Well, it ain't Thursday, but. . .

April 1981. With the Thai National team on a ride from Bangkok to ChiangMai to celebrate the BiCentennial of the Chakri dynasty.



I'm on a brand new custom built Ritchey mtb (frame #133 ), delivered out of customs only days before this.

This is taken near the end of the ride.



Very early 80's fashion taste, too.

Lots of great stuff there:
Merckx at WC'67: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQQr5KVbRz4
'53 MSR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blvJTnwUpio
'20's women's race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7L-SrvwmM
Jacques Anquetil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnQjJncP44g
Italian hand cranks (these didn't catch on) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-sHkaT3qc0
1950 TDF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSx5Ot-Nv1o
1937 TDF (with Josephine Baker!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHBw96VFzYU
More: https://www.youtube.com/user/british...?query=cycling

My third birthday, July 23, 1963. I'm second from the left. The others were the neighbor family that lived across the street. I do remember Steve's giant tricycle. In my memory it was something akin to an Ordinary when I would ride next to him!

Then...



Now...

I love this thread. Sitting here at work, I'm one of the old guys. Here on this forum, I'm one of the young guys. Great pics.

I'm not sure if you already know this, but this is from the Danish comedy satire show Drengene fra Angora from 2004. From left to right; Simon Kvam (comedian and musician, currently lead singer in the band Nephew), Rune Kolsgaard (comedian, playwright and film director) and Esben Pretzmann, also comedian. One of the greatest things on Danish television. It is satire based on the confessions of several prominent road bicycle racers at the time.

Here is one of the multitude of great sketch songs they did during this period.

It is heavily inspired by some of the Danish soccer-team-songs from the 80's but obviously very satirical.

I know hybrids don't count for much around here, but this was at the beach and I did not want to put my good bike on the back of a car for a 1000 mile round trip. This is my future wife and myself at Emerald Isle, NC in 1994.

My 1st (and only) fixie....giving a lift to my buddy down the street

Can't believe this was 21 years ago.

I have a question for you if I may.

I acquired a 1981 Marinoni Pista some years ago now that had been repainted. According to the owner it has a "maple leaf" motif paint job prior to that. I always wondered about its provenance and if it was raced my a national team member. It's big, 61cm, did Marinoni sponsor the national track team in 1981? Do you recall any taller riders on the team?

Here are a few pics from the 1990 Jr. National Championships in La Jolla

Awaiting the start


Keeping a close eye on a young Fast Freddy Rodriguez


Heading the charge up the hill


Too bad that's not how I finished!

Kids grow so fast!
How she like her new Nishiki?

Circa 1982: A boy and his Schwinn

Circa 1986-87, NYC Central Park. Tour de Trump circuit race stage.



Steve Bauer in a breakaway.


Post race....Andy Hampsten. And Alcala.



Myself in 1987, coming back from a local ride with my younger brother (whom I can't keep up with.)
Still riding my first creation...even though I just built up a new Vitus 979 recently.

Her legs are almost as long as mine but she has the reach of a t-rex...

The bike fits her like a glove and she loves it.

one of my first bike long tours (hence touring on a Ti/Carbon Litespeed). With me is my father on his 'bent. Around 2000.



I learned a few things that trip

Came across a nice short survey of various bikes used in the Tour from its inaugural year to the present (not all years are covered):

101 Years of Tour de France Bikes Map the Evolution of Cycling | Gizmodo UK

That brief article links to another French-language blog with an even more extensive survey of bikes used in the tour throughout the years. Well worth perusing.

100ème Tour de France, 100 vélos, 100 champions... - Le blog de velosvintage.over-blog.com

Le blog de velosvintage.over-blog.com - Vélos anciens de course série Tour de France



(Source: Le blog de velosvintage.over-blog.com - Vélos anciens de course série Tour de France)

1985 Fat Tire Bike Week, on the way up Pearl Pass.

My wheels...circa 1969........

My fleet in '82 or so, photographed on Polaroid 4x5 sheet film:


Left is the Brodeus, the frame I built at the Proteus Framebuilding Course, my go-fastish bike. Right is a '76 Fuji Pro, go-fastish commuter build. Brodeus items of note: all-Japanese drivetrain w/top-of-downtube Symmetric shifters, Cinelli M71 Death Pedals, Phil Wood front hub/Ukai rim (still riding this wheel), Shimano aero bottle/cage. Near-impossible to see, even on original print, the Spb Pro brake calipers were drilled out to take Galli titanium pivot bolts. Fuji Pro items of note: all-Jpnse dtrain, Merz tripelizer chainrings, Cinelli M71 peds, OGK Aero cage clamped to seat tube, Blackburn dropout adapter rack mounts, Sanyo Dynapower generator mounted to rear of rack, Huret Multito up front.


Foreground is a '74 Fuji Newest I modified in our frame shop with braze-ons galore, resprayed by Andres Cuevas. Background is Commuter BatCycle, originally a Bertin purchased from Vic Fraysee at Park Cycle, butchered in our frame shop, respray by Andres Cuevas. The BatCycle was my excuse to be stupid, I changed the horizontal drops to Campy verticals, added fender/rack/generator/headlight/fairing braze-ons, bb reinforcing tangs, basically anything I could think of. Wanted to get my torching technique down before I touched the Newest. Component choice was also, shall we say, eclectic: has The Edge fairing, four Sanyo Dynapower light heads on fork braze-ons, Phil Wood Widowmaker Disc Brake, 2-stage folding font fender, a**-scratch Sanyo Dynapower deployment lever clamped underneath saddle, the first rear blinkie, the Belt Beacon, drilled out and attached to the rack; gawd knows what else. This thing was stupid-heavy, so I used a TA Pro Vis triple crankset to help with the hills; I'm remembering a 24t chainring, but the photo looks more like a 30-32t?

Oh yeah, I also rode Avocet W2 saddles when I wasn't riding a Brooks Pro, technically their ladies' model, 'cause they were wider and flatter in the back. And I used Grab-On Race Grips on the bar tops, tape below the brake levers.

A serious fleet indeed!

I also had a lone Fuji (from NC) at the beginning of the 1980's, an S12S-LTD I resprayed silver, Esge fenders, I fitted a Suntour cartridge BB and was still using Grab-On grips and 27" rims but can remember little else!

I sold it to buy a clearance-priced (1/2 price @ 225.00) Cannondale (in Mt.Kisco, NY), a green one with "last year's" friction shifters and Cyclone derailer.

Sold the C'dale in early 1992 to buy a leftover Epic w/7sp 105 in Los Angeles.

IIRC these were about my last steel bikes for quite a while. I had a Fuji Touring Series IV in Japan, then rode a Klein Advantage after I got back, in '86. Then a C'dale SR400, maybe also an ST400? Everything was aluminum or carbon fiber after that till '01, so I'm a relatively recent re-convert. I don't miss a single one of those non-ferrous rides a single bit, but I kinda miss every steel frame I've sold since returning to the fold.