I\u2019ve have been told that I sometimes shoot from the hip without
thinking, and thus oftentimes shoot myself in the foot, but here goes
anyway. If you don\u2019t have the time for a long dissertation delete this
message now!!!!!
I had a 10+ hour solitary drive back from Greensboro to New York on
Monday so I had some time to think about this subject. And I\u2019ve read a
number of posts concerning it, and it is something that both interests and
concerns me, so here goes.
I taught Sociology for 28+ years. It is a field that has been
accused of advocating a position of extreme relativity. Everything is
everything. One can only judge something by its own values, there are no
objective standards, etc., etc., etc.. I must say for a number of years I
was an advocate of this position. Over the years I changed quite
dramatically and, in part because of that change, I left the field. Maybe
I am going to get too Platonic here but....there are values, there is good
and bad, there are standards, and some things are better than others. We
all know how to tell the difference even though sometimes we don\u2019t know
how to articulate how we know or what we know. We know that a 1974 Masi
California is intrinsically BETTER than a Schwinn voyager or whatever.
I am competitive by nature. I raced bicycles because I wanted to win
and not just to participate or to do my personal best * if I wanted that,
I would have taken up jogging or something else. You trained hard in
order to win, or place. This was a validation of the work that you put
in. Also, it was an OBJECTIVE standard, there was no \u201cI know what I
like\u201d subjectivism about who crossed the line first (at least not
usually.) Additionally, before the race we all hung out and talked, then
tried to beat each other up on the road or track, then it was over and we
hung out and talked....we talked about the race......we talked about the
next race....etc, etc. we weren\u2019t enemies and the racing \u201cfraternity\u201d
was as important as the race itself.
So, what I am trying to say is that the camaraderie of the Cirque and
events like it is not necessarily compromised by the competition of
judging the various \u2018bests\u2019. But just how does one do this judging?
Chuck Schmidt suggested that it, perhaps, is more trouble than it\u2019s
worth. And, in the end that may indeed be the case. But maybe not, at
least I hope not. The competition for the best of something, at least for
me, drives me to do my very best in my restorations or acquisitions. I
work hard at it, enjoy that work, and love the recognition that comes when
others feel the same way about my work and recognize it: that is the
reality. Maybe that is the difference between people who are inner
directed vs outer directed, but that is as it may be.
Over the several years that I have been involved in the collecting
and showing of vintage bikes I have done very well. In my first Cirque I
won Best in show. So, this is not sour grapes and this is not, in any
way, a criticism of the judging at the Cirque. They did what they could
do given the mandate they had. However, I sincerely believe that there
are more objective standards. Please don\u2019t throw at me the stalking
horse of Ken Denny. There I said the name. There are in other collector
groups standards that judges use to decide very difficult and close
decisions. Cars and motorcycles certainly come immediately to mind but
thinks like piano or guitar competitions are not irrelevant. What are
these standards? They are varied and comprehensive. They involve things
like presentation, accuracy, historical importance, beauty, feeling, and
things I am ignorant of. But judges are picked who can use these
standards and are given a list of them to guide their decision making.
THAT is what, I think, is and has been missing in vintage bike gatherings.
The guidelines that eliminate. to the degree possible, the subjective
\u201cI know what (or worse yet who) I like.\u201d
To me it is not OK that it is only about the friends I make. I could
join AA for that. I am addicted to vintage bikes. I work at that
addiction and, even when I lose, I want to know when I am doing a good
job, and if I am not, what I need to do to improve those restorations.
One last comment, if you are still reading. I do not think that
combining KOF builders and vintage restorations is appropriate. They are
apples and oranges and I have thought that since my attendance at my first
Cirque last year. I know I have now committed heresy but who the F cares,
I just had dinner and two glasses of wine (good French Cote de Rhone BTW).
These categories should be separated and judged by two different
standards. Just because a bike is steel and lugged (or fillet brazed for
that matter) does not make them subject to the same standards. 1920's
fish mouthed lugged bikes cannot compete with 2006 filed, filled, and
filleted modern art. One is not better or worse but they are totally
different and to put them together is like judging a modern Lamborghini
against a 50's Chevy.....this does not compute!
Anyway, to end this diatribe. I think show judging is good, if makes
us better, it does not destroy the friendships we make, it is not elitist,
and it should involve more objective criteria. It is our job to create
that criteria.
Edward Albert, ever competitive in
Chappaqua, NY