Fun conversation while riding today
Took the old Nishiki Marina 12 for a spin today (it is normally on the indoor trainer but I wanted something different today). I was having a great, short ride as I needed to get back to work when I come up on a rider going the same direction. He had been stopped and then kept looking at his bike. I caught up and asked if everything is ok and he replied yes. As we rode I noted his cream colored steel frame ride and commented it was nice to see one out and about. He replies "yep, I built it last year. I've been building frames since around 1977." Well, that of course got my curiosity going especially as he looks at the Nishiki and comments on the age and that he hadn't seen one in awhile. His bike was oversized Columbus tubes but with typical C&V geometry. This guy was probably 6'4" and fairly heavy so he had beefed the frame up for comfort and strength.
I asked his name and he told me and then he asked if I had heard of Curtlo bikes. I definitely have - he's custom builder located in the Okanogan Valley here in eastern WA. This guy says "well, I'm the lo in Curtlo". Ok, now the conversation is going to get real interesting. We stood at a stop sign where we were going to part ways and chatted for a good 15-20 minutes about all things steel bike. We lamented the demise of Suntour. He loved the Suntour Superbe brakes on my bike and the old 27" Araya wheels. Said he used to build a lot of those and really liked them. I told him I may have to look him up to build me a touring frame some time. He's semi-retired from a law career and loves tinkering around and building frames. Probably could have stood there for another 30 minutes talking as drivers looked curiously at us.
I had gone on a ride to clear my head from a painful conference call at work and came back in a great mood having had a cool conversation with someone who understands and appreciates C&V. What could be better.
Just had to share.
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