Rolling retro
Vintage bikes get their day to shine with upcoming swap and sale

If there’s one thing Durangoans like to really geek out on, it’s bikes. Mountain bikes, road bikes, gravel bikes, cruiser bikes, big bikes, little bikes, townie bikes, klunker bikes, new bikes and old bikes. It’s the latter – many of which are hanging in our garages as we speak – that will get their fenders dusted, tires pumped and chains lubed for a well-deserved day in the sun (or rain, monsoon gods willing) Sat., July 20, for Durango’s inaugural Vintage Bike Swap in Rotary Park.

The swap is the brainchild of self-described bike nut John Sheedy and bike mechanic to the stars and dirtbags alike, “Bicycle” Bob Gregorio.

Sheedy, 52, who spent some formative years growing up in Durango and now splits his time between teaching in Sedona and summers here, said his fascination with bikes stems back to the early 1990s.

“I was out with some friends one time, and we discovered kind of a bicycle graveyard near Farmington, and we thought, ‘Wow this is the coolest thing,’” said Sheedy. “We picked through this bike boneyard and got all these cool parts and started making our own cruiser bikes in Durango in the early ’90s.” 

Sheedy, along with friends including Jonathan Thompson, a regular contributor to the Telegraph with his “Land Desk” column, and Katrina Blair, of Turtle Lake Refuge fame, would put together community bike rides, parading around their new “frankenbike” creations.

“It was before ‘Critical Mass’ was even a name. We were doing our own version of it,” he said. “And I’ve just been learning more and more about the rich history of the bicycle ever since.”

However, it wasn’t until a few years ago that Sheedy crossed tracks, probably literally, with fellow bike aficionado extraordinaire Gregorio.

“We just hit it off,” said Sheedy. “I don’t have a competitive bone in my body, so we hit it off by going out and riding our bikes in the desert together and talking about bikes and just geeking out on old bikes.”

It was during one of those desert wanderings last Christmas, when Sheedy was back on break, that the wheels started turning. “We just started chatting about how these bike swaps are getting to be kind of popular, where other bike geeks get together and trade bikes and sell parts and share stories,” he said. “And Durango is kind of a perfect environment for that, because there are so many people who are crazy about bikes.”

Sheedy said the town’s infatuation with the bicycle goes back almost as far as the town itself, with the creation of the Durango Wheel Club in the late 1890s.

“We thought, ‘You know, the 1990s bikes are now considered vintage. Why don’t we do kind of an appreciation of 100 years of bicycles, from the 1890s to the 1990s and open it up with a bike swap and bike show,” he said.

Yes, you read that right. That ’90s era Schwinn Moab or Specialized Rockhopper gathering dust in the garage – or maybe you still ride it like a fiend, in which case good on you! – is now “vintage.” In addition to these relics of the hard-tail, bar-end, cantilever-brake era, the swap will also include classic “balloon tire” cruisers, vintage BMX and “muscle” bikes, bikes from the turn of the (19th) century, and pretty much anything old with a seat and two wheels that rolls.

And speaking of rolling, no self-respecting bike swap in Durango would be complete without a bike parade, which will take place along the Animas River Trail starting at 1 p.m.

Sheedy said he has about 30 bikes in his vintage quiver, mostly from the 1890s-1910s. Although first iterations of the bicycle appeared about 100 years before this, he said he considers this sort of the golden era of bicycles.

“That’s when the real innovation came around with the bikes,” he said. “There were no cars on the road at the time. Really, the bicycle was what inspired the first paved roads and rubber tires by Dunlop. All these things we take for granted.”

In addition, the bicycle provided not only a way to move one’s limbs, but newfound freedom as well.

“There was a lot of empowerment, too. It got people out getting exercise and women out of the house on a bicycle, which was very empowering at that time.”

In addition to the truly vintage steeds, Sheedy admits to being a “klunker” guy as well, adding that he does all the wrenching on his bikes himself. However, that is becoming increasingly difficult. “Some of this stuff is technology that’s not around anymore. You can’t find a mechanic these days to work on a shaft-drive bike that was built turn-of-the-century,” he said. “A lot of this, there’s maybe one or two people in the country that I can consult with. And the rest is getting online and looking for really old literature or diagrams.”

Make no mistake, though. Sheedy considers himself a bike historian and artist more than a tinkerer. (He is also a filmmaker and teaches film classes.)

“I like bikes because they can be ridden, but they’re also artistically and aesthetically pleasing to look at. And they have a really cool history,” he said.

And fortunately for the rest of us bike lovers out there, who may or may not be quite as passionate as Sheedy, he believes in sharing that love.

“I think bikes should be seen. I try to get them out and exposed,” he said. For example, some of his bikes were featured at an exhibit a few years back at Fort Lewis College, and some of his rides are currently on display at Maria’s Bookshop and Animas Brewing Co., both of which are sponsors of the event.

“We’ve got the four B’s: burgers, beer, bikes and books,” Sheedy said.

In addition, there are at least 10 vendors signed up to bring their two-wheeled wonders, wares and widgets to the swap.

“It’s probably going to be kind of a mix,” he said. “We just hope we can bring people together. This fabulous invention of the bicycle is something that is so appreciated here in Durango. We’re hoping to make this as ‘community’ as possible, to promote community and bike riding.” ?