List, In the gritty, provincial town of my youth, bike shops often had to diversify into small engine work in order to stay viable. The bouquet that haunts my memory includes a hint of lawnmower engine, as well as the usual evocative mix of rubber, dust, solvent, grease, and the woody fragrance of cardboard box. I remember, too, the heavy wooden door with its large glass pane covered with stickers and decals. There was a certain magic for me in the contrast of seeing a new bicycle, in all its jewel-like perfection, being wheeled out of those grimy caverns. I don't have anything against clean, roomy, well-lit, airy retail space, but the old shops, probably without intending to, gave a better sense of the reality and solidity of a product made from steel joined by fire, of bearings that actually needed to be cleaned with solvent and repacked with fresh grease from time to time. I'm not saying everything was better back then, or that today's technology and today's shops aren't any good. But it is good to reflect today with increasing pleasure on what seemed merely commonplace back then. BTW, does anyone remember Gold Seal High Speed Bicycle Grease? It came in a plastic tube and looked like the red jelly you see on pastries.
John Hurley
Austin, Texas, USA