Classic Rendezvous Weekend
Mon, June 6, 2016 
I am looking forward to next weekend June 10 – 12, I will be at the Classic Rendezvous Vintage Bike Show, in Greensboro, North Carolina. As usual it will be an opportunity to meet with old friends and hopefully make new ones.
I am fortunate to be one of the guest speakers. (Sat 11th. 4 pm.) I say fortunate because I am just that, a very lucky man. Blessed, not only to have the ability to build a few good bicycle frames over the years, but to have been around in a time when it was possible to make a good living doing it. Of course I speak of the 1980s.
It is a safe bet to say that the majority of bikes at the Classic Rendezvous Show will be from the 1980s, there will also be earlier ones of course, but the 1980s really marked the end of hand brazed, lugged steel. And possibly marked the end of an era when bicycles will become collectables in the future. In much the same way than modern cars will not be collected either.
I will do my best to make my presentation both entertaining and informative. One of the topics I plan to touch on is positioning. I plan to talk about it in a way that I have not written about here, for the simple reason it needs to be demonstrated rather than written about.
There was a nice article by Matthew Butterman in the Handbuilt Bicycle News. Matt pulled a picture from my archives and it happened to be from 2009 when I was at my heaviest (See below.) So I took a current picture to illustrate this article, otherwise you may not recognise me, or think I am wasting away or something. (See skinny Dave. top. 150 lbs.)
I hope to see some of you at the event. If you are attending please introduce yourself.
Above Fat Dave February 2009, 178 lbs.
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Reader Comments (7)
See you there Dave, Should be a fun weekend.John Crump
Just got an Email from Alexander Von Tutschek in England, has hand problems and will not be able to be in Greensboro. But I am sure there will be many other Brits attending.What year bike are you bringing to ride. My son Paul will be riding his 1973 Legnano I am hoping to borrow a bike from Dale to ride. Look forward to riding with you Dave.
I hope to meet you in Greensboro and show you what a great job you did on FUSO #002!
"one of the topics I plan to touch on is positioning."
if it about positioning on the bike (bike fitting) would very nice to write also an article about it. always a pleasure to read about.
have a great time at Classic Rendezvous Weekend!
best regards,
Mircea
Hey Dave,
Yes, it is unfortunate that handmade steel bicycles are falling away. You truly create works of moving art.
I'm curious, what lead you to lose 28 pounds between 2009 and now? You have always been a cyclist, I'm assuming. What was the change? How did you come to that decision?
Great photos. Beautiful bike. Best of luck speaking at the Show. Sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck.
Thanks Dave.
Dave I am now 83 yrs young, I rode 9k miles last year and have only done 2500 this year so far due to the bloody weather in Parker,Colorado. My weight stays at around 125lbs. The only problem I ever have is with my left knee if I stay off the bike for a few days, So ride all I can when I can. You sure look fit to me. you must be getting the miles in, are you going to ride at Greensboro?
Gerald,
When a person has been in good physical shape in the past, you know how good it feels. So it is not so much a question of what made me decide to lose the weight, it is more a case of looking back and saying, "How did I ever let myself go like that?"
When I struggle to tie shoe laces or put socks on it is time to do something about it. Riding a bike is so easy now, and I have relatively few aches and pains. I have vowed to maintain my current weight.
Dave