In the Works

   I mentioned earlier that I had a couple of projects planned, one of which is repairing a sign that once hung in front of a Phoenixville bike shop, the other is a restoration job on an Atala racing bike (above). No, I don’t want or need another bike! My intent is to return the machine to its former glory and sell it to someone with a love for vintage bicycles. There is some rust and mismatched components need to be addressed. I will probably be jumping back and forth, working on both projects simultaneously. The Atala work will require some time to search craigslist and/or Ebay, wait for auctions to end, arrange pick-up or await delivery.

   Auntra Bicycle Shop closed over a year ago, due to a larger, more modern bicycle store opening right across the street. My wife and I wondered about the motives of these folks who seemed to be intentionally putting a small shop out of business, but there are many factors to consider. Downtown Phoenixville has undergone quite a revival with many thriving restaurants and shops - the owners of Phoenix Cycles may have simply taken the best (or only) location available.
   With its small store front (pictured below) and the way it was squeezed among the other shops and restaurants along Bridge Street, Auntra had the feel of a shop much older, yet it had only been there about ten years. I didn’t see the visual stimulation required to draw in customers from the sidewalk.

   As a result of the recent connection of the Schuylkill Trail right through town, I doubt that Auntra would have had the ability to handle the needs of passing cyclists, having only a small staff and limited hours. I have also heard some stories about Auntra’s not-so-friendly customer service, which made me wonder if one of the new owners had first-hand experience with them and saw an opportunity to improve the situation.
   In any case, I always liked the Auntra sign, which included an old-time cyclist in knickers with articulated legs that cranked a high-wheel bicycle, or Pennyfarthing, when the wind blew. Unfortunately, the weather did a number on the wooden parts over time, and the front wheel took off on its own somewhere down Bridge Street, along with one of the legs! At the time the picture was taken, the bike's front fork had broken, and the wheel can be seen dangling slightly below the bottom edge of the sign.
   When a “For Sale” sign was posted on the property, I kept watch to see if the bike shop sign was removed, but it remained there for months. Late last summer, I contacted the realtor to see if the former owner wanted it and was told “He took everything he wanted”. They simply asked for $25 and that I remove it myself. Early one Sunday morning we borrowed our neighbor’s extension ladder, slid it into our minivan, and headed over to Phoenixville.
   It certainly helped that the sidewalks were empty, but the ladder placement was tricky anyway. We certainly didn’t want to lean the ladder on the sign’s rickety bracket, and we weren’t sure if we could get the right angle against the building to be able to reach out to lift the sign and disconnect it without crashing to the pavement! I am not good on ladders (read: chickenshit), so Sue was going to be the one to climb, but even she had to admit, if something did go amiss, the prospect of me catching her was better than the alternative!
   I rigged what I thought was an ingenious rope safety line – to the sign, not Sue – which also relieved some of the tension on the bracket so that she could more easily unclip the two rusty carabiners that held the sign in place. Other than nearly being startled off of the ladder when the resident of the above-shop apartment opened his window, Sue performed perfectly, and the sign was packed away safely in the back of the van.

Stay tuned as progress is made on the sign and I get into the Atala restoration.