Skip to main content

Posts

A 1918 Willys-Overland Country Club Model 90

My great-grandparents Otto and Rosalie owned this 1918 Willys-Overland Country Club Model 90, which they drove from St. Louis to Los Angeles when they moved to California in 1920 or 1921, not long after the Spanish Flu ended. They were in their early twenties. I don't know the exact route they took, or if they made the trip several times or only once. I don't know where they encountered the deep snow shown in this photo, but other photos show them traversing rugged roads or visiting national parks. As a Willys advertisement stated at the time, "the youth and beauty of the land are adopting this new Overland as their very own." Status: Lost
Recent posts

A 2005 Rivendell Rambouillet

Should every bicycle be this beautiful? In a perfect world, yes! My wife purchased this bike new in 2005 from Campus Cycles in Denver.  I recently updated it for her to an 11 speed drivetrain and gentler gearing for hill climbs. It was important to keep it looking timeless, which was a challenge. You should be aware silver components are hard to find in 2025. Status: Not Lost Frame: 58cm Rivendell Rambouillet (2005)  Wheels: Mavic Open Pro x Shimano 105 R5501 Tire: Panaracer GravelKing SS 700x38mm Headset: Shimano Ultegra 6500 Stem: Nitto Technomic 225 Handlebar: Soma Highway One 46cm Derailleurs: Shimano 105 R7000 Levers: Shimano 105 R7000 Calipers: Tektro R559 Crank: Interloc Racing Design Defiant 46/30 Cassette: Shimano XT CS-M8000 11-40 Saddle Brooks Professional S Seatpost: Nitto S65 Pedals: SKS Sylvan Touring Racks: Nitto M1 (Front) & Nitto R15 (Rear) Bottle Cage: Nitto R Type Bags: Rivendell Sackville 

A 1985 Trek 470

In 1985, I picked out this Trek 470 from a rack full of bicycles at the legendary Denver Spoke, a shop now long gone but once located at 1715 E. Evans Ave. The bike was a little more than my mother had wanted to spend (it was $400) but was equipped with quality Shimano 600 parts. Plus the size (59cm) fit me perfectly.  I was all of fifteen years old, and this modest Trek represented unbridled freedom. I rode it to school and to work and to the local parks. There were epic rides, too, like the summer two friends and I rode from Vail to Copper Mountain, ascending eighteen hundred feet in our summer riding clothes, only to discover it was snowing at the top of the pass. When we got into Copper Mountain, our hands were so cold we hopped a fence in order to warm our hands in a ski resort hot tub.  I learned to wrench on this bike, swapping out its 52 tooth chainring for a more manageable 48. I tried out different handlebars and different levers. Eventually I stripped it down to a b...