From One Curious Photo . . . .

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Garth

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Dec 24, 2021, 6:08:33 AM12/24/21
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  So this AM I was meandering some cycling photos on Flickr, specifically an "old cycling photos" group. As I'm scrolling down I notice a news photo titled "Wheeling Around Europe", which caught my eye as I know of one one such use for the word and that is the name of the nearby city in West Virginia. It's about a woman named June Jenkins who was travelling Europe by bicycle.

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/8729526@N02/2371818339/in/album-72157625141981687/

 That had me curious of there was any other reference to her online, and sure enough I search "June Jenkins" cycling, and I see a reference to a June J. Siple, Missoula, and the Adventure Cycling Association. So I search for "June Siple" cycling cyclist, and under the photos I come across a link for our Cyclofriend Jim titled "ivendell Reader #42", yes the R is missing. So as I'm reading the reader I remember that one as it includes the article about Freddie Freeman. Down the pages I come to page 30 and there is big write up about June and her husband Greg's Hemistour they rode in 1973. 


No link to the original Nat. Geo article, but found these .....




Here's pic of the same bike she had in that 1970 photo and the Hemistour 1973, a Peugot PX-10. ..... laughing with the joy of skinny tires ! Note the neat drivetrain modification. 


So it turns out June and Greg are among the co-founders of the American Adventure Association. Small world, from a reference to "Wheeling" all the way back here. "As the World Turns" ..... all turns lead Home. 

Thanks for reading, and for being here, there and everywhere you are . 

Patrick Moore

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Dec 27, 2021, 11:49:17 AM12/27/21
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Thanks for these links, Garth; some entertaining old photos in them. 

The derailleur modification on June Siple's bike reminds me of the desert that good bicycles and parts were 50 years ago, at least in NA (not that I knew enough then to realize what a desert it was; this judgment is retrospective, of course). This was a time when people actually thought adding a freewheel to a Sturmey Archer hub was a useful improvement -- I did it myself circa 1971 or 1972, though true to form I did it to get closer ratios, not more range. I wonder how that Campy derailleur shifted with that extended cage. Of course, that era did provide posterity with thousands of nice steel frames for building up with much nicer modern parts. (Apologies to CR!)

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Patrick Moore
Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

Patrick Moore

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Dec 27, 2021, 11:51:14 AM12/27/21
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I mean "multiple cogs" of course.

John Rinker

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Dec 27, 2021, 6:45:08 PM12/27/21
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Well, this is cool! Now, is someone other than me on the lookout for a copy of the May 1973 Nat Geo article which features '26 pages about bicycling'? That'd be a fun timepiece to see! 

Thanks Garth!

John Rinker

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Dec 28, 2021, 4:28:01 AM12/28/21
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After reading the 'Shakedown Alaska' article, I'm now more intrigued with Dave Sorenson, the 'casual' tourer, on his alba-barred 3-speed. One can only wonder, 'Where is Dave now?' Perhaps a member of this group?

Super fun reading!

Garth

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Dec 28, 2021, 5:13:13 AM12/28/21
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Gotta love all these cool looking and timeless Bicycles !  
What's funny is that their experiences read as relevant today as any other time or place. 
I had looked for the article a few days at the time of posting this ago but ran into dead ends. So this AM I felt an urge to see it as I knew it existed online somewhere and readily accessible at that. Lo and behold ....thanks to the wonders of PFM, here is The May 1973 entire periodical in pdf format.

John Rinker

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Dec 28, 2021, 8:38:35 AM12/28/21
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Whoa, Garth! You da' man! Thank you very much for your diggin' deep. 

PFM?

Cheers, John

E. Ricky Creek

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Dec 28, 2021, 10:01:23 AM12/28/21
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I spent an afternoon with Greg Siple a number of years back while riding across the USA, and using my memory only he told me the adapted derailleurs and any other modifications for those early epic touring bikes were done at a local Missoula shop called Braxton's. I think he built bicycles as well. Ian Hibell's Africa bike is also up in the rafters of Adventure Cycling's headquarters and worth a look. 

rlti...@gmail.com

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Dec 28, 2021, 11:57:25 PM12/28/21
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Interesting that they used the term “bikepacking” in that 1973 article. I assumed that was a more recent term but it looks to have been around a while.

Robert Tilley
San Diego, CA

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On Dec 28, 2021, at 2:13 AM, Garth <gart...@gmail.com> wrote:

Gotta love all these cool looking and timeless Bicycles !  
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mikel...@juno.com

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Dec 29, 2021, 12:17:35 AM12/29/21
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Craig Montgomery

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Dec 29, 2021, 10:20:16 AM12/29/21
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I didn't know about Braxton doing Campy-Alpine Gearing conversions but it doesn't surprise me. He was throwing together some top notch tourers back then; many built with 590 wheels (26x1 3/8). The famous Spence Wolf at the famous Cupertino Bike Shop was famous for doing conversions like this. He did them for Cinelli bikes no less. This photo is from around '73 I believe. 

Wolf Conversion.jpg
The Suntour VGT Luxe came out about this time also. Once these guys were available there was no holding us back. So Patrick it was a desert here in NA, primarily because stuff was hard to get. Either you got custom conversions like this (if you knew about them at all) or wallowed in anticipatory angst waiting for your Suntour (introduced in early 70's). 

Hey Robert, speaking of "bikepacking", check this out. Published 1981. This is the one that got me started. We don't need no stinking "gravel" bike. 
Backcountry Bikepacking.jpg

Craig in Tucson

Dan Bluestein

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Dec 29, 2021, 12:33:18 PM12/29/21
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Don't know about a printed copy of the Nat Geo issue, but scans of its two bicycling articles are online via this blog post:


and here's the "Bicycles Are Back and Booming" article:

- Dan

p.s. Hi everyone, I'm a new poster here, but have been lurking for a while as a Riv-curious former Bridgestone rider.
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