Baylis writes "We had some special guests in the form of Ted Ernst, and Mike Schmidt, who was sent to spy on us from the BVVW. Hey, if you want to know how much fun we have out here, JUST ASK! We'll tell ya! "
Hey Brian, it's a tough job but someone has to gather the intel. I am glad that I did not hammer too hard on the way out to San Clemente because the twin alps at the end of the ride required every reserve ounce that I had. It was a great day and as Dale Brown says, it is not about the bikes but the friends. I filed my report with Pergolizzi later that night and teased the crap out of him for not making the trip with me. Well. there is always "Chuckie Velo". It was 96 degrees in NYC with loads of humidity, tough day for riding in NYC. The day was perfect for a bike ride in SOCALwith the low humidity. Will post my pix as soon as I can get to it.
Finally, thanks to Charles, Carmen and Jack and Bolette Gabus for their amazing hospitality.
Ciao
Mike Schmidt
Stirling, NJ
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> Hi Gang,
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> Just a quick report on the So Cal ride last Sunday. We gathered in one of
our semi-regular locations early morning on Sunday. I got a lift from Chuck
Schlesinger this time so I could introduce a newer person to our quaint
tribe. (My car wasn't going to make it this time, since it seems cars don't
go anywhere without a transmission.) Was planning to ride my recently
spiffed-out 1971 Peugeot PX-10, fully chromed and fitted to 650B wheels
(LONG before Grant thought of it, probably 25 years ago), racks, and a
Stronglight triple crankset. The Honjo fenders ended up being the reason it
would not fit on the roof rack of the car.) I decided then to make an
extention for putting bikes with fenders on roof racks, anyone need one?? I
left her home and grabbed the nearest available Colnago. Then we were off.
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> Once there we prepared as usual for the ride. Get your bike ready, get
dressed, guzzle coffee, eat muffins, fruit, or whathaveyou, (didn't see any
doughnuts!). Charles and his partner hosted the eats, for which we all thank
you both very much. The time and effort and expense is something they both
take care of out of pure generosity and a love for the hobby and it's
people. The bikes are the glue that hols us together, but the friendships
and the good times are truely priceless. I'm sure every vintage bike group
has the same deal going on. The Cieque is a perfect example of just a larger
version of these smaller local gatherings.
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> Anyway, we got under way right on schedule and there were 19 bikes (two
tandems) once we hit the rode. Honestly don't have time or the memory to
recount all the names nor all the bikes, but suffice it to say that we all
had things to ride that fulfill our dreams. It's not unusual to see bike
comming out for the first time at these events. My Peugeot for example. I
think there were some first timers out last Sunday. It's great these things
end up back in circulation through our efforts. The weather was genuinely
perfect. The ride went well, we stayed together and regrouped as planned and
we all made it to the bike shop in San Clemente, where we turned around
after some minor repairs and adjustments. You know, these rides are really
fun except for one thing, I just thought of. There's always this one guy
that ALWAYS has ants in his pants. He never shuts up, he's always there
making sure we don't waste a second on the road or spend any extra time
distracted from riding. It's lik
> e some sort of joke to him. "Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we
there yet?" all day long. He's there either trying to accelerate the
roadside repair of stampede the heard the second the repair is complete. No
one gets time for an extra shake or two if we stop at a restroom. Do you
business and get back on the bike. This guy is getting on my nerves. It's
like he's always anxious to get back to the destination, take off his tight
shoes, rinse his ugly mug, and then kick back and eat and socialize. What's
the hurry?
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> I finally had a word with myself about this. It's the way I am. I'm like
that in many situations. I guess I'm part cattle dog by nature. I just
wanted to let everyone know I never hold anyone personally responsible for
the things that happen on the road. It's the nature of riding in a group;
but I just can't stop whipping the group so we spend less time standing on
the road instead of riding on it. The only thing that would annoy me would
be if someone showed up with a bike that had two 30 year old Elvisias on it
with only one spare that's even worse off and no pump. Be prepared as you
can. Maiden voyages are always a little risky and we all do it from time to
time. Just do your best to prepare, the rest we'll deal with.
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> I do my little partly to be funny. The other part is to kepp things
moving, especially the starts which sometimes seem to lag.
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> The ride back through the San Juan Capistrano Historical District
(formerly the red light district MANY years ago) was very nice. Shortly
after that and a brief mechanical stop on the road, we hit the final two
climbs back to the HILLTOP finish. OUCH! Barely made it, but I lived to tell
the story.
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> We then had a wonderful afternoon of an informal bike show which was
hosted by Charles. The Pizza and other foodstuffs were as I mentioned,
provided by Charles and the fine female company he keeps.
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> There were a bunch of cool bikes present, as usual. The top four finishers
in the concourse were:
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> 4th 1974 Colnago Super, original lilac metallic/pearl w/ panto parts
belonging to Tim Turnage
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> 3rd Beautiful Bianchi belonging to Jack Gabus
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> 2nd 1977(I think) Confente Pro Strada in pristine original condition
belonging to the original owner, Chuck Schmidt
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> 1st 1962 full chrome Paramount recently restored and finished days if not
minutes before the event. Every original part you can think of within reason
and a SHINEY bike from stem to stern! Owner, Bill Curtis.
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> We had some special guests in the form of Ted Ernst, and Mike Schmidt, who
was sent to spy on us from the BVVW. Hey, if you want to know how much fun
we have out here, JUST ASK! We'll tell ya! There were a couple of other late
arrivals for various reasons, but all told there were about 30 people
present for the whole deal. It just doesn't get any better than that.
>
> Thanks to everyone for comming and being such good company!
>
> Brian Baylis
> La Mesa, CA
> Working desperately to keep things moving through the shop. The number of
bikes is staggering. Report on the status of Vintage Cycle Studios
forthcomming, for anyone who might be curious.