OK.....at first, I thought, who wouldn't want to get up at 3 a.m. and drive a load of junk (er. I mean highly collectible bicycle components) to a col d stone building in a neighboring state. But then, driving at 4 a.m. is really nice....no bothersome traffic to cont end with. I got there at 5:15 and about 5 cars with bikes hanging out were parked out front. Flas hlights flickering as everyone checked out what others had. Hey Dunkin D onuts was open...the breakfast sandwich tasted great. Mike and Billy Rounds showed up with Billy's newly painted "Rounds" mystery track bike. Billy's paint job looked superb, I must say, even in the artificial light. Jim Huntington showed up around 6 to let the games begin. I was in a sel ling mode, so I can't comment extensively on the wares. Monson has a wid e range of interests, from balloonatic to lightweight. Some asked prices were a bit of a stretch, but again, I was not really shopping. Peter We igle's hot rod Paramount was cool, on the show side.
I sold enough to make the trip worth it, but the real fun was just seeing a ll the folks I've gotten to know through this list and at events like this.
Joel and Curtis got in from Philly, Peter and Kendall, Mike and Billy, Eric Elman, Scott Ebersol, Maurice B., Sam Fitz., Lars, the Firehouse folks, Bob Judd, Norm Lafleur, Sam from W. Hartford, Ron (don't know his last name...always buys somethin' from me tho), these are names I knew and can remember after getting home and napping....other familiar faces there too.and some folks n ew to the "swap scene" (We plugged the list to them) All in all, a fun d ay.
Mark Hoffman
New Britain, CT
USA