Spitting Swap

Early this past Sunday, I took a rainy ride to the New England Muscle Bicycle Museum in Bloomfield for their last "Northeast Bike Swap Meet" as this under-the-radar display of awesomeness is pared down and sold off.

I rode the Yuba to help deter myself from loading up on too many bikes, and it kind of worked, though I did pass up on a heartbreakingly cheap old Schwinn tandem. I did pick up a couple of wheels, tires and cranks for bikes I'm working on, stuffing some of them into a nice Dahon bag to ride up front as I slogged home. Also, in the spirit of the trendy new minimalism, I picked up a unicycle. I got somewhat wet riding to Bloomfield (I brought a spare shirt) and thoroughly soaked coming home in time to get a flat right in front of my house. I was glad that didn't happen en route, as changing the rear tire by the side of the road in the rain would have sucked.

The museum is like a secret wonderland of 60's pop culture. My favorite was the red George Barris-branded bike with mags and a surfboard rack! There are some vintage motorcycles there as well, so I got to ogle and pine for an old Triumph again.

I don't know the full story of how much or how quickly they are winding things down, but you'd do well to have a visit if you get a chance.