Well, let's get the minor gripes out of the way first...No coffee pot at the
show! No unloading entrance for Vendors...five trips from that parking lot
way in the back was sweaty and exhausting...I could have parked in the
street and blocked it, but it did not seem a proper thing to do...no
criticism of those who did so is intended.
Now to the rest...it was wonderful...perhaps the very best. Highlighted by
some new folks who added so much to the event...Jack Gabus, Ray Dobbins, Ted
Ernst and a bunch of others. As usual, meeting old friends was was
wonderful and meeting a few that I had seen for years but never met was so
rewarding...Paul, don't forget to contact me to discuss Jazz and those
Kurasawa films in more detail. Great to get the chance to know Eddy Albert
a bit more, too.
Some really comic points, too, for instance...a well known West Coast
cyclist being pushed up a hill by a Strong Woman riding a pink De Rosa
(Notice, Jack, that I didn't name anyone here ! :^) ). And the Track Stand
contest in the Battleground parking lot Thursday night between Ray Etherton
(always a hilarious guy!) and our own American Manic John Pergolizzi had
folks rolling on the ground!
At the show when that row of about eight great bicycles all fell over domino
style there was a collective gasp of about 500 people! Hope they were
ok...they included Peter Naiman's beautiful Hetchins (I think) and those two
unbelievable wonderful Rotrax (my own personal favorites of the show) bikes
that Mike Barry brought...do you suppose the guy owns any bikes that are not
stunning? By the way, Ray Dobbins did get a picture of it and I'm sure
will post it somehow. Man, when the guy has a camera in hand he misses
nothing!
What fun Ray was! For those who haven't met him, think Tony Soprano with
hair and a sense of humor and the ability to discuss anything (in several
languages) you could throw at him in amazing depth...even Opera! A new
friend that I look forward to years of enjoying.
What a treat to get to Greensboro again...I have gotten the once nearly 900
mile 14 hour drive down to 12.5 hours and 750 miles and now next year will
be the very last one in Greensboro. For those who haven't attended, let me
strongly advise to try to get to this one...it is a wonderful sophisticated
city and Dale and his shop are a real trip...best bike shop I've ever seen
and the walls and what's hanging on them rival a museum. Dales staff are
all just as wonderful, too and will bend over backward to solve problems for
you, even handling your bikes if needed for shipping, etc. Greensboro
residents are the most courteous and friendly folks of any city I know of.
I sure hope to see another influx of new folks there next year and to see
all the wonderful folks who made the whole thing such a success there again,
too.
Tom Sanders
Lansing, Mi...Deep in the USA