2004 Cirque du Cyclisme hosted by Cycles de Oro, Greensboro, NC

30 mile countryside ride, four speakers, fancy banquet, charity auction.
Photos by Chris Kostman/AdventureCORPS, May 1, 2004

Show 1 - Show 2 - Show 3

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I had an absolute blast at this wonderful event. The camaraderie was incredible, the rides fun, the bicycles beautiful, and so much more. My hat is off to Dale Brown of Cycles do Oro for organizing and hosting it!

So much stands out about this event and my experience of it. I really can't say enough how pleased I am that I attended. The whole event had such a nice feel about it: each activitity, ride, event, meal, or whatever just led to the next thing. There was clearly a sense of "I don't want this to end" the whole time. No matter what the venue or purpose of the hour, nobody was ever in a hurry to leave. I will definitely come again and I will definitely tell all my friends about it. Starting now, with these three online slideshows! (The slideshows just sample all the neat bikes, and neat bike people, that were on hand, of course.)

I must also point out that Greensboro, NC, is an incredibly nice place to visit. I felt welcome even before I arrived, after receiving a nice email from long time ultra rider and Greensboro resident Mark Vickers. He treated me to my first meal in town and that set the stage nicely for a very hospitable time in the area. The motorists were, for me, shockingly considerate, almost always waiting until they could use a different lane to pass. They never just cruised, or blasted, past at my elbow, as I'm more used to experiencing. Around town, everybody was nice, too, whether at the Red Roof Inn, Ham's restaurant, and of course at the bike shop and at all of events. What a great town!

A particularly neat feature of the Cirque is that so many frame builders attended, participated, spoke, showed bikes, and, best of all, RODE THEIR BIKES! This was a real treat, rolling down the country roads with the like of Richard Sachs, Peter Weigle, Ed Litton, Chris Kvale, Simon Firth of Bilenky, John Slawta of Landshark, and others. Added bonus: they're all good riders, in shape, and able to put the hammer down.

The three slideshows are now captioned, so click through them for my further comments about the whole event!

Here's the link to the Cirque du Cyclisme website and here's the link to the official 2004 Cirque report and slideshows.

On Sunday, there were 119 bikes on display and here are the results from the judges:

  • Best Italian: Cinelli track bike: owner John Barron, St. Paul, Minn.
  • Best North American: Bilenky custom by Simon Firth, Philadelphia, PA
  • Best British: Imperial Petrel: owner, Michael LeBron, NYC
  • Best French: Raymond Valance tandem: owner Paul Lee, New York
  • Best Original: Cinelli track bike: owner, Peter Johnson, Redwood City, CA
  • Best Restoration: Cinelli SC: owner, Scott Ramsay
  • Best Paint: Baylis custom track by Brian Baylis, La Mesa, CA
  • Best Antique: Bianchi City Bike: owner, Curtis Anthony, Philadelphia, PA
  • Most Personality: Schwinn... owner, David Perry, NYC
  • Best in Show: Cinelli B ......owner, Charles Andrews, CA

People's Choice Award: Weigle custom Randonneur frame by Peter Weigle. (which I photograhed quite a bit).

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