Greetings, CR Mates---
Ever since I got into this hobby I've secretly wished for some well-funded patron of the art of bicycle craftsmanship to do what the late Scott Chinery did with acoustic archtop guitars----give the best builders in the world a "blank check" budget and let them push their talents and build (in their own individual view) THE finest guitar ever.
I believe Chinery's only requirements were that the project be an acoustic archtop (probably the formate that offers the most aesthetic potential for the builded) and that it be BLUE.
This "competition" resulted in THE BLUE GUITARS, which has become a permanent museum collection and engendered a book and much publicity for hand-made guitars.
http://www.themomi.org/
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THAT SAME THING DONE WITH HAND-BUILT BICYCLES.
Of course the bikes would not HAVE to be BLUE, but, hey, we've already got one blue beauty made on spec----Brian Baylis's Aerotour. And come to think of it, Peter Weigle's Randonneur, which won Best in Show at this year's Cirque, is a steelish blue, too.
On second thought, perhaps the "classical" bicycle equivalent of an archtop guitar might be a TRACK bicycle and not a "tourer." But we'll leave the format to the patron, since it's his or her checkbook.
So, com'on OH GREAT, GRAND PATRON OF THE HANDBUILT BICYCLE----I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE----HOW 'BOUT SPONSORING A "BLUE BICYCLE" COLLECTION?
Warm regards,
Peter Jourdain Whitewater, Wisconsin USA
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