used bikes at the Georgetown Flea Market...

not the best set of photos...
but definitely a nice set of used bikes

USED BIKES AT THE GEORGETOWN FLEA MARKET

for years I have heard about used bikes for sale at Eastern Market and for the Georgetown Flea Market
this being something separate than the Farmer's Market Bicycle Coops
used bikes for sale

a bike store minus the brick and mortar

I had been by the Eastern Market and was never impressed
there was a guy with a few bikes
but it was not what I would consider a serious bicycle operation
while the Georgetown Flea Market Presence is something different

feel free to correct me if I am wrong
I did not deeply investigate the Eastern Market presence
but on my limited passes through Eastern Market on the days of the Flea Market I never saw anything significant
but that could have changed
or I may have stopped by on a day or days when the shop was not set up

so the other day I was out for a mellow ride with a friend
it was more like running errands... only with no errands to run
it was something very different than a ride with a power meter
it was not about heart rate or watts

the ride was mellow with more of a window of opportunity than a ride with a destination or a distance in mind
so when we left out of Glover Park for the C&O Canal in Georgetown it was not uncalled for me to put in a request to check out the bikes at the Georgetown Flea Market as we rolled past the social Safeway

at a glance it was impressive
there were lots of bikes...
lots of lots of bikes
all sorts of bikes looking cleaned and tunned

I did not test ride anything
I did not throw anything into the stand
but all the bikes looked like they had been cleaned up
it was not a selection of bikes with flat tires and rusty chains
things looked as if the bikes were sale ready and ready to ride home

there were repair stands and tools were being used
it was not clear if they were fixing up bikes that were just sold
or if they were doing repairs
it was hard to put it all together
there was lots of activity
people passing through and phones ringing

not being an actual customer I did not want to hassle them with small talk
I know how people who love bikes love to try to chat up the bicycle shop employees
when really... bike shop employees are there to work... not to entertain the bicycle culture

enough on that...
bicycle culture is a hoot a holler and a scream
if done right there could be a great sit com
or better yet... get Seth Rogen in touch with a few bike shops and get a movie in the works
there is much sequel potential

bike shops are sub-culturally funny
not entirely like the pawn shop
the bike shop draws a wide variety of colorful characters
reality show... sit com.... feature film
lots of potential there

lots of colorful characters
think of the owners of the DC Bicycle Shops
if I can name a couple... I will verify that the bicycle shops are colorful from their owners down on through the staff

Big Wheel Bikes... OH MY GOD! Mike Sendar... it has been years since I have seen him... but having worked for him I know a little bit about who he was 20 years ago... this man was a hoot a holler and a scream
he had opinions and he had attitude
no one could connect with a customer like Mike Sendar
his ability to be liked was amazing
but.... there was a flip side to that coin
I also never saw anyone piss anyone off to the level that Sendar pissed people off
blood pressure raised and then some


how about Charlie from City Bikes?
last I heard he had had a fender bender with a pedestrian on his BMW motorcycle in Ethiopia.... take it from there

Phil from Bicycle Space... this guy would qualify as a "type"
a simple over generalization would be a civic minded hippie type.... I totally dig Phil... actually I really like Charlie, Mike, and Phil... all of them are very very different people with such different approaches to life and business

the list of colorful characters continues...
Larry Black from College Park Cycles? COME ON! Be it Penny Farthings at local group rides or the ability to get naked and get dressed again while riding rollers.... there is definitely something going on there
add in his barn filled bicycle collection
well... maybe a documentary film to be make here

yes, the color of the cycling culture runs deep
the riders are so colorful
it only makes sense that the industry people are colorful as well
so it only makes sense.... whoever the flea market people are
I bet they are colorful

okay...
you got me...
you caught me...
go ahead and call me out
I am just typing in an effort to get text on the page along side of the images

you are correct...
I did not feel that the images were strong enough to stand on their own
but I still wanted to post them
so I thought I would try to share some words
but sadly... gwadzilla is at a loss of words

gwadzilla at a loss of words?
yes... gwadzilla is at a loss of words

gwadzilla lost his voice a few years ago
gwadzilla would love to get that voice back

looking
still looking

http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=sendar
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=big+wheel+bikes

http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=larry+black
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=college+park

http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=flea+market