Bike Friday: Wrap it Up - Mark it - Grampies on the Go - Again! Summer 2012

October 9, 2011

Bike Friday: Wrap it Up - Mark it

Highway 126 leads from the coast directly to Eugene. Our plan had been to roll into town, get our bearings, and head to 11th Avenue where Bike Friday is located. We would have a look at where it was so as to be sure where to go for our appointment with Walter the next day, and then look for a motel or RV park.

As it happens, Highway 126 turns into 11th Avenue and we were at Bike Friday almost as soon as we were aware we were in Eugene! Better, they were open (though this was Columbus Day, plus it was after 5 p.m.). We are sure that readers of Crazyguy understand the thrill of going in to any bike shop, but suddenly we were here, and they were open!.

We were able to look at the showroom and also to meet Walter Lapchynski, the sales consultant who had been recommended to us. We had had several email exchanges with Walter, who had already proved very knowledgeable. But he really impressed us by fielding our barrage of questions - all rapid fire and out of order, since this was not our "official" appointment. At our request Walter took us through the whole building, patiently explaining each stage of production and sales. It grew dark outside, and Walter showed no signs of impatience or weakening. We, of course, could never feel impatient or weak in an actual bike factory and clearly after however long he had worked here, neither does Walter!

Our only regret was that Dodie's dad, also Walter and a tool and die maker, could not be there to see and evaluate the machinery with us. Walter's 100th birthday would have been two weeks ago, and though the family celebrated it, he is no longer with us.

Our consultant, Walter, takes a "case history" by studying our existing bikes.

We will get the story of the adventure that happened on this bike

Dodie grabbed a "Pocket Companion" and immediately loved it

Dodie would love to say "Wrap it Up" but she knows it clearly needs all sorts of equipment additions and tweaks. Walter will add and tweak tomorrow.

This ticket on the first Bike Friday is signed by the co-founder Hans Scholz

A modified milling machine, used to cut and miter tubes

Final assembly. Bikes are assembled and tested by a single person.

We have no idea how the machinery and processes we saw would be evaluated by experts in bike making. However, we could see that while efficient and organized, this is not mass production. That means to us that just a few people will be crafting our bikes, and in general that means more care and a better product. It also means that any problem will be corrected by people who really know how the thing was made.

Walter's workstation, surrounded by iconic first editions

It did not take long for us to see that Walter is a good man and worthy representative for the company. This was reinforced when we noticed the sheet below, pinned up at his workstation:

We finally said goodnight, knowing that we all needed to rest up for a day of bike buying fun the next day. We did run in to Walter again though, in the Fred Meyer store. Walter had bought some groceries and was going through the checkout. And yes, he had his Bike Friday under his arm -no need to lock it up, just as the brochure says!

This is being written at 9:45 a.m. the "next" day of this account. Stay tuned (and so will we!) to see if we find the right bikes. You will also soon get the meaning of "mark it Doney!" in the title.

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