Met an old Italian barber,...
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Met an old Italian barber,...
Actually, we have been casually playing bocce together for a few years and only last night did our conversation turn to bicycles. No idea why it took so long to come up, but this guy is 84 years old and still rides bikes he has owned for 50 years. Colagnos, a PX-10, I don't know what else he has because I stopped the conversation right there and asked to be invited over to his house. Really looking forward to this visit and pics when I get back, he has been collecting for a while and has as many bikes as I do.
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Actually, we have been casually playing bocce together for a few years and only last night did our conversation turn to bicycles. No idea why it took so long to come up, but this guy is 84 years old and still rides bikes he has owned for 50 years. Colagnos, a PX-10, I don't know what else he has because I stopped the conversation right there and asked to be invited over to his house. Really looking forward to this visit and pics when I get back, he has been collecting for a while and has as many bikes as I do.
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Can't wipe the smile off my face. It's one of those rare experiences we all dream of. I hope the ending matches the anticipation of a great exchange of all things "bicycle".
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Very cool. It's always nice to connect with the elderly, especially in this day and age when it seems the generations are growing further and further apart, and when it's something you're both very passionate about. I've had some really nice connections with old guys over cars before, and I think it really makes them happy to see that not every 23 year old kid is a rap blasting disrespectful buffoon.
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I recently met an interesting old fellow also. He speaks about 50/50 French/English. I guess he is 70+. He walked in my shop a couple of weeks ago and proclaimed "I am Jean Claude, I am here to know you". People had mentioned him to me before.
He isn't a cyclist but his older brother is. His brother has never owned a car, followed racing his entire life and uses the internet. I am not sure JC has mentioned his name but the older man is going to send me an email.
I told JC I wanted to make a bidon, he returned with one sheet of copper, one of tin and a couple of tools and left them for me to practice with. He learned to solder at age seven under nazi supervision.
He brought me a book on French language so I can better understand the world. And talk to his brother.
Ya, this is something I look forward to.
He isn't a cyclist but his older brother is. His brother has never owned a car, followed racing his entire life and uses the internet. I am not sure JC has mentioned his name but the older man is going to send me an email.
I told JC I wanted to make a bidon, he returned with one sheet of copper, one of tin and a couple of tools and left them for me to practice with. He learned to solder at age seven under nazi supervision.
He brought me a book on French language so I can better understand the world. And talk to his brother.
Ya, this is something I look forward to.
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Great stories! I wish there was a "like" button, because I'd be using it ;-)
Cheers,
Chris
Cheers,
Chris
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I kick myself for not realizing he was a bicyclist sooner, all the signs were there; skinny ankles, overdeveloped calves, lean frame, small stature and a preference for always wearing shorts in any kind of (well, Tucson) weather when his peer group does not. One look at him now and I can tell he has been biking seriously for probably 70 years.... Hope to get over to his house today, he is definitely coming to mine on Thursday for bocce, I have a court.
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I kick myself for not realizing he was a bicyclist sooner, all the signs were there; skinny ankles, overdeveloped calves, lean frame, small stature and a preference for always wearing shorts in any kind of (well, Tucson) weather when his peer group does not. One look at him now and I can tell he has been biking seriously for probably 70 years.... Hope to get over to his house today, he is definitely coming to mine on Thursday for bocce, I have a court.
Now this thread really needs pictures.
#14
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Reminds me of an old Italian guy I knew about 30 years ago. He and his wife owned a wedding invitation/favor store near where I lived. I'd known him for years. Then one day he metioned to me that, in his younger days, he road for a team sponsored by Bianchi. I remember him describing a strange way that the shifting worked on the bikes he road. I was a kid at the time and I was thinking the guy was full of it. Years later, I realized he was describing a Cambio Corsa set-up.
Funny thing is: I'm calling him an old Italian guy. At the time he was probably not much older than I am now. So, I guess now I'm "the old Italian guy".
Funny thing is: I'm calling him an old Italian guy. At the time he was probably not much older than I am now. So, I guess now I'm "the old Italian guy".
Last edited by gearbasher; 05-20-12 at 12:42 AM.
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I'm looking forward to an update about the Bocce-playing, Italian-and-French-bike-owning Italian barber, too
DD
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#18
aka: Mike J.
Subscribing, should be a fun thread.
ftwelder,
if you have am android phone then there are a few free French language apps in the PlayStore. Also if using the google translate page you can type and instantly translate the text back and forth if you get into a technical discussion with JC.
ftwelder,
if you have am android phone then there are a few free French language apps in the PlayStore. Also if using the google translate page you can type and instantly translate the text back and forth if you get into a technical discussion with JC.
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Got a chance to talk on the phone with him yesterday to give him my address for Bocce this Thursday, and although his Italian/English was pretty thick I did find out some more details on his bikes. Seriously, in the six years I have known this guy, he has always spoke 80%+ Italian around me since all those guys were Italian. Anyway, turns out he only has two bikes now, a Rossin and the PX10, all the others he sold after riding them for two or three years. He has owned dozens of bikes over the years, and he did say he had some pic's of the races and rides he has been on, so there is that. And, I have never seen a PX10 up close, so I am still excited! Sorry, no deep treasure trove of bikes, at least not at his house!
*Edit: seriously, "have had" is a tricky English phrase for a non-speaker, he originally shortened it to just "have dozens of bikes for 50 years" which exploded in my mind to Smaug-like dreams of dragon hoard. I don't think I could handle that sentence correctly in French for my 3 years of high school study and he has been able to live his whole life in America around native speaking Italians.
*Edit: seriously, "have had" is a tricky English phrase for a non-speaker, he originally shortened it to just "have dozens of bikes for 50 years" which exploded in my mind to Smaug-like dreams of dragon hoard. I don't think I could handle that sentence correctly in French for my 3 years of high school study and he has been able to live his whole life in America around native speaking Italians.
Last edited by Tuc; 05-22-12 at 08:30 AM.
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Oh, and I love, love, love bocce. We used to have a big league at work, with four courts. The courts were all busy at every lunch hour. What an amazing game. And watching old Italians play it is poetry in motion.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
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Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
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I bumped into an old Polish guy who used to own a bike shop back in the '70s and '80s. After a couple of beers, he told me he had a "lots of nice stuff" still leftover from the shop, would I like to see it? Well, duh! We met up a week later and, true to his word, he had a lot of nice stuff. Three older Cinellis, a couple of Colnagos, some Spanish bikes I had never heard of, lots and lots of Campy stuff new in boxes including a 50th anniversary group...it was like a waking dream. Next time I am there, I will take some photos, it is probably worthy of a thread of it's own.