Today I made a field trip to visit the 'shop' of listmember Sam Fitzsimmons. My excuse was to mainly locate a couple of British BB spindles, but mainly I wanted to see his stuff. Sam Fitzsimmons' shop is located in a rather funky semi-industrial area called Curtis Bay on the south side of Baltimore. Not a shop in the traditional sense - but more a repository of Sam's extensive collection which covers the range from very early 1900's (perhaps earlier), thru Balloon tires, and lots of on-topic classic lightweights! The voluminous spare parts inventory is amazing - but, not well organized. That is rather an understatement...
No signs indicated that I was at the right place and the door was locked at about 10:30 this morning. I could see some bikes thru the window but no lights were on inside. Beginning to wonder if I had made a wasted trip, I wandered around the side of the building. More bikes leaning against the building. An open door! But not one that could be walked through because the way was blocked by bicycles and bicycle parts. Sticking my head in, there was Sam! I was literally overwhelmed by the volume of bikes and parts stuffed into the building. Had to sorta bushwack our way back to where the BB spindles were. I sorted through probably fifty or more and picked out a few that would likely cover my needs. And some quasi-period English BB cups. Price was most reasonable.
Spent at least another hour picking around, looking, lusting a bit, etc. see a few picts at
http://wooljersey.com/
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and am sure it won't be my last. Well worth a visit, but be sure to contact him in advance to make sure he will be there! Also, if you are looking for anything in particular, let him know in advance so he can locate it if its there. His phone number is 410-354-0313 and his email address is sam.fitzsimmons@verizon.net
Ken Sanford
Kensington, MD