I apologize for continuing this trip down memory lane which must be trying to those who haven't hit the half century yet but Michael Allison's memories of the smell of rim tape at Mr. Avenia's shop called to mind something that has bothered me in recent years. Back "in the day" good bike shops, like Mr. Avenia's, tended to be dingy, dirty and very cluttered. And they smelled of rubber, grease, glue and various unidentified combustibles. The Avenia shop was like that and, as I remember, the Styvescent (sp?) shop in mid-town also smelled pretty good. Today most of the LBS I see are well-lit, spacious and CLEAN. There is no discernable smell. If it weren't for the bikes, one could mistake them for a Scandinavian furniture outlet. There is one shop in New Orleans and only one of the old school. I sometimes go in just to breath the atmosphere which I fear is rapidly disappearing.
George Strickler
Walden, Vt.