CR Gang, This weekend, I returned home to Brooklyn following a two week stay in Ashl and, Oregon. While in Oregon, I attended a chromoly brazing class at the U nited Bicycle Institute, where I made my first bicycle frame. (A full repo rt will follow shortly.) For some strange reason, my checked baggage was chosen to be rifled through by the friendly staff of the Transportation Security Administration. For the life of me, I just can't figure out why I didn't make it through initia l screening following check-in. I mean, c'mon! Dunno why they chose to di g through my bag following an X-Ray. Perhaps it was the mysteriously shape d Silca floor pump I had inside? Or the box containing a complete 531 tubes et? Or maybe it was the front fork? Could it have been the box of lugs and other oddly shaped framebuilding bits? Might it have even been the 2 pairs of pedals? I just can't imagine how anyone might have raised an eyebrow at any of the above...But then again, I don't consort with those strange non- cyclist types. Needless to say, when I arrived at home and opened up my bag, it looked as though a grizzly bear had come across it at an un-manned campsite...and it was full of fried chicken or something. But everything was, in fact, safe and sound. Everything but my early 70's Campagnolo belt buckle and black leather belt...which was nowhere to be fou nd. Giving the fine guardians of our nation's airways the benefit of the d oubt, it must have been set aside during the pilage somehow was not put bac k into my bag. Either that or it was ruthlessly stolen by a *former* broth er of the wheel. I'm not sure which. The buckle was a good one. Likely not an "official" Campagnolo product, as it was rectangular and had an image of three riders in hairnets below the Campagnolo script. But I miss it madly. If any of you have a comparable buckle that you'd be willing to part with, please let me know. My pants are around my ankles and it's getting to be em barassing.
Matthew Bowne
Brooklyn, New York
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