Greetings---
I had been planning a photo essay of the Cronometro swap, but, for the reasons mentioned in Tom Hayes' previous post----the crowd, congestion, and the configuration of the tables----I couldn't get a purchase on any clear views. It was rather like being stuck in a crowded elevator or in the swelling mob I remember in Boston's underground Park Street MTA Station during the morning rush. The aisles were narrow, the crowd three and four people thick in front of every table, and the ability to even see the displayed wares, never mind photograph them, was minimal. Consequently, I kept my camera in its case.
For me, Cronometro is ceasing to be a place where I can expect to find vintage goodies and more of an excuse (and a good one) for getting together with friends from this and other bike lists, some of whom I hadn't previously met face to face.
To that end, the morning began with breakfast at "The Curve" with a bunch of great blokes from the Gentleman Cyclist (3-Speed hub gear) list. Our lingering at breakfast meant that we escaped the long wait in line at Cronometro and were able to walk in unencumbered. Granted, we may have missed some of the mad dash for choice frames and bits which fall into the hands of those who book tables, wait hours in lines, or otherwise have the competitive will, but most in our crowd were of a like mind-----Cronometro's a social event and not really for serious parts hunting. If you find something it's a bit o' luck and serendipity. You take it as it comes.
Still, a few in our midst did find some goodies. Owen Lloyd of the Gentleman Cyslists nabbed a bundled-together stack of NOS Stronglight chainrings for $10! And Jeff Pyzyk of CR found some really rare Campy levers for $50. Even if I had spotted those levers before Jeff, they would have been lost on me, since I do not possess the encyclopedic knowledge of all the Campagnolo iterations that are in the storehouse of Jeff's mighty mind. A true example of the phrase, "knowledge is power."
But other than the few things my compatriots found and displayed to me, don't ask me what vintage parts I saw...I didn't get close enough to see all that much, and what I did manage to glance at in a wink is all a blur to me.
The floor plan of the event is a large central lobby with a high ceiling, which houses many of the larger commercial vendors, and two rooms with lower ceilings off either side of the lobby, holding the tables of your "mom and pop" sellers. The central lobby was the only room which was humanly navigable and not oppressive. The side rooms, where all the vintage sellers were hosted, was an uncomfortable and unimaginable stew of humanity. After a few minutes I ceased to even look for goods on tables, I simply, amidst a thousand muttered "Excuse me's," started scanning the crowds for familiar faces.
And plenty of friends did I find. There were Gentleman Cyclist breakfast mates Troy Mayne, Bob Allen, and Tom Huber, and two of their friends; Gent Cys Mike \u201cCheesy\u201d Bullis, Brad Smith, Alan and Owen Lloyd; CR guys Earle Young, Richard Cielec, Billy Ketchum, and three very nice chaps from his Chicago "mob." And I even managed, as the masses thinned, to say "Hi" to CR and VeloStuf's John Barron, to visit the table of BOB list guy Mike Hauptman, and have an extended chat with CR's David Cooper, who had sought solace from the foot traffic behind one of the vendor's tables.
Speaking of vendors, if we in the throngs had it bad trying to negotiate the narrow passages of the aisles, the vendors were literally "back to back" with nary enough space to park a chair. Several of them whom I didn't even know, and completely unsolicited, demonstrated to me their predicament and expressed their frustration with the sardine can which was this year's layout.
At one o'clock most of us were more than ready for lunch, and a good group of us repaired to Earle Young's local hangout, Tony Franks Bar and Grille, to down amazing hamburgers and Reubens, hoist pints of ale, and talk of all manner of bicycles.
Despite the impossibility of the layout and the craziness of the scene, I had an absolutely fabulous time.
How was this possible?
The people. The great bike people are to me what makes the Cronometro event a "happening" worth attending. This was my fifth or so year of jumping into the melee, and I plan to be there next year, too. When it comes to bike people and the solder that ties us together, insanity knows no bounds.
Cheerio,
Peter Jourdain
Whitewater,
Wisconsin USA