If I recall correctly, Dr Graves was no six-footer. I recall, with some margin for memory fade, that he wasn't as tall as me (5'10"). With a bunch of disclaimers because of the many years, I'll bet he was closer to 5'8". A tandem with a 25" front would be too big for him. His singles fit me well, maybe a bit smaller than the 23.5" I usually rode. He gave the impression of being a bit diminuitive: not a physically powerful guy by any means. Of course, I always saw him riding in knickers, and it's hard to convey power in knickers.
Doctor was the founder of American Youth Hostels in San Diego. He was the most wonderful mentor to the neighborhood kids who took up cycling. I lived just about a mile away from him in La Jolla Shores when he guided me into cycling.
Cheers!
Kevin
From: Peter Jourdain <pjourdain@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [CR] Timewarp Rene Herse Auction & tandem To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Cc: "Dr. Paddle" <drpaddle@yahoo.com>, "Matt Gorski" <milanocc@gmail.com> Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 6:08 PM
Hi, Kevin---
Thanks for the reminiscences of Dr. Clifford Graves. Wish so much I could have met him.
Dr. Graves' Rene Herse tandem (orange in color, I believe) sold on ebay a couple of years back. Somewhere I think I have the auction photos. If I find them I'll post 'em. It was a pretty large size, a 24 or 25-inch captain's cockpit. Is that the machine you recall?
I remember there being a debate on CR about Dr. Gaves' height. Some folks, looking at a picture of him, thought he was quite short. But looking at his tandem and the size of the tubes (especially the head tube) I believe he was actually a 6-footer. The ebay seller had not listed the dimensions of the machine.
I remember bidding on it and Matt Gorski rooting for me and asking me afterwards if I'd won it, which I did not. I think it might have gone for as much as five grand. I'll have to see if I can dig up the auction info from my archives.
Cheerio,
Peter Jourdain
Whitewater, Wisconsin USA
http://www.bicyclingbackwards.com
"For here is entertainment in excelsis, the sight, the sound and the scent of things....Why cycling for joy is not the most popular passtime on earth is still a mystery to me." ---Frank J. Urry, "SALUTE TO CYCLING"
From: Dr. Paddle <drpaddle@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [CR] Timewarp Rene Herse Auction To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 8:28 PM
I visited Dr Graves' garage many times as a teen. I recall he had at that time (1968 to about '71) a couple chrome Herse touring bikes (one that broke apart for shipping) and a chrome Herse racer. He also had a tandem that may have been an Herse, and a tricycle from another manufacturer. At the time I hung out there, he was a bachelor so there wasn't a wife's bike. (He married in the mid-70s, I think, to Katrina Hippen?) I had the pleasure of riding the racer in a ten-mile timetrial a couple of times, and the tricycle once. Doctor was a wonderful guy. My memory may be incomplete or corrupted, of course. Consider the era...
Kevin Montgomery
San Diego, California USA
From: Matt Gorski <milanocc@gmail.com> Subject: [CR] Timewarp Rene Herse Auction To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Cc: sterling@tns.net Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 3:23 PM