A docent's experience at the USBHoF
Due to a rain prediction Saturday, I opted for an indoor activity and signed up to work a shift as a volunteer docent at the US Bicycling Hall of Fame. The main floor was a busy buzz of 100 voices (sensory overload for me), so I watched over the antique collection downstairs. It was a great chance to talk with people in smaller groups, with maybe even better conversation pieces than the early-1980's mountain bikes on display upstairs (e.g. "Breezer number 1").
One highlight for me was showing Joe Breeze the Davis Double Century trophy that has his name on it for 5 different years in the 1970's, back when it was considered a race. Joe said he was always the stoker on a tandem with Otis Guy, and spoke of 65 mph speeds downhill after the Resurrection climb. They would have a single bike drafting them to function as "fly swatter," i.e. maneuvering to knock would-be wheel suckers away, especially other tandems contending for first place. Joe recalled the names of their "fly swatters," a different person each year, and laughed upon describing the antics of their most aggressive helper ever, Gary Fisher. Small world.
Another very interesting person was the owner of Speedplay Pedals, who is on the board of the USBHOF, and organized the mountain bike exhibit.
Bobby Walthour III (getting on in years, with walker) told me that his grandparents eloped on a tandem. I said "just like the song," and he replied "the WERE the song, my Grandma was Daisy." But then his son told me it might just be a family legend, and Joe Breeze opined later that the "bicycle built for two" in the song had side-by-side seating rather than tandem seating. Another fun thing was showing the Walthour family the easily-unnoticed picture of their ancestor riding a special bicycle behind a motorcycle on a velodrome track.
It was surprising how many of the visitors were familiar with the Chet Kyle display, and the streamliner races in the early days of the IHPVA (International Human Powered Vehicle Association). I had attended a few of those events in Southern California circa 1980, including the one when people power first exceeded 60 mph (level ground, no tailwind) with the 2-person aerodynamically shelled "Vector." What I didn't know until someone told me yesterday, is that the stoker was none other than Nelson Vails. Small world, again.
