The Mystery of Tom Pritchard’s Bike
September 20, 2020 5:12 AM Subscribe
Everyone has a Tom Pritchard story. Only I have his bike.
"I’ve called it mine, but that’s not exactly accurate. I didn’t buy it. Maybe it belongs to the universe. I feel like it found me. And that’s this story. The bike came to me by death, but this is a story about a life, one life, really lived."
This story is about so much more than a bike (though that's the framing tool, because this is Bicycling magazine).
It's a great read about a truly amazing guy. Well worth your time.
posted by martin q blank at 8:59 AM on September 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's a great read about a truly amazing guy. Well worth your time.
posted by martin q blank at 8:59 AM on September 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Terrific story. Thanks!
posted by From Bklyn at 9:35 AM on September 20, 2020
posted by From Bklyn at 9:35 AM on September 20, 2020
I came across this via other sources, and wanted to post it here myself... only to be beaten to it by another reader of the orange hellsite :) Great story, thanks!
posted by ChrisR at 10:56 AM on September 20, 2020
posted by ChrisR at 10:56 AM on September 20, 2020
Yeah, great story! Eisentraut truly is a legend in his own right and probably deserving of an FPP for his influence in kickstarting the American handbuilt bicycle movement.
posted by St. Oops at 11:17 AM on September 20, 2020
posted by St. Oops at 11:17 AM on September 20, 2020
This was super cool, and... I live in Petaluma, California, home of Bruce Gordon (among other high end frame builders). In a decade and a half or so of riding my Cannondale I have learned that the old guy who shows up with the brazed steel frame and friction Campy shifters is probably gonna wanna pull the paceline for at least half the ride.
And always have the best stories at the rest breaks.
posted by straw at 8:13 PM on September 20, 2020
And always have the best stories at the rest breaks.
posted by straw at 8:13 PM on September 20, 2020
At little late to the party, but straw's comment reminded my of an old guy at the group ride story. I had just started riding/racing for the CRC of A and was going on my first "A" ride. I was a shy teenager a little overwhelmed at riding with the fast guys, so I kept quiet.
At the bridge where we met, I noticed a older guy shaped like a fire plug, and thought to myself "Who's this guy? and "Is he going to be able to keep up". We got rolling and the old guy is pulling like a champ. We get to our sprint to the town sign and he dusts all but the two CAT 1 guys who nip him by a wheel.
After the ride, I am amazed at the power of this mysterious old man. I got up the courage to ask one of the other guys who he is. He replies "Oh that's Allen, he was a two time Olympian and medalist in the Pan-American games." After that, anytime I was in a club race with him I always grabbed his wheel in a sprint, or better yet tried to make a break as it was my only chance of beating him. Just looking at his Wikipedia page he was 54 at the time.
posted by remo at 6:43 AM on September 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
At the bridge where we met, I noticed a older guy shaped like a fire plug, and thought to myself "Who's this guy? and "Is he going to be able to keep up". We got rolling and the old guy is pulling like a champ. We get to our sprint to the town sign and he dusts all but the two CAT 1 guys who nip him by a wheel.
After the ride, I am amazed at the power of this mysterious old man. I got up the courage to ask one of the other guys who he is. He replies "Oh that's Allen, he was a two time Olympian and medalist in the Pan-American games." After that, anytime I was in a club race with him I always grabbed his wheel in a sprint, or better yet tried to make a break as it was my only chance of beating him. Just looking at his Wikipedia page he was 54 at the time.
posted by remo at 6:43 AM on September 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Okay, if we're gonna go for old guys in biking stories... back when I got back into riding as an adult, I was living in Marin County, and riding with the Marin Cyclists. After beating myself up on a bunch of club rides someone pulled me aside and said "there's no shame in not taking a pull on the paceline, we're all retired, we have nothing to do but ride".
Anyway, my blog tells me of a memorable day when we rode out through Nicasio Valley to Mount Vision. It was a relaxed "B-C" pace, which means that over the 70 or so miles we rode that day we averaged over 16MPH. We start out and there's this guy on an upright mountain bike, at least it's got slicks on it, but he's trading leads at the front of the paceline with a very fast couple on a tandem. First rest stop, he's introduced as Gary Fisher.
So a little further down the line we're climbing out of Inverness, and I, in my 30s at the time, and the other young guy, might have even been 20s, are having a little testosterone fest on a hill, a couple of hundred feet in front of the pack. Limits of my aerobic ability, both of us trying to time just how much we're putting out vs ignominiously puking before we crest.
And I look back, and someone's breaking from the pack. And we go back to hammering and trying to not puke, and that someone's gaining on us. And just as we're about to crest the hill, he blows by us, says "mornin', boys!" without even gasping, and clears the crest in front of us. Just in front of us. Totally knew what he was doing, and the limits of what it took to smoke us.
His name was Ron, he was 72 or 73, I think. Had just won the Northern California - Nevada Time Trials by like 7 minutes in his class, competitive with the best 20 somethings. And, yeah, bet his bike had friction shifters and was brazed steel...
posted by straw at 9:48 PM on September 23, 2020
Anyway, my blog tells me of a memorable day when we rode out through Nicasio Valley to Mount Vision. It was a relaxed "B-C" pace, which means that over the 70 or so miles we rode that day we averaged over 16MPH. We start out and there's this guy on an upright mountain bike, at least it's got slicks on it, but he's trading leads at the front of the paceline with a very fast couple on a tandem. First rest stop, he's introduced as Gary Fisher.
So a little further down the line we're climbing out of Inverness, and I, in my 30s at the time, and the other young guy, might have even been 20s, are having a little testosterone fest on a hill, a couple of hundred feet in front of the pack. Limits of my aerobic ability, both of us trying to time just how much we're putting out vs ignominiously puking before we crest.
And I look back, and someone's breaking from the pack. And we go back to hammering and trying to not puke, and that someone's gaining on us. And just as we're about to crest the hill, he blows by us, says "mornin', boys!" without even gasping, and clears the crest in front of us. Just in front of us. Totally knew what he was doing, and the limits of what it took to smoke us.
His name was Ron, he was 72 or 73, I think. Had just won the Northern California - Nevada Time Trials by like 7 minutes in his class, competitive with the best 20 somethings. And, yeah, bet his bike had friction shifters and was brazed steel...
posted by straw at 9:48 PM on September 23, 2020
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posted by chasles at 6:55 AM on September 20, 2020