Norm,
Perhaps the San Diego area would be a good place to visit. You can go to "Ye Olde Bicycle Shop Cafe" owned and operated by Dave Taitano. He has a nice old bicycle museum and and coffee shop attached to his bike shop where he deals in "pre-owned" bikes, for the most part. If you want a good dose of vintage lightweight stuff then you can visit my workshop in El Cajon. I'm beginning to take stuff out of there as I begin my transition to my new location later this year; but there's still a lot of classic stuff in my collection (all the bikes are pretty small, so just be aware of that) plus a number of things under restoration as always. Just make sure you contact me ahead of time to make an arrangement to visit.
There is a weekly Sunday ride we do down here, known as the "JB" ride on account of Joe Bell; which is a 35 or 50 mile loop depending on which options you select. We end up in Alpine for coffee and such at Janet's Coffee Shop. Probably around 2000 to 3000 feet of climbing total and some good down hills on the way back. 10 miles of mostly flat warm up before we hit the hills, and the same 10 miles on the way back to spin and eventually warm down on. Most of the climbing is within a section about 4 to 5 miles long.
Let us know if you plan to be in the neighborhood.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
I'm getting ready for my annual visit to Southern California and am
looking for suggestions on where to get my vintage bike fix. I was
planning on checking out Baron and Cecile's operation in Santa Barbara
but apparently they are no longer open to the retail public. Also, I
will be returning before the first Sunday in Feb. so I will miss Chuck's
Rose Bowl ride. What else can I do and are there any shops where I might
score a vintage part or two? We will be based in the Pomona area but are
willing to travel.
Norm Lafleur
Ashfield, Ma.