Greetings CR-List Folks:
The recent spate of new-member introductions reminded me that I have been lurking for far too long without introducing myself, so here goes. My name is Frank Cordell, and I live in Seattle. With the exception of a period of job-induced insanity in the late 80's and early 90's, I have been a bike geek since my early days riding a Schwinn Stingray, with metal-flake bannana seat, in my hometown of Greeley, Colorado. I grew up there during the last Golden Era of American road cycling, the Lemond/Phinney/Carpenter/7-11/Red Zinger/Coors Classic period. I still mourn the days when I could drive for an hour or two and watch the likes of Hinault, Lemond, Phinney, Heiden, Longo, Canins, etc. race their bikes. I myself raced, poorly, a Motobecane Nomad, complete with super-cool Grab-On foam bar padding, and later a mid-line Basso with a Tretubi frame. Happily, I managed to keep the Basso to this day.
Now, as a grown-up in Seattle, I own two on-topic bikes: (1) a 1983 Mercxk with eBay-purchased Super Record goodies--the classic "bike I wanted and couldn't have when I was a kid"; and (2) the Basso. Tragically, I had the Basso respaced and fitted with, gasp, 8-speed Shimano STI after the 19-year old racers at the LBS (not the excellent Seattle shop(s) populated by CR members) told me that Nuovo Record stuff was obsolete. I also am fortunate to own a pristine 1990 Chris Kvale bike, fitted with Super Record parts, purchased from listmember John Barron. I commute on a fixed-gear Pinarello Treviso purchased from Lou Deeter. I'm also fortunate to live in a city that has a couple of great shops that appreciate the CR-era bikes, including most prominently Elliott Bay, presided over by listmember Bob Freeman.
Let me second the observation, made several times here recently, that the CR list truly enhances the quality of life of the participants. This is an amazing resource, and checking these e-mails is a much-anticipated part of my day.
Frank Cordell Seattle, WA
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