearly worth more than the whole bike. Darn, it deserved an award as funkiest bike at the show, a category not yet recognized. I mean, like there it was, in faux yellow-gold paint, with faux twin-plate crown and real crushed-tube top eyes and a really straight tubing seam, surrounded by really nice bikes, and the outrageousness of it just didn't float any judging boats. :-)
Well, you can't please everyone, but Dale's still done a heck of a job!
harvey sachs mcLean VA *why I just love that old Ted Williams, which is just like my first 10-speed, so much that I don't remember riding it since that Cirque. Probably ought to bring it next year, for a new round of smiles of disbelief.