Mark, I bought my first Reynolds tubed> read first 'real' bicycle at Buds in 1978 or so... I was 16 or 17 and I used my long saved mad money from doing yardwork and handyman jobs. BUD's was to me like Nirvana or even Valhala...cause I thought I died and went to heaven! The joint was dripping with uber-cycle-mojo! It was about 70 miles from where I grew up in Woodland Hills, CA. but I luckily had older brothers who drove me on many madcap adventures. I still remember gaping at all the bikes and parts and thinking that my heart would surely burst out of my chest. If I remember the shop was maybe 2 storefronts? with high and tin embossed/ decorated ceilings. It was crowded so I had to push my way in to see what was in the display cases. Now I have a garage FULL of bikes and my own display cases...I guess not much has changed in 30 years ;^)
Matt "Still thinning the herd' Gorski Belmont Shore, California USA
>From: Mark Bulgier <Mark@bulgier.net>
>Date: 2007/04/24 Tue AM 11:04:13 CDT
>To: Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>,
classic rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Subject: RE: [CR] Gianni Motta bikes
>Chuck Schmidt wrote:
>
>> Well, Gianni Motta bikes weren't actually common in Southern
>> California, but not uncommon either. Bud's Bike Shop in Claremont,
>> 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, carried them in the early
>> 1980s
>
>And earlier. I worked at Bud's/Santana 1977-79 and I saw at least one,
>a beautifully tarted-up show bike that I remember as probably the
>fanciest bike I had ever seen at that point in my life. Those who know
>what Bud's was like back then, know that's saying a lot - a lot of fancy
>hardware passed through there. (Maybe still does, but I haven't been
>back since '79 when I moved to Seattle) Another Bud's alumnus from back
>then, Mark Ritz, is a CR member and probably can tell us more.
>
>Mark Bulgier
>Seattle WA USA