Wheels whirled and spokes blurred as century-old bicycles did laps Saturday around Durango’s Rotary Park.
Bikes older than the Titanic, a tandem seat-for-three, a penny-farthing bicycle taller than a grown man and more were on display at the inaugural Vintage Bicycle Swap.
Organized by two local bike enthusiasts, John Sheedy and Robert “Bicycle Bob” Gregorio, the event was the first of what organizers said they intend to turn into an annual Durango tradition.
Gregorio, a lifelong bicycle fanatic, said the swap was inspired by his love of collecting old bicycles and making them ridable again.
“Folks back then had a lot of pride in the quality of their workmanship, the satisfaction of doing great work meant as much as the paycheck did, and we’ve kind of lost touch with that nowadays,” Gregorio said.
The swap wasn’t exclusively for vintage bikes.
“Hopefully, we’re connecting the dots a little bit more now, because this is such a biking town,” Sheedy said. “What you’re seeing with this event here is that there’s so much diversity that just comes out of the woodwork: mountain bikes, kids bikes, classic vintage bikes and mountain vintage bikes, whatever the hell that thing is.”
Durango resident Peter Schertz was sporting a penny-farthing bicycle with a seat that sits at shoulder height atop an oversized front wheel. He gushed at the history behind his eye-catching ride.
“It was also called an ‘ordinary’ back in the day,” Schertz said. “... They realized the larger you increased the front wheel the faster you could go. It’s a dangerous bicycle, you’re always on the verge of a header.
Schertz said his favorite part about riding his penny-farthing bicycle through town is that “everybody smiles” as it glides past.
Schertz has been collecting bikes for years, but some people at the swap were just dipping their toes into the hobby.
Jake Dierking, 21, said he has always been fascinated by old cars and trains, but since moving to Durango to work for the railroad he’s fallen in love with the city’s bike culture and the machines themselves.
Dierking purchased a classic Schwinn beach cruiser frame, year unknown, to rig with a 1950s motor. “If this were a car, it would be a ‘57 Chevy,” he said. “This is the quintessential American-bicycle right here. I want to take it out to California and run it along the coast.”
Dierking said he also hopes, and expects, for the Vintage Bike Swap to flourish in years to come. “In California, there are events like this that start little. You know, there’s 50 people here, and next year there will be 100, and five years later it’s too big for the park and they have to move it.”
That’s also the hope of Gregorio and Sheedy, who agreed the swap was a smashing success. Sheedy said he hopes future Vintage Bike swaps will help strengthen Durango’s already strong biking community and inspire others to fall in love with his hobby.
“You see that poster over there with the women on the bicycle? In the 1890s, bikes were considered empowering for women, getting out of the house and becoming independent,” Sheedy said. “So they really represent empowerment and freedom.”
