The Thousands

A little while ago I found an old Italian bicycle for sale locally. It was a beautiful Olmo cafe racer with chrome lugs, Campagnolo gear, and gorgeous fenders for about $500. It was possibly the most beautiful bike I’d seen, there was no carbon fibre to be seen and I would have frolicked through the streets on it with the cheesiest of grins pretending I was laning it up in Amsterdam or weaving through the alleys of Turin. It was classic steel beauty and it triggered something in me. It made me feel the same way I did when, as a 12 year old, I suddenly started seeing girls in a different light. It made me feel a little funny. 

I hesitated since I’d recently bought myself a brand new second-hand single-speed for my city commute/play chicken with my mortality/dodge the angry Burnside Land Rover brigade, and had over-stretched my feeble financial situation as a self-proclaimed "Uni bum".

Now I’ve found a way to pretend I didn’t be careful with my cliche Gen Y VISA debt and it’s NOT the Tour Down Under. ‘Retro Velo’ is a showcase of retro cycles, from old track bikes, to quirks of bicycle design and various road racers. All put on by some local collectors. I wonder if they have my Olmo?