Bob Freitas and I were sharing a swap space, so we were a little stuck in the
booth (thanks be for cell phones! We could make brief escapes and still do
our duty) On one of my little trips, I met a very nice guy in a booth who had a
Geof Butler (Claud's brother) track bike for sale, along with an old Frejus
that he'd set up for trail riding. The Frejus had a $170 price tag on it, he
didn't really know much about the bike, so while I was filling him in, a very
cute young woman came by saw the price tag, and asked if it was a good bike. He
was telling her it was too big for her (I was biting my tongue) and when he
asked what I thought, I said "why don't we just have her throw a leg over it and
see". It was not even necessary to lower the seat, it was about as perfect a
fit as you could ask for! She was REALLY looking to spend $150, and we
convinced her to go the extra $20. After explaining that it was a late 1960s, early
1970s Italian (somebody called it a French bike in the middle of the discussion,
"er...it was made in Torino...Italy...") road racing bike, comfortable for
riding all day, and as a "Campione del Mondo" model, capable of winning the
World Championship of the day, she got the idea it was a nice bike, even if the
modern parts were a little trail oriented. All the better for her to ride
through golden Gate Park on her way to the beach.
So if you see a dark haired young lady riding a red Frejus (no chrome) in San
Francisco, ask her if she got the bike at the Cow Palace Velo Swap!
Stevan Thomas
Alameda, CA