Bruce Robbins wrote:
>
> All this talk of Major Taylor got me thinking about why there seem to be so
> few black guys interested in old bikes or cycling in general. This, I
> stress, is my own perspective up here in Scotland where we don't have a big
> percentage of people from an ethnic minority background. Most non-white
> people here are from India and Pakistan and I love them for their family
> values which are like those of British people in the 1950s. I think they add
> a lot of stability to the community.
>
> Anyway, I was going to ask if there are any black CR members and if not, why
> not? It would be a bit scarey if old bikes seemed to be the preserve of
> WASPS and people from Italian backgrounds.
No need to be scared Bruce. Out here on the West Coast of America, we have all kinds of people riding on classic, vintage race bikes besides just us WASPS. The Rose Bowl Vintage Ride in Pasadena, California has had Jews, Asians, Blacks, Latinos, Pacific Islanders, and I don't know _what_ all else (we never ask about each other's ethnic persuasion here in SoCal; it is enough that we all love old bikes).
To be more specific: I have two black friends who own vintage race bikes. One, quite well known in the Los Angeles area, started buying Italian bikes in the early 1970s. For a while he had each new bike painted dark, metallic green. The other only has five bikes: a Pogliaghi tandem, a Pogliaghi track bike, a Cinelli track bike, a Masi GC, and a Mario Confente (aaaarrrrrgggghhhh... there's the M.C. word again that the list is sooooo tired of hearing about!).
Can't think of a single person "from Italian backgrounds" who owns an old bike ;)
Chuck "go back far enough and we all have black ancestors" Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California