Greetings campers and vicarious swappers
Thanks to Jamie and Eric for getting home first and saving me the trouble of having to tell the whole sordid story myself.
Well, it was a blissfully Masi-free five day weekend, but now it's back to real life. Great fun to accidentally meet somebody else there from Morganhole WV, even if our taste in bike stuff is totally different. But even he did a little double take when I told him where I actually live. His response was something like "There's nothing outside of Bruceton Mills. NOTHING! So you're like, what, a hermit?" An amusing change from the usual blank stare I get. Yes, Bruceton makes Copake look like a booming metropolis, and it's too big for me. The cultural center of town is the live bait vending machine outside the general store. At least now when somebody asks who would be silly enough to drive all that way for a predominantly off topic bike swap, we both have somebody to point at. I've discovered a strange comfort in that.
Usual suspects at the swap, a beautiful sunny day to be outside, and Mr. Tomato Head has discovered yet again that the top of his head ain't what it used to be. In terms of vintage stuff, only came away with the most important parts of a pair of GB Coureur 66 brake calipers thanks to Sam. I saw Amanda walk away with a bike, or two. However, definitely a treasure hunt at the pickup truck & trailer sale. Returned around 4 pm, after a short bike ride, just as he was finalizing a deal for the remaining dregs that even this gang wasn't interested in. So he did finally dump the substantially thinned lot. Thanks to Eric for sharing the small stash of headless Silcas. Hope you're having fun with the freewheel cog vice. I just really didn't need another one that was too small for my monster cogs. Found lots of silly little things in the pile that I like to have around just in case I ever need them, but hate to spend real money on, and certainly don't want to have to make a trip into civilization for. Seatposts, chainrings, mtb ders and pulleys, pump straps & clamps, rim tape, patch kits, cassette (who said that?), chain, bottom bracket, stray Suntour freewheel cogs, replacement sealed hub bearings, Avocet gel saddle, bottle cage clamps (a little more vintage content there I guess), stray small tools, bulk cable housing, brake pads and lever hoods, a couple "Y" bike stands, other stuff I've already forgotten, and what could easily prove to be a lifetime supply of shift cables. Nothing as top end and exciting as Eric's Hi-E hubs, just more experiments and potential swap fodder, and the consumable odds and ends that every shop accumulates. Also enough padded bar tape in acid pink and purple splash to temporarily blind several friends when they dig into their Xmas/Hanukka/Kwanzaa stockings this year. I am an equal opportunity annoyer.
Major score for the weekend occurred off-site. Last August while riding my trusty rusty Raleigh International on the Woodstock Century (Hippie Hundred) I met a guy who recognized the bike and said he had one at home that he might part with. Didn't have time to look at it on that trip, but kept in contact with the guy, made him do his homework on "real" market value, and 8 months later it finally followed me home. Low mileage parts for me, fun frame for a friend. Just spreading my favorite little plague.
So besides doing the swap, I heartily recommend a Tour de Copake & Hudson Valley. Scheduled softball tournament was tangled up in an ugly boycott by the college kids in protest of a recently imposed ban on having beer at the games. (Now there's a social issue of monumental importance, he said while veering wildly off topic. While normally un-amused by most of what occurs in the presence of mass quanities of alcohol, in this particular case I was disappointed by the ban. Alcohol evens out the odds a bit for the team of gimpy old fuds and small children. Strategy last year was to drag the games out long enough to allow the students to get looped. Keep the score at least close in the early innings, and then pound them in the later innings. Fiendishly clever. A stunning series of upset victories for the A-Team (Arthritis, Advil, Ace bandages, Arthroscopic surgery, Acupuncture, Assorted Agonies, more Advil......please!) that led to "the championship" last year. No riots or looting in "celebration". Just a satisfying small victory for age, experience, and wisdom over youthful energy and impaired athletic ability. ). So without softball mayhem to fill out the weekend, I put in a couple rides between rain storms. Nice roads for the most part, tolerable traffic, and some miles of paved rail trail near Copake itself. Certainly better than my usual routes here in road bike hell, and never needed the granny gear and monster cogs. Found a really nice long sweeping hill near New Paltz. Saving it for the next trip in August, on my way to or from Larz. Bring a bike next year. Lets ride.
Blah blah blah. Time to go play with the loot "Typhoid Larry" Osborn Somewhere not on the map, near Bruceton Mills WV