Curt wrote:
> Hey, I resemble that comment. How do you pronounce Cinelli and/or
Bianchi?
>
> Curt Goodrich, who finds no need to alter his vocabulary to accommodate
the
In response to Steven and Steven's (no not me!) exchange:
> > >... but why purposefully butcher the way Tange is pronounced????
> >
> > Steve,
> >
> > Simple. To be understood.
> >
> > Ever been around bike mechanics. Overall, generally not the brightest
> bunch around.
This whole exchange reminded me of a little joke that I played on a bike mechanic friend of mine (former bike shop colleague of mine): WG (no need to embarass the lad by giving his full name) who is actually one of the best mechanics that I now, totally self-taught. I had been living in Europe for over 10 years when I returned to North America for a visit, bringing my Paris-Roubaix equipped Bianchi and a girlfriend with me. I had her call up the shop where WG worked, asking specifically for him, stating that another boutique shop had recommended him as being the one who could solve her problem. She then went on to describe the problem: "I have an eye-tal-ee-uhn Bee-an-shee with Cam-pag-no-lo gears and can't get the gears to change, can you help?" She used the worst possible 'ugly American' pronunciation she could. WG told her to come by the shop. She shows up and repeats the question in person while showing the bike. WG looks at the bike and recognizes the gear from stories told by our former boss. He puts the bike up in a stand and digs back into his subconscious to remember that you had to unblock the hub and then shift. He tries and tries, for about 10 minutes and is getting frustrated. He calls over all the shop staff and the usual shop junkies that hang around the better stores. All are trying to get it to work. Little did he know that it would nigh impossible to get it to work in the stand. This is when I came into the shop to a barrage of abuse... Upon seeign me, he knew that I was behind the whole story... He did however perhaps get the last laugh however, as in his first attempt of shifting gears on the bike, he got a reasonably smooth and accurate shift (unike me!)
Steven Maasland Moorestown, NJ
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