non-fixie 

Not sure how big the "Bay Area" is. Having some experience with Americans, it's probably a lot bigger than I think.

So, the Retro Tour of Flanders would be my suggestion. Lots of paved routes, too:

Classtime 

A possibility is to select an organized century that suits your vintage road ride fancy and encourage C&V'ers to target that ride. After a couple years of increasing participation, the organizers may even recognize a "special" category.


Can I ride my 2011 frame that looks like a vintage frame? Is it ok if it was made with over sized tubing? And if the rear dropouts are spaced 130mm?

genejockey 

I looked it up - the 9 counties that constitute the Bay Area cover 6900 square miles. The Netherlands is apparently 16,000 square miles, so the Bay Area is a little less than half that.

BUT by including all 9 counties, you add a lot of thinly populated area. So the inner parts that constitute what most people here think of as the Bay Area are probably half that. What constitutes "The Bay Area" is a little fuzzy. When housing prices in the inner Bay Area are high (and when aren't they?), developers start calling Stockton and Modesto part of "The Bay Area"!

genejockey 

This is a can of worms that one avoids opening by not having rules about that. OR by having a very tightly defined set of rules like L'Eroica. Personally, I prefer the former. I mean, suppose a couple show up where one has a nice old 1980s rig but the other only has a modern CF bike? Do you tell them, "Sorry, they can't join us."

And I ain't gonna wear wool shorts with a leather chamois for nobody!

genejockey 

Yeah, I agree you need a definition of the ride that's clear ahead of time, and people are free not to ride if they don't like that.

genejockey 

Then you have to worry about making sure everyone knows the route, and you need a sweeper so you don't lose stragglers, and somebody's sure to flat and might not have all they need to fix it, and what if someone gets lost or has a mechanical or, god forbid, crashes?

It does make me wonder whether the person who organizes the ride has all that much fun....

repechage

Team Biden shades.

Biden knows bikes, the USA presented a custom Belinkey to Boris Johnson this trip to the UK.
With as many American components as possible.
Only error I saw was no fenders.

repechage

But just a disorganized ride right?
avoid the liability waiver thang, California is California.

iab

That ain't gonna happen. Been there. Done that. And organizers don't see any benefits, like a concurs d'elegance before the ride, as anything other than cute.

iab

Only if they are selfish about it in some way. I throw a party I want to attend. If you don't like it, ts.

retroshifter

just looked up this story. Belinkey was only given 2 weeks to build this bike. Nice looking bike with the Union Jack graphics (not sure if I like how that part turned out); great for Belinkey and kudos to Biden. but I agree it needs fenders, plus should be internal gearing, full chain guard, taller short reach stem, and wider brooks saddle. Ironically,I just described a Raleigh Sports. That would be funny

bikingshearer 

The SlowPoke rides were nothing if not disorganized.

steelbikeguy

I've gotten that sort of question over the years, but it was even more extreme... "can I do the ride, even though I just have a CF bike? I just want to do the ride".
I've tried to be accommodating and said that if they had an enthusiasm for the old bikes, then that would be okay. Hey, maybe they have a lot of great stories to tell!

In the case of just bringing any bike, and not giving a rip about vintage bikes, I've compared it to asking if you can bring your Honda Civic to a Corvette Club event.

Steve in Peoria

Maytag

Like the idea of a "steel is real" ride, but not moving the CA because of it, although may attend a L'Eroica event in the near future.
A while back I planned to do a small ride in the GA mountains with older steel bikes. Just a small group, Sunday morning, between 30-50 miles
with potential stops at wineries and/or microbreweries. Had back roads mapped out with very little gravel/packed dirt stretches.
Placed a call out on social media and had an underwhelming response. Zero, not even acknowledgement or "stupid idea".....
I think putting the word out at local bike shops ( they have customers with older road bikes ) or placing a flyer in their window may draw more attention.
I am sure every event started out small at some point and grows if word spreads. The headaches will come when permits are required, liability insurance becomes
a concern........ Still working on it, hopefully a few people will put more value on camaraderie and enjoyment of vintage bikes versus chasing times and check points.
Cheers

Lazyass

I'll allow that. And I'll ride my 2019 Wabi Reynolds 725 single speed even though it has a threadless stem

70sSanO

Many years ago there was a Memorial Day weekend event in Paso Robles called the Great Western Bike Rally.

Back then there were scheduled organized rides at particular times throughout the days. They boasted everything from a 3/4 mile ride to the ice cream parlor to a century. I went for a few years and had a blast. It was pretty laid back.

I think it still exists, but the format has changed in that there are no organized rides, just route slips.

Of course back then everyone was riding vintage bikes, although we didn’t realize it. Some even had the latest index downtube shifters and Look pedals.

John

Addendum: Bought a pair of new take-off PD-7400 pedals at the Friday swap meet one year for $15. Still using them.

gugie 

The "rules" of what are C&V are over at the Classic Rendevous (CR) site - t least that's where someone's posted them. Here, it's whatever you want them to be. As I've stated before, the CR site is like a wine bar, I call this forum the dive bar. It's really a forum for people who like and appreciate older bikes, with a somewhat fluid definition. You can post threads of bikes that aren't really C&V on occasion without getting much grief.

I went to Bob Freeman's annual (pre-covid) show and ride a few years ago, one gentleman had an e-bike. But he was 80 years old and wanted to participate, and I was told he was big in classic bikes BITD. Who's going to kick him out?

As for organizing C&V rides, people on this forum have been doing that for a long time. There are just a few that are "regular" rides, the Pasadena one seems to be the one I keep seeing. In the past few years I've done a Ride, Wrench and Grill a couple of times with good turnout, and a couple of North Trask rides (~Portland to Tillamook over forestry roads), all of them with a dozen plus riders, but never enforced any rules on C&V bona fides.

Want to put something together like a Bay Area Cino? I'd bet something that took place Marin/Napa/Sonoma area would be a hit. The Bay Area is a lot easier to find flights into from far and wide than Kalispell or San Luis Obispo, and would automatically draw from the Bay Area easily, PNW with little difficulty, even SoCal - all are within 1-2 days driving time as well. In addition, the North Bay has wonderful weather almost year round, so it could be scheduled at a time when other places in the country are too hot, too cold, or too wet. It would be a lot of work if you're planning on charging, food stops, county permissions, etc., but a smaller scale, informal, self-supported ride would be easy to organize.

Hmm, I know a guy in Monte Rio...

fabiofarelli

Big smile from the Netherlands ...

RustyJames 

I put on a wine tour for a car club I belong to and I keep it simple. I plan a start time and location, the route and the stops, provide directions and ask who will be attending so we can let the restaurants, wineries, etc, know how many people they can expect. Done.

Putting on a C&V bike event can be the same formula but you let people know this ride is geared (ha!) towards vintage bikes so if you want to bring your latest whiz-bang CF bike, GREAT! I've heard they are fabulous but the pace is for old-er bikes so you may get bored waiting for the group and/or the speeds that will be ridden. Again, done. KISS...

My 2 cents...

RustyJames 

BTW - DO NOT charge $$ to participate. The group can buy you lunch, offer NOS Campagnolo components or other niceties as a thank you but once you start to charge an entry fee that opens a HUGE can of worms.

fabiofarelli

That's the way. And keep it small/not big. For the fourth of july () I had the choice between three such rides in the Netherlands.

genejockey 

If somebody were running a century or similar charity ride primarily for C&V bikes, I'd probably ride it. But I will never be the guy who organizes one. I'm not that guy. .But doing a 'pickup ride' where we post something on here, and people show up or not? That's maybe my speed.

Het Volk

Why yes there is. Creekside Bicycles here in Parker, CO puts on the "Eddie Rando", which is on proper pavement and includes an amazing display of vintage and modern steel bikes. It just occurred yesterday, in Parker, CO.

Photos from the June 13, 2021 Eddie Rando