[CR]belated Copake, or Mr. Tomato-head rides again

(Example: Bike Shops:R.E.W. Reynolds)

Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:57:58 -0500
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Larry Osborn" <losborn2@wvu.edu>
Subject: [CR]belated Copake, or Mr. Tomato-head rides again

Greetings campers and spring fever sufferers

Wow, what a perfect spring weekend. I mean, it was snowing and flooding the day before I left home. Couldn't help but notice on the drive up Thursday how many gangs of prison inmates were out enjoying the fine spring weather, while doing roadside cleanup & maintenance. Just an observation, if you're contemplating a career change to a life of crime, just keep reminding yourself that you'll still have to work (perhaps along some roadside in western MD) and you may still find yourself wearing a stripped suit, but nobody looks cool in baggy pants with wide black & white horizontal stripes.

As always, the Mid Hudson Valley is a great place to spend a few days. After the snow melts. Haven't been able to make my traditional NY spring pilgrimage for a couple years, and it was definitely time to start doing that again. Nice to have friends in convenient locations. Not worth the drive up just for the swap, but the swap certainly makes it easier to choose a date for a visit. And plenty of other things to do in the area.

Perfect swap weather, and a fun-filled day with the kooks. Some interesting auction items to view later in the day Friday, but fortunately way outside my price range and limited area of primary interest. Had to laugh as one late arrival drove in with a Raleigh Pro on a roof rack. Moments like that always remind me of the overhead final shot in the snake bite training scene in Woody Allen's film "Bananas", as dedicated swappers stopped whatever they were doing and came streaming out of the woods to follow that car.

Collected a few trinkets that I had previously lived without, or even actively avoided for decades, but suddenly found I had to have. Good and bad. Good to know there is still more to learn, and more toys to experiement with. Looking forward to installing the Simplex Slightly-cheaper-than-super-LJ long cage rear der on something appropriate. It HAS to work better than those miserable Campy Ralleys (he said, being intentionally inciteful, which is not to be confused with insightful), and certainly more period correct and less embarassing than what is already on the bike. Spent most of the day providing positive reinforcement for other people's major purchasing dilemmas, but in the end accidentally talked myself into one. OOOOoooops. Dragged home a frame that had not quite grabbed me when I saw photos of it a few months back, but up close and personal it just seemed like it belonged in my little world. Must have been the way the sun glinted off that lovely shade of baboon butt ugly orange. It called to me. And it's safe to be orange again, now that prison inmates are back to wearing traditional stripes. Really hate when fad and fashion overlap with MY reality.

No auction for me. Other off topic things to do the rest of the weekend. No energy to ride around Copake Friday as I've done in the past, but noticed a few other people did go out exploring. Settled for a thoroughly enjoyable ride Sunday in the shadow of the snow capped Catskills, despite rediscovering the unpleasant interaction between a seriously sunburned balding little head, and sweat. DOH! It's an annual re-learning experience, and eventually the nerve endings burn out and the ride goes merrily on. As difficult to find a bad road to ride around there as it is to find a good road where I live. Just have to be in better condition next year so I can score a larger fix of fine asphalt. This has to last me long time. And bring a bike with round(er) wheels. Nothing like a bumpy WV road to beat up your wheels, and also help "disguise" the damage they've caused. Battered little carcass can't tell the difference between potholes and flat wheels. Nothing like a smooth road to point out those accumulated imperfections.

A couple little downsides to the extended trip. Two of my favorite used bookstores appear to have been victims of alien abductions. Disappeared without a trace. Certainly not from a lack of monetary contributions on my part over the years. Plenty of other distractions to fill that vacancy. And since the last trip my usual host had gotten re-married (Yes, I know, but it's way off topic.) and now finds himself sharing living space with two cats. I know things about cats. They're evil. I know they'll knock my bike over while squeezing their boneless little bodies between the spokes. I know they want to shed on my pillow or curl up on my face while I'm asleep so my air passages will close up and I'll die in my sleep of what would appear to be "natural" causes. And I know at the very least they want to leave a steaming stinking little pile of spite in my cycling shoes or helmet. Sometimes I just can't restrain myself. But just a tip from your ol Uncle Lar. You will not endear yourself to your host's new wife by showing your distinct lack of affection for her cats. Don't throw tennis balls in their general direction, sending them flying in a panic when an obsessed border collie follows nanoseconds behind the ball, streaking through their power nap. (insert feigned look of innocence here. Heh heh heh. I just never get tired of that game.). Don't even think up "cute" little names for them. She will not be amused when you rechristen her beloved little hairballs (Phoenix and Opey will now be forever known as "Kleenix and Dopey".). Well, how was I to know?. She did marry my friend. And she knew what HIS friends were like. How silly of me to just assume she had a sense of humor. Endless hours of entertainment for me and the house dog, but I may be camping out in Copake next year. See ya there.

Ready for T-town Larry "Dale Carnegie dropout" Osborn Bruceton Mills, WV