this may have been covered but IMHO it is about the Cycling experience. yes C&V is about the bike but it is so much more.
as far as the bike, it is enjoying the beauty and simplicity of the machine. the challenge of repairing, refurbing, and making art out of dust heap.
as for the ride it is about enjoying riding a your bike for excerise, enjoyment, lifestyle.
I don't think people who go and get a super duper ultra light carbon fiber with dura ace, that ride strictly to best their last personal best, have the same quality of ride we do.
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk