Buyer Feedback and a Crazy Paceline Coincidence!

[XXtwindad]

Last week I sold a saddle to 82Picchio. I knew nothing about him and vice versa. I don't know how many members this Forum has (10,000?) but he was one of them. That's all I knew.

He gave me the shipping address. I noticed it was a San Francisco office location. I asked him if I could avoid the hassle of shipping and drop it off in person. He said "sure." Or, conversely, if I lived anywhere in the East Bay, we could meet at a coffee shop.

I told him that I did, in fact, live in the Oakland Hills. The transaction was beginning to look super convenient, which is right up my alley. He followed by saying that if we couldn't meet for coffee, I could drop it by his house. He gave me the general neighborhood. I laughed.

"It's too bad I didn't sell the saddle to you a few days ago," I said. "My daughters go to school near where you live," I continued, giving him the name of the school.

"My son also goes to that school," he texted back. "What grade are your daughters in?" he texted. "Kindergarten," I replied. "How about you?"

"My son is also in kindergarten," came the answer.

At this point, I was laughing with disbelief. "Well, who is your son's teacher?"

82Picchio gave me the teacher's name. "Holy crap, that's MY daughter's teacher," I texted, and gave my daughter's name.

"Just a second," came the reply. About three minutes later another text came.

"My wife gave your daughter reading lessons yesterday afternoon."

Yes. It's a small, small, Paceline world.

P.S. 82Picchio is a great buyer. Two thumbs up!!!

[vqdriver]

lol
wow, that circle closed pretty fast.

[madsciencenow]

Very cool!!


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[ORMojo]

I don't know how many members this Forum has (10,000?)

Good story.

There are currently 22,040 members listed, but of those, only 8,574 have posted one or more times.

[Lanternrouge]

Although after the fact, I learned that a forum member, lived maybe 100 feet away from me (technically though on the cul de sac across the street, so a different street). I didn't realize he was a forumite until he moved down my street and I recognized the pictures of his vehicles.

[JAGI410]

That's a cool story!

[choke]

After I made a post about radio stations, member Plum Hill PMd me regarding the one that I had mentioned (located where I used to live).

In the ensuing conversation, we discovered that we had actually ridden together on an organized ride many years ago.

[azrider]

Ha....that's pretty neat!

Crazy story:banana:

[Spaghetti Legs]

Along those lines, a couple of months ago I bought a dynamo hub front wheel from a Paceliner. I noticed we had the same hometown, so I did the same thing, offering to meet up. Turns out we live across the street from each other. I didn’t know he was a “cycler”.

Better odds than OP though, as my town only has about 50,000 people.

[mktng]

Always a fun experience when the world becomes that much smaller. Haha

[weisan]

XX pal, so I confused...who actually bought your saddle?

Pistachio?

His daughter?

His wife?

Your son?

Or the kindergarten teacher?

Please enlighten.

[MattTuck]

Pretty remarkable the small world we live in!

[commonguy001]

Good stuff.
I have bought and sold stuff to a guy whose wife used to workout with my wife. We used to send parts with them to personal training and called it express shipping. Love stuff like that.

[Dude]

I bought a trek stache on this forum from a bona fide friend of mine. Didn’t know he was on the forum. Started chatting with the seller and when he said his name I texted him.

Another time I bought tires from a person who was good friends with my neighbor.

[gbcoupe]

XX pal, so I confused...who actually bought your saddle?

Pistachio?

His daughter?

His wife?

Your son?

Or the kindergarten teacher?

Please enlighten.

This reminded me of the movie, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.

[Matthew]

I keep hoping to run in to some of the cool peeps here as well. Still hasn't happened unfortunately. Maybe west Michigan isn't well represented! Your story is pretty cool.

[FlashUNC]

I'm sitting in a paceline at a Fondo, guy comes off the front and is rotating to the back, looks at my Della Santa and goes "You the FlashUNC from the Paceline?" "Yup." "Man, you really hate Peter Sagan, huh?"

And rotates back to the back of the line.

[geordanh]

Good stuff.
I have bought and sold stuff to a guy whose wife used to workout with my wife. We used to send parts with them to personal training and called it express shipping. Love stuff like that.

You are much more risk tolerant than me. "oh by the way, how much did your husband sell this for?"

No thanks.

[Black Dog]

I'm sitting in a paceline at a Fondo, guy comes off the front and is rotating to the back, looks at my Della Santa and goes "You the FlashUNC from the Paceline?" "Yup." "Man, you really hate Peter Sagan, huh?"

And rotates back to the back of the line.

That is too funny. :). Peter's fame has become your fame. ;)

[marciero]

Cool story.

While bike touring in NorCal a few years ago I was in a market in Gualala and ran into an old friend from college days on the East Coast I'd not seen or heard from in over 25 years.

My brother was playing a round of golf in Rhode Island and was grouped with someone in a foursome that, they came to discover, had lived in the same house in Virginia that we lived in 35 years prior.

speaking of PL fame, at D2R2 a few years back-lots of PL-ers obviously- I asked a rider if he was eBAUMANN and he said no but I was like fourth or fifth guy that had asked him that. Cant recall why I suspected he might be.

[weisan]

.asked a rider if he was eBAUMANN and he said no but I was like fourth or fifth guy that had asked him that.

I was the first. He denied.

I sent Bumblebee. He also denied.

Then I sent Angry. He still denied.

At that point, I decided he's DEFINITELY eBAUMANN.

[Hilltopperny]

Cool story.



While bike touring in NorCal a few years ago I was in a market in Gualala and ran into an old friend from college days on the East Coast I'd not seen or heard from in over 25 years.



My brother was playing a round of golf in Rhode Island and was grouped with someone in a foursome that, they came to discover, had lived in the same house in Virginia that we lived in 35 years prior.



speaking of PL fame, at D2R2 a few years back-lots of PL-ers obviously- I asked a rider if he was eBAUMANN and he said no but I was like fourth or fifth guy that had asked him that. Cant recall why I suspected he might be.



I am pretty sure there were a few people in his crew that had imshi jersey’s which were his frame brand iirc.


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[fmradio516]

Love that!

[Clean39T]

A few years ago I went to sell Imaking20 a pair of wheels - only to find out he was also in Portland - and then to find out he worked downtown too - and then the SW Waterfront - and then....well, turns out he was one floor down from me working for the same company..

Small world indeed.

[XXtwindad]

A few years ago I went to sell Imaking20 a pair of wheels - only to find out he was also in Portland - and then to find out he worked downtown too - and then the SW Waterfront - and then....well, turns out he was one floor down from me working for the same company..

Small world indeed.

That's a good one! Love these "Paceline coincidences."

[parris]

The important question... what kind of snacks did you have with the coffee? :D

[TimD]

Awhile back Fiamme Red posted a link to this story (https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/davie/fl-ne-car-hits-pack-of-bicyclists-20181125-story.html) about a horrible crash in Southeast Florida. El Cheapo posted that he'd grown up a few miles from there, back when Florida
State Road 84 was a main highway, but which has since become a side road to I-595.

Now I also spent some time growing up in that area, back before Weston existed, when the only things between Davie and the Everglades were cow pasture and citrus groves, when Markham Park was a motocross track in the absolute middle of nowhere. We spent a lot of time on our bikes, occasionally riding on SR 84, which at the time was a typically narrow, rural Florida two-lane with a 50 MPH speed limit. I recall it was the only route between Lauderdale and Alligator Alley and Naples. Full of trucks, including tractor-trailers full of oranges, with no shoulder. Terrifying, basically. Why anyone would ride that road unless they absolutely had to seemed crazy to me.

After the unexpected death of a family member in late 1974, I moved, very abruptly, to the Northeast, leaving my teenage besties and most of my stuff behind.

El Cheapo's post stuck in my mind for reasons I couldn't understand, so after a day or two I sent him a PM:

Hi, saw your post on the SR84 crash. Sad... I grew up in Plantation, back when it was on the edge of civilization. Attended South Plantation High School in 1973 & 1974. I rode bikes a lot, including out to Flamingo Groves on 84... which was terrifying! How about you? No obligation to respond, but perhaps we know one another.


He wrote back:

Hi Tim! This might turn out to be like an episode of "The Twilight Zone". Only Tim D. from Plantation (Seminole Middle and SPHS) I know is...<redacted>. Just for security's sake if this is you...what was the last name of your cousins (Jill and Gerry) where you lived? Thanks.

OMG. Turns out El Cheapo was one of my best friends at the time, a time when I really needed best friends. We'd done a lot of crazy stuff together as kids. I think I last saw him in 1974, when we were sophomores in high school, and I don't think we'd had any contact since then. While we haven't yet seen one another, we've spent considerable time writing back and forth, swapping tales of the intervening 45 years. Our lives have been very different, and it was absolutely incredible to reconnect in this random way.

I'm looking forward to riding with him again some day. :banana:

[XXtwindad]

Awhile back Fiamme Red posted a link to this story (https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/davie/fl-ne-car-hits-pack-of-bicyclists-20181125-story.html) about a horrible crash in Southeast Florida. El Cheapo posted that he'd grown up a few miles from there, back when Florida
State Road 84 was a main highway, but which has since become a side road to I-595.

Now I also spent some time growing up in that area, back before Weston existed, when the only things between Davie and the Everglades were cow pasture and citrus groves, when Markham Park was a motocross track in the absolute middle of nowhere. We spent a lot of time on our bikes, occasionally riding on SR 84, which at the time was a typically narrow, rural Florida two-lane with a 50 MPH speed limit. I recall it was the only route between Lauderdale and Alligator Alley and Naples. Full of trucks, including tractor-trailers full of oranges, with no shoulder. Terrifying, basically. Why anyone would ride that road unless they absolutely had to seemed crazy to me.

After the unexpected death of a family member in late 1974, I moved, very abruptly, to the Northeast, leaving my teenage besties and most of my stuff behind.

El Cheapo's post stuck in my mind for reasons I couldn't understand, so after a day or two I sent him a PM:



He wrote back:



OMG. Turns out El Cheapo was one of my best friends at the time, a time when I really needed best friends. We'd done a lot of crazy stuff together as kids. I think I last saw him in 1974, when we were sophomores in high school, and I don't think we'd had any contact since then. While we haven't yet seen one another, we've spent considerable time writing back and forth, swapping tales of the intervening 45 years. Our lives have been very different, and it was absolutely incredible to reconnect in this random way.

I'm looking forward to riding with him again some day. :banana:

Man ... what a cool story!!!

[Louis]

All this makes you wonder, how many times in your life are you within, say, 50 feet of reconnecting with someone you, say, went to high school with but haven't seen in 40 years, but don't. You might have been on different floors of the same hotel in Chicago, or in the dark in the same movie theater in Dallas, or you might cross paths on the highway near Hays, Kansas, and you'll never know it.

I suppose it's like Brownian motion - who knows where you're going to end up, or who you'll meet again?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Brownianmotion5particles150frame.gif/220px-Brownianmotion5particles150frame.gif

[gbcoupe]

I bought a frameset last year from a Formite. Turns out he used to own a bike shop where I went to college 35 years ago (doesn't live close to there now).

The college town and surrounding counties had lots of steep hills. Mostly short, but quite pitched. I had done rides in the area prior to school and was familiar, but wasn't ready for daily outings. My low gear was 47/21 (maybe even a 19... don't remember). I bought a 42 Super Record ring and a 12 or 13-23 freewheel from him. Started riding with the local club and visiting the shop pretty frequently. He gave me a wool cycling jacket that no longer fit him. I still have it and wear it occasionally.

Thank you Peter K.

[bironi]

Nice story XX.
Thanks!

[82Picchio]

I bought the saddle for myself. "Pistachio," that's a good one........

XX pal, so I confused...who actually bought your saddle?

Pistachio?

His daughter?

His wife?

Your son?

Or the kindergarten teacher?

Please enlighten.

[Rpoole8537]

Without politicizing the discussion, I only wish our legislative branch could be so cooperative. Perhaps some of you, not me, should run for office!