1987

Downtown, where? Fort Worth, Texas?

John E

My 1959 Capo and my Bianchi do get noticed, not by the lyrca-and-carbon fiber club set, but by various random folks out on the road and some bike shop mechanics. A few years ago a fellow RAAM sendoff spectator exclaimed, "A Capo -- cool bike!" I do see a fair number of 1970s and 1980s bicycles, particularly among the workday commuters.

Sixty Fiver

We have a small and rather close group of C&V collectors and riders here and quite a number post to this forum... and there are more who don't.

We get together as often as possible to hang out and ride.

BFisher

Perhaps I just need to relocate to a cycle-friendly city. I have thought about it at length.

Velocivixen

I prefer not to ride with others. I'm too busy concentrating to talk, plus, unless you're right beside each other it's hard to hear. Then there's the matter of trusting others who might be riding very close to you. What if I need to stop unexpectedly and someone is right on my tail & there's a crash? I know in a peloton there is etiquette, safety, etc. but this takes practice, trust, coordination, etc. I ride strictly for fun - not competition, not exercise, not to make a political statement or to save the earth, or because I had a DUI Those are all worthwhile reasons to ride, but I just ride and that's it. I go where the wind takes me sometimes and other times I have a destination. Sometimes I go to meet others, but mostly I just go.

So, for me, riding isn't a social thing. It's just a different way to see the world, smell the world, hear the world....

i may be alone, but I am not lonely, and there is a world of difference.

BFisher

Solo riding certainly does have it's merits, Velocivixen! How many times have you seen things while out on a ride that you otherwise would never have noticed? Happens all of the time for me.

Velocivixen

@BFisher - it happens a lot. Surprisingly I like the smells. Maybe it's the smell of some type of tree that takes me back to my childhood school days, or of flowers, or people cooking dinner or grilling. Going along and suddenly thinking, "I'm going this way" and turning down a different street, finding different neighborhoods. That's why I like riding alone, because I can just go any old way I decide at the spur of the moment. I don't have to get the consensus of the group or whatever. May seem selfish, but oh well. I get my group fitness groove on at the gym.

gaucho777 

I sense a blossoming friendship.

bikemig 

I've made friends via this site. And I have lots of neighbors with bikes. I'm more than happy to help out. In fact the owner of the last bike I worked on (she's probably around 10 or so) made me a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Helping friends and neighbors out helps make this a much more interactive hobby.

The Golden Boy 

That's about where I'm at.

I'd kind of like my wife to come with me- so we can do something together- but on the other hand, riding isn't her thing.

I don't like talking while I'm riding. I don't like not hearing what someone is saying, and I don't like being in people's way being side-by-side.

I kind of took up riding for exercise, now I just enjoy it, the sights, smells, just going "that way." The bike gear thing is as much fun as guitar/bass/amplifier/stereo/speaker gear.

I don't know of anyone around here who's into old bikes. There's a couple of kids a the LBS who are appreciative, and they know me at the three shops in town; and I've tried striking up conversation with people along the trails. The best one was a guy riding an 86 Trek 400 Elance. I asked him about his bike and he looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out my ears. It was just a bike to him. I do enjoy seeing people on old bikes- and there's a lot of them- but I don't think most of those people appreciate them as old bikes- just "their bikes."

Riding is "me" time. Time for me to dork out. I love learning about the stuff, seeing how stuff works, seeing what's "right." My latest thing is discovering how right people are about Brooks saddles. I got a B17 for my birthday- and it just dominates. I get excited talking about old bike stuff. And even here I exhaust people with it. I can imagine people's eyes glazing over in person.

Anyway- this is what I do- it's a choice- I guess if I wanted, I'd get a fancy new bike. Whatever is en vogue with the touring crowd these days. But a Trek 720 just IS more graceful than a Long Haul Trucker or a modern 520. My bike choices aren't based solely on financial considerations- It's a choice- in other words, I'm not acquiring or riding old bikes because that's what I can afford. I'm still not into the "group" thing, I don't have the desire to "drop" anyone, and I really don't need to have a genital measuring contest in proxy through a bicycle or my performance in the group.

JohnDThompson 

rootboy 

Again…

rootboy 

That is very well put, Velovixen. I think you and I would get along just fine …if we both weren't off cycling alone.
I much prefer pursuing most outdoor activities alone.
And only lonesome when my wife is traveling.

eschlwc

i'm glad none of you live in seattle. there would be nothing for me to buy on craigslist.

i kid. even without you here, there's nothing to buy on craigslist.

does anyone live in maryland? the freewheel i ordered from san diego (the one thing standing in the way of me riding my beautiful '74 pr10) ended up there through the magic of the u.s. post office. send it back, will ya?

Velocivixen

@eschlwc- CL here is abysmal. Everything, no matter how awful is at least $100! I don't really need another bike......As an aside I bought a pristine Park Tool Wag-4 dishing tool for cheap. Same guy selling his truing stand I'm considering.
hope you get something in the mail soon.

old's'cool

I call that "quality time in the garage". I'm looking forward to more of that again when I get settled in after nearly 6 years of nomadic existence.

Bicycle Addict

Do you have a coop near you? If you have time you could volunteer there, that is where I made most of my C&V friends . . . although even there it is hard to find people who are into what I am, in saying that here in NZ we are going through a resurgence in people going out and buying C&V, I think this is happening all over the world.
You could also put a note up on the noticeboard asking for like minded people in your area?

I have realized that my wrenching time has almost become therapy, a chance to have some very quiet time by myself, I call it "Time to put the boxes away in my head", bike time has become my down time, so it has become some of the most positive time I have.
Getting robbed has put a spanner in the works there though, hoping to get back to a point soon where spare parts are flying and spanners turning.

Some people do not like to be alone . . . I like the balance between family/friend time and bike time, I was not always this way and just about got out of the hobby completely as I found it too lonely, I then had an epiphany and got into it more and more and more.

Bike forums IS my C&V community, full of great people, beautiful bikes. I sometimes take my Ipad on rides and on my rest stops, have been known to check in with Bike forums!!
I have learnt 70 percent of what I know HERE, a great place.

Why not try organizing a "Social Media" ride with a few C&Vers that live in a similar timezone to you?. Organize a start time, then a rest time and communicate with each other via cellphone? Sounds goofy I know but I did it a while ago with a mate who lives at the other end of NZ and it was quite cool.

eschlwc

truing stand? pshaw. that's what aero levers are for -- so you can flip your bike upside down and true the wheels!

no aero levers? that's what books are for -- so you can stack them under the upside-down stem and avoid crushing your brake cables!

BFisher

@Velocivixen, everybody's a little selfish. You have to be, sometimes. Two wheeled exploration has always been therapeutic for me. I live close to the neighborhood where I grew up and I sometimes ride through there for nostalgia.

Sixty Fiver

This is a great community of like minded pedalphiles where we support and often enable one another...

Bicycle Addict

+1 What he said!

BFisher

All great suggestions Bicycle Addict, thank you. I don't believe there is a co-op close by. I DO need to reach out a bit more if I am to find like-minded people. As stated by a previous poster, most people around here look at one of these old machines and see "just an old bike."

Velocivixen

@eschlwc- I'm just learning about truing wheels. My friend is a bike mechanic and she has high end stuff with dials & gauges that she instructed me on. My truing stand at home involves flipping the bike upside down & zip ties on the forks! I use grease board markers to mark the tension of each spoke on the rim (yes, my first wheel tools were tension meter & spoke wrench)! I figured I could get by with zip ties until I get more into wheels, but it's hard to learn on great equipment, then to slink home & get by with zip ties. Lol

Velocivixen

@BFisher - how about using "meet up" website? I've never done it personally but there are a lot of meetup groups. If you didn't find one, maybe you could start one. Figure out a route, then post day/time and so forth and see who shows up. You might be surprised.

Bicycle Addict

In some cases it is the reaching out that can be the harder thing.
Having someone near you for a "chinwag" is a good thing though, for me it was hard to find the time sometimes until I realized that I had to make time.