Greetings, CR Mates---
This will be a brief initial report on today's 17th Annual Cronometro Madison Bike Swap (http://www.brazendropouts.org/swap08.shtml), with a more detailed, photo-packed report to follow by tomorrow evening.
Today's swap, held at its usual venue, Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, drew a sizable crowd, with the long line looping back upon itself before the floodgates were opened at 9:30 a.m.
The swap seemed to this reporter's eyes to contain a pretty fair number of vintage frames and bikes, a bit more than I've seen in previous swaps, though I've not attended them all in the five years I've lived in Wisconsin.
I'll provide some photos and descriptions of bikes tomorrow. But among the frames/bikes I saw were a very cool Raleigh track bike, an all-chrome Atala built for the Paragon Race Team, and a quite tall, Columbus-tubed KOF Colin Laing straight 700c time trial frame, which I'm told had been built for Colin's son. I was strongly tempted to buy the Colin Laing frame and fork, which is my size and features some very cool webbed lugs. But I bit my lip and simply stared.
A Chicago-area contingent of folks familiar in CR circles were present. Although I do not know them all and did not have opportunity to meet them all, I can drop the names of those folk I did get to see...
The "boys from Chicago" included the British-born
auto/bicycle engineering wonder, Keith Hellon, along
with another technically-savvy guy and British bike
aficionado, David Cooper. (I usually razz David
because he so often outbids me on the choicest tall
frames coming out of England). I also had the pleasure
of meeting and dining with two new friends, Ron Wing
of Redline Hot Wheels, and a fellow whose knowledge of
all periods of cycling is awe inspiring, Mark Mattei,
of Cycle Smithy (www.cyclesmithy.com).
>From behind their vendor tables, a couple of old
friends reigned supreme over the vintage portion of
the Swap -----the always warm and friendly John Barron
of Velostuf (http://www.velostuf.com/), and the
equally nice guy Greg Parker of Bicycle Classics
(http://www.bicycleclassics.com/). Both chaps had some
tempting vintage bits for sale, though I was busier
with the camera today than with the wallet.
After spending the morning at the swap, a group of us retired to Cafe Continental under the shadow of Madison's grand State Capital building, where we chewed the fat of vintage bikes over coffee, cannoli and crème brûlée.
Overall, the Cronometro Madison Swap was great fun (if crowded and harried) and the company simply superb.
That's all for now. But stay tuned for photos tomorrow. Thanks all around to the Chicago folk for letting my wife and I take part in the annual post-swap luncheon.
Cheerio,
Peter Jourdain Whitewater, Wisconsin USA
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