March 26. I'll proofread it on the 27th. In a hurry now.
John took the photo of the goat, up there in Oregon.
----------
James here did this to his pedals, and many of us raved and declared him a genius. Now we're offering it to you, for an extra $15. Or you can do your own--all you need is a black and a silver, a 4mm hex wrench, and a medium flathead screwdriver. It helps to have a machinist background and access to a vertical lathe, but hey, the screwdriver and 4mm hex will do without that.
In camera, it's Panda-style. Silver body, black lens. If that still doesn't make sense, check out this display of equanimity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-flWUK3XtY
--
I know what you're thinking: "Can I pay extra and have you do this to my derailer, too?" Of course. Ten bucks.
I think SRAM had a "Red" series. I never pay much attention to what comes out of SRAM, because it is they who is leading the campaign to eradicate front derailers. But SRAM's Red is ... well, you have to look hard to see it...for instance, her's the Etap RED rear derailer:
It should be called Dark Gray.
---
A French framebuilder named Yann Thomas died. I found this out today March 22, in an email a friend of his sent to me. Yann's brand was Salamandre Cycles.
He wrote to me about a month or two ago, telling me nice things and that he liked the Gus. I wrote back and thanked him and said nice things about his bikes (sincere, by the way), and I'm so sorry to hear he died. I don't know how. and I wish there was a way to pay respects more than this. I'd do anything, anything, but I'm at a loss. I'm sure I've missed his funeral and flying is out these days, right? In a week I'll have had my second shot. Is there a memorial service? I would like to sneak in, I don't need to announce. I just wish I had a course to follow on this.
I got a note and a link to this:
http://salamandrecycles.canalblog.com/archives/2020/12/05/38690289.html
-----
I find this interesting. To some, it may seem like a buried mine, but I've been thinking, based on responses and such, that..why flag this stuff between wood and graphite?
--------
By April 7 we should have "Bicycles-R-Fun" stoneware mugs in.
----
The camera I used in the opening photo of the last Blag was made in Japan in the late 1940s, and I didn't know it when I shot the photo below, but it has extreme haze on the lens, and is kind of worthless as a camera unless it can be fixed. I used it on a ride. It's a trikier than usual camera, and I was glad I got decent focus and exposure (guessing), but the results were all cloudy. Here's one after five seconds of photoshopping, still not acceptable except in a quirky way. It looks like it could've been taken in the '50s
------
We have received our last shipment from Sweater Island. Six-button cardigans and three-button vests. Each sold out in less than two days the last time we offered them. I know it's warming up, but it'll get cold again, and the magic knit in these lets the wind through, so they're good for even cool weather riding.
--------
How to donate directly to the Australian Platypus Conservancy.
If you do it and list Rivendell as a connection, it'll make the APC like us more, and we will give you store credit of 20 percent of your donation. Send us the proof and give us a month, so we can do them all at once. Good thru End of April.
--------
GRIPS
We went to fantastic elaborate trouble to import grips from Holland, where they're known to know pretty much all that can be known about grips. We buy them singly, so we sell them singly. If you order one from us, thinking it's a pair, then you're mad because we ruined your ride, and then we point out that we pointed out on the site that they're sold singly...and then you say, "well, that's ridiculous, who ever heard of that?", we'll say "The Dutch." Although, we buy our red and black Hunte-Wilde grips singly, too.
They arrived today, we're all agog, and they'll be on the site within a week.
-------
We are getting in more Finish pine tar soap, or "tar soap" as they call it over there. Today is Thursday Mar 25. I expected it yesterday. This is going up today, and it may be here tomorrow, I just don't know.
----
asian cyclists in socal early 1900s
It's one of a million sections of a book I'm working on.
Kind of related to that, customer Philip from Dallas sent me this story.
------
For 20+ years we've had a lugmobile up in our showroom:
Emily L. made this. The rods are seat stays.
and
Jeri made this recently:
It could probably use a few more lugs, but it's the best-looking lugmobile I've seen. I think it resides east of here.
------
Here are two rare color photos of rides of the two local-ish mountains. I just got this roll of color film back. Shot with Olympus XA camera. It's probably the perfect film-camera for bike riding--well, maybe the XA2 or XA4 is even better. But we usually go for the heavier, more difficult cameras, anyway.
Dan on a Gus, early March. The trails go on and on and on.
Dan on Gus, Jeff on CLEM.
------
Mailboxes...redux, I think is the fancy word for revisiting something I've already written about in the Blahg, a few months ago.
As mailboxes go, so goes everything. Peter Egan wrote a story he called something like "The Cheapening of Everything" in the 1992 or 19943 or 1994 Bstone catalog, and mailboxes remind me of it.
I know how pathetic it is to whine about mailboxes getting slicker and crappier and stylized. I know there are bigger fish to fry in the world and in the country these days--but you know, I get mean emails when I fry 'em, so allow me my mailbox rant. This came to me again last night, when I found these up4grabz mailboxes on the street on a dogwalk:
here are my favorites of all time. I know they're painted, but they're old and rusty-painted now. I've showed these before, but they are a feast for ye olde eyes, so enjoy seeing them again:
They're local.
If you want an olde mailbox, you can probably find them online for 8x more than they cost new. This one's not for sale, but it's the right idea:
If any of you are getting rid of your galvanized, old-style mailbox, send it here for a $42 credit. Offer good thru April. You pay the freight. This is dumb, but as the old song goes:
I am a sincere man from the land of the palm trees.
----------
I would like to see your photos of mailboxes. Of your not. I think it's probably against the law to take photos of mailboxes that aren't your own, but if you do it anyway---of odd, unique, dilpidated, or just plain ugly mailboxes--send to info@rivbike.com, with MAILBOX and YOUR NAME and CITY and STATE in the subject field. I'll show them in a future BLAHG.
MAILBOX WANDA MULFEURD RENO, NV
Somebody will contact me in a year and a half and ask, "Are you still having that mailbox contest?"
-----
I think I've but these bad boyz up here before, but it seems like a soothing way to end this:
