On my regular Website, I started an electronic conversation with Maynard Hershon, an old friend and talented writer. I am going to continue that conversation here, picking up where we left off:
This is a continuation of an electronic dialog between
Maynard Hershon and me.
Earle: In our last installment, we talked a lot about classy
riding and riders and how much has been lost from the days of our youth. What
we left out was the personalities involved. At one time or another, Maynard and
I have both written pieces for Grant Peterson’s Rivenell Reader.
In the late 1980’s, I was finishing a degree in magazine
journalism and was looking for writing outlets. I had met Grant, knew he had
the Reader, so called him and asked what I could do for him. He suggested that
I interview Jobst Brandt.
I jumped at the chance. Jobst was widely known as highly
opinionated, and less known for being right far more often than wrong, even
when he contradicted conventional wisdom. I had met him a couple of times, and
the world of high-end bicycles being as small as it was then, he readily agreed
to have me meet him for lunch and then spend the afternoon with him in Palo
Alto.
We spent the time in a wide-ranging conversation about his
annual ride in the Alps, his friendships with titans of the Italian bicycle
business and more. When we talked about mindfulness on the road, he showed me
the buckets of tools he had picked up on various rides. We talked about ice
riding, his relationship to the Palo Alto Bicycle catalog and the Avocet brand,
and much much more.
I really liked the three-page piece I wrote for Grant. It
was a glimpse into the world of international cycling at the highest level.
Grant, however, was disappointed. We had not discussed
five-speed freewheels versus six or even seven; never mentioned indexed
shifting versus non and barely touched on bald tires versus tires with tread.
In short, we had talked about bicycling, not bicycles. To be continued ...
