Re: [CR]Hello from randyjawa...

>
> Hello Folks;
>
> My name is Randy. My online name is randyjawa.
>
> It seems than my name has come up in your forum, recently, due to an
> auctio
> n that I listed on Ebay. The auction title is "A Choice, A Thank You and
> S
> omething Special". My purpose with that listing, primarily, was to say
> tha
> nk you, to all of the people who have been kind enough to follow my
> auction
> s. Secondly, I wanted to let these same people know, that I am taking a
> mo
> nth off from Ebay, to ride the roads of Jamaica, while my wife guards the
> b
> each. Third, and to make the auction interesting, I offered a choice of
> so
> me of my best bikes. All are high end and pretty rare. I offered the
> bike
> s to keep me legal with Ebay. In all honesty, I really do not want to
> sell
> even one of my special bikes but I do have too many to look after properly
> .
>
> I am a retired guy who likes bicycles, particularly vintage road bicycles.
> I have owned and parted with everything, from a late forties French Rochet
> in rough shape, to a gorgeous 1971 Carlton "Professional". My present bic
> ycle collection focuses on high end, and rare, Canadian made vintage road
> b
> icycles, of which I have seven or eight. Most of my bicycles are not
> exoti
> c, but a half dozen or so, each year, are more than worth digging deep
> for.
>
> I have found and street restored over three hundred bicycles, in the past
> f
> ew years. From that experience, I learned a great deal about these old
> gem
> s. Some of what I learned, I learned from the Net. Most, I learned by
> doi
> ng. And, it is what I have personally experienced, both in building and
> ri
> ding, that I hope to share, on my soon to be released web site, E-zine, or
> what ever you call this sort of information/entertainment package these
> day
> s. I really don't know what to call my information/entertainment package,
> but I have it. I have spent months working on it. And I finished the
> seco
> nd rewrite this morning. Thank goodness.
>
> I am not a bicycle expert of any kind, but I am pretty good at finding old
> road bicycles. In fact, I can pretty much do it on demand these days. I
> h
> ave tried this and that, combining each with other things, to come up with
> about a dozen proven bike hunting procedures that I use regularly. I find
> between sixty and one hundred bicycles each year by myself. I am not part
> of a group. Some of the procedures work OK. Some work pretty good. At
> le
> ast one works almost instantly, and every time - for me.
>
> I am a retired professional industrial mechanic, and I spent thirty years
> a
> pplying my trade. I have written books, on vintage motorcycle restoration
> and other topics. I spent ten years developing Management Systems for a
> ve
> ry large company. It was during my Management System days, that I came
> to
> understand what I believe to be the true purpose of business. To help oth
> ers! That, incidentally, is a long story, but I believe absolutely in the
> principle.
>
> I sell quite a few bicycles and I am disturbed, by the general lack of
> unde
> rstanding, that many people exhibit with their questions and concerns. I
> s
> ee people paying too much for some of my bicycles and, quite frankly, I
> fee
> l uncomfortable about it, even though I start most of my bikes at ten
> dolla
> rs, with no reserve. I hope to help people who wish to get started do so
> w
> ithout making the mistakes that I did. And I made them all, as nearly as
> I
> can tell.
>
> Our hobby/sport is growing very quickly. There are a great many new
> people
> , expressing an interest in acquiring a frame set and building a bike
> thems
> elves. With that in mind, I realized that there was a need, for an
> informa
> tion resource that catered to every level of vintage road bicycle
> interest.
> From entry level, the person just getting into the hobby/sport, to the ex
> pert who has been involved since these bicycles were the hot items, of
> thei
> r day. The question was, how to reach, inform and entertain all levels of
> expertise and interest. I think that I have a pretty good answer. I hope
> you will take a look and find what I have to share informative and
> entertai
> ning at the same time.
>
> I am a Bicycles for Humanity volunteer. What a good organization, we have
> in our city. Nothing really formal, but we have sent 430 bicycles to
> Namib
> ia, already. And our second container is bursting with over five hundred
> b
> icycles, tires, components, basket balls, and you name it... That
> containe
> r is away in a month, or so, and then we intend to focus on local bicycle
> i
> ssues, concerns and promotion.
>
> Finally, since I hope I have your attention, I am always open to
> trading my European stuff, for unusual vintage Canadian road bikes. In
> case anyone is interested.
>
> Anyway, since my name came up, I though that I would join your group and
> in
> troduce myself. When I get back from Jamaica, I hope to list the new web
> s
> ite as a "Buy It Now" on Ebay. I am not even sure that I will be allowed
> to do that, but it seems like a good way to reach most of the people who
> mo
> st need a bit of help.

>

> Best regards,

>

> Randy