LouDeeter wrote:
> "....Listmembers Jonathan Greene, Ron Edmiston, and I went to Miami
> yesterday to ride at the Brian Piccolo Velodrome. The manager,
> Carlos Lavorde, told us some interesting stories, many from when he
> lived in New York City. You can see pictures of Carlos and the
> velodrome at this link. Carlos is in pic # 8. He knows Gianni
> Pergolizzi and probably other listmembers. I believe Carlos is a
> former Argentinian rider of some success. It was Carlos' 60th
> birthday and he was in rare form. One story he told was great. "
Well, Carlos LaBorde was Uraguaian National Sprint Champion 4- 5 times. He rode the Worlds, rode Morelon etc. He's the real deal. He and his brother Jorge (a road man) worked at Brooklyn Bicycle Center as mechanics on Coney Island Ave. in Brooklyn in 1976-77 and a while more as mechanics. That was the second shop I worked for (while still working at the first!); those guys taught me allot about wrench turning and life and it was always GREAT fun! Carlos is a trickster and once tried to get me: when repairing a frame he asked me to hand him a plier that was on the work bench. But he had already thrown a good amount of heat on it! Good thing I remembered the story he had told me of how that trick had been done to him when he was young before I granted his request. I might have used another plier to "hand" it to him, at least I'd like to think that's what I did anywayz. Our boss was a genuine schmuck and Carlos had some fun by build ing him a track bike to use on the road with something like a 24x14. That's NOT inch pitch! "Spin, Vinny, SPIN!"
John T.Pergolizzi
San Diego, Ca.