run what you brung

 I'm pretty sure it was on the July 4 All-Paces club ride that Joe C suggested a ride where we could bring out the bikes that we don't ride on most club rides, for whatever reason. I love the beautiful and unusual bikes, and thought it was a great idea...

... and then promptly forgot about it, until there was some more chatter about it on the Princeton Free Wheeler Facebook page. We got into a discussion about such a ride, and I decided to post something, mostly to see if there was any interest. 

I decided to make it a no-pace special event, because some of the riders who might want to come out, might not be up to riding at a particular pace, of the bikes they want to bring might not be geared to keep up (and there was some of that, as you might see in the pics below). And I called it a "Run What you Brung" ride. In the early days of drag racing, racers would drive the car to the track, race it in the condition in which they'd driven it over, and drive it back. That was kind of the vibe I had in mind for this ride: bring out a bike that was beautiful, or interesting, or unusual, and show it off and ride it, and we'll make a ride to go at the pace the bikes can go.

And to make it even better, friend Eric H decided to lead a "regular" ride, starting at the same time and place, so people who wanted such a ride on a Sunday wouldn't be disappointed.

Eric got over a dozen registrants. I figured I'd get a few... but I got eighteen.

And there were plenty of neat bikes. Joe C's belt-drive single speed:

He likes that double-nose saddle, above.

Phil, a new member (is he a member yet, or is he just joining now?) brought this neat Olmo:

Tom C's Guerciotti.

Note the small gears in the back, above. In those days, they didn't go for easy gears for the hills!

Dr Heddy's gravel bike, with the one-sided lefty fork named Oliver. Is that the name of the fork, or the name of the bike?

Herb C's bike (I didn't get the make... but I love it).

Ron A's custom Hanford, with ALL the appointments. As Ramblin' Wrench, I got to work on this a few weeks ago. What a pleasure!

Ron dressed for the occasion!

 

Glen F's Pinarello, with an even smaller gear cluster than the Guerciotti above! And what a lovely frame.

Martin's Specialized gravel bike:

I'll have some more bike pics at the stop. More pictures of the ride and riders: 

I set a route that was comparatively short (25 miles - not so short that it wasn't worth coming out for) and not too hilly (even the people who had the least experience on hills were able to complete the ride). People had all kinds of abilities; some rode off the front, others barely kept up at the rear (but at least one of the strongest riders went encouraging the slow ones towards the end - thanks, Rafal!).

At the stop:

Grandfather and granddaughter Pinarellos:

John K's Yasujro. A Japanese frame fitted with Campagnolo components, to make up for the gajillions of Italian frames fitted with Shimano!

You probably can't read the legend on that stem cap, above; it says, "I need Japanese steel - I have diabetes to kill." John's a coach and a regular on the Diabetes rides. The quote is adapted from the movie "Kill Bill", and I was (and am) too un-cool to know that.

Rafal's Orbea. No, it's not an e-bike; that's a tool container below the downtube.

People liked the opportunity to bring out the pretty and unusual bikes, but people also liked the no-pace opportunity to ride with no pressure and chat. I expect I'll do these every now and then. A "silly socks" ride, and a "show off your favorite jersey" ride have already been suggested. 

Sometimes, you just want to ride your bike.