If we're waxing nostalgic about old Boulder, CO companies, I'll take a moment to remember Hartley and Jean Alley, and their Touring Cyclist shop. Hartley would come into my shop Friday afternoons in the mid-70's, lay a fiver on the counter, and ask loudly, "Who's goin' f' bee-ah? You fly, I'll buy."
Hartley introduced me to touring, to touring bicycles, to one-to-one gearing, and to touring Paramounts and Curly Hetchins, of which I think he may have owned a couple. In fact, Jean might have owned a Lady's Curly. The Touring Cyclist produced quality, American-made touring softgoods, and took orders from all over the country. Hartley also knew his jazz, something he and I shared as much as we shared cycling. He rode from Boulder to Massachusetts for his fiftieth high school reunion. Fiftieth.
Hartley was an old-fashioned gentleman, a scamp, a rogue, a wit, and a cyclist, and it's one of my regrets that I did not visit him in the last years of his life. (In my defense, I was in a different state, but, still.)
Godspeed, Hartley. And Jean.
Peter Bridge san diego, ca, usa (Oh, and my mom sewed for Holubar in the 50's. Gee, I remember when Boulder had real character, and real characters.) **************One site keeps you connected to all your email: AOL Mail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail. Try it now. (http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000025)