What a day! I just spent an hour with Ted Kirkbride
Wowzers,
It all started with the daily Craigslist post I check out each morning and saw an ad with a bunch of frames and wheels. I called the number who was really a screener to make sure that the callers weren't jerks or thinking they were going to get a piece of history for measly money. I passed the test and gave him my name and number.
Five min later, I get a call from Ted Kirkbride himself. Man in his 80s. Wealth of knowledge. Sure, books have been written about the Masi bikes and the men who both built them and rode them, but hearing his stories in first hand was an incredible experience.
BTW, I have a degree in journalism (U of Oregon) and haven published regarding food, wine, Vespas and architecture. I have never been published writing about bikes.
Two things: I plan on writing up our conversation (wish I had taken better notes) and I'm trying to organize a lil meetup at his shop where he will tell some stories, answer some questions and of course, sell us some vintage frames, wheels and boxes of campy parts.
Hoping to have this in about 2 weeks. I'll keep you posted.