Not to be outdone by Pergolissimo; I have a similar story to tell.
In the early eighties a was the mechanic for the Paris-Sport team on the Tour of Long Island, which was a stage race that was sponsored by Fred Mengoni.
On stage two Brian Searchinger crashed and bent his fork. Brian was riding for Toga and they were staying in the same motel (in Montauk) as we were.
That evening Toga boss-man Lenny Preheim recruited me to help him straighten Brian's fork. Lenny had already removed the fork from the bike. He thought that we could bend it by hand if one of us held it and the other one pulled. I knew that was not going to work.
I looked around the parking lot for some large immobile object to wedge the fork into. I don't know what made me think of it but I crawled under a parked car, found a perfect crotch in part of the running gear, and gave the fork a sharp yank. A moment later I emerged from under the car, handed Lenny the fork and sauntered back to my room.
The following stage was a time trial from the town of Montauk, out to the lighthouse and back. Brian Searching won. Lenny picked up our team's check at the diner...
Jamie Swan Cell - 516-238-6782 Centerport Cycles Inc. 245 Main St. Northport, N.Y. 11768 631-262-0909 http://www.centerportcycles.com (mapped) http://www.cabinfeverauctions.com http://www.cabinfeverexpo.com http://www.limws.org http://www.liatca.org
On Jul 27, 2006, at 11:19 PM, John T.Pergolizzi wrote:
> Dear list,
>
> What follows is the story of what happened to an old friend,
> living in Pennsylvania for the last 10 years, when he visited Brooklyn
> for a ride on July 9th, in his own words. Keith was New York State
> Sprint Champion a few times back in the early 80's.
>
>
>
> Enjoy,
>
> John T.Pergolizzi
>
> Brooklyn, New York
>
>
>
>
>
> What is the largest tool you've used or seen used on the bicycle? How
> about a concrete, steel, and wood PARK BENCH??? True story:
>
>
>
> In Brooklyn's Prospect Park for a reunion ride with my old buds when
> WHAM! I do an endo right into a large traffic divider. A real
> bonehead
> move for a supposedly experienced rider. Fortunately, the thing was
> made of impact absorbing plastic so when I hit, it was like being
> caught in a giant orange catcher's mitt. I was virtually
> unscathed; my
> nice old Colnago track bike, however, was mortally wounded. The fork
> was bent so far back that the wheel would bang the down-tube when you
> turned it. It looked horrible and probably fatal for that fork.
> Cha-ching $$$. An expensive fix or replacement for sure, and a
> sour end
> to an otherwise great time with my friends.
>
> So here comes John, who sees the fork, and instantly
> announces he can fix it... right here! Right now! No hesitation, no
> "Hmm, maybe if we can get it sitting just so and you push and I
> pull and
> we both make a wish..." No. " Here, Leave the front wheel on.
> Put the
> pedal against the bench... yeah yeah, just like that. Ok, now....
> aarghhh. Good, good. A little more... that should do it". Look,
> eyeball down the blades, use the something-or-other for a reference
> point and index that against the imaginary line ... blah blah blah ( I
> don't speak bike-frame-ese). So he hands me the bike, " Here you go,
> let's ride." Huh? It's fixed? No tools, no gauges, no alignment
> table? No way, right? Way! Guess what. The Colnago felt, if
> anything, BETTER than it did before the crash. A little less
> twitchy on
> the front end, more stable out of the saddle with your weight over the
> front wheel. Yeah, better!
>
> Moral of this story: when you go for a ride with John
> Pergolizzi, you WILL finish that ride. Period. SOme people know
> bikes.
> Some people REALLY know bikes. Then there's John. Thanks buddy, I
> owe
> you one!
>
>
>
> Keith Rapisardi