Today's entry is the premier issue of Cyclist magazine, published in June of 1984 when your humble narrator was a mere towheaded tyke of 12. Dang, what was I riding in '84? I'm going to guess that I on Cousin Dale's two-ton, hand-me-down, baby-blue Schwinn Continental.
(Damn you, Billy Joel! now THAT'S stuck in my head! If you aren't in a quiet place, you can turn up your cheap pair of speakers and suffer with me.)
Anway, our dedicated researchers unearthed a pristine copy of this new-to-me publication at a local used book sale, immediately donned white cotton gloves so as not to sully it with the oils from their skin, purchased it for the princely sum of 50 cents, and slapped it on the scanner before putting it to rest in the climate-controlled vault. I'm still studying the resulting scans and extracting the finest nuggets of blog gold*, but in the meantime, here's a cover shot to whet your appetite:
Hairnets, baby! And fast bikes under $400! Heck, you can't even buy a fast bike's rear derailleur for a quartet of Benjamins these days!
*"Blog gold" appears without permission** of Mr. T. Saleh and Moscaline, Incorporated, but we think he's a cool enough dude to let it slide. Though what he's doing associating with hacks like that Nunemaker fella on Veloquent is beyond us...
**Scratch that, "blog gold" now appears with limited permission -- see comments. And for the record, my mom is NOT a naughty librarian. Although that would make my dad a swashbuckling adventurer rather than a mild-mannered grade school principal who looked kinda dorky in hats, so maybe the extension of the metaphor ain't so bad after all.***
**Scratch that, "blog gold" now appears with limited permission -- see comments. And for the record, my mom is NOT a naughty librarian. Although that would make my dad a swashbuckling adventurer rather than a mild-mannered grade school principal who looked kinda dorky in hats, so maybe the extension of the metaphor ain't so bad after all.***
***And in case you're wondering, I went to a lecture/reading about David Foster Wallace last night, hence the obsession with footnotes. It will pass.
2 comments:
1984? That was a good era... the '84 Olympics were especially good for American cycling! The early 80's also saw the introduction of decent short that weren't made of wool and animal skins. It was also the peak of the Campy era. Fine Italian steel and components at the top shops! (except Micheal's in Ames, where Raleigh 753 was clearly the best, and the SRC were out kicking butt).
So when will the issue be posted? And how does it compare to the mid 70's Bicycling issues that I think I sent on DVD once upon a time?
btw, thanks for the Billy Joel reference. Hadn't really noticed that part about the Continental before.
as always,
Steve in Peoria
Ha. I let it slide this time. Just a note, I think you just called your mom a naughty librarian....
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