FINDING THE GARDIN TNT

I actively hunt for vintage road bicycles most of the time, and I work at it diligently.  I found the Gardin TNT by trying something that I had not thought of before.  Why not deliver my own Flyers - door to door - myself?  Since I can't ride in the dead of winter, I might as well go for brisk walks and deliver Flyers.  The Flyer message is simple and straight forward.  I indicate my interest and invite people to call me, if they happen to have an old "Ten Speed" that they wanted to sell.

A few days after delivering a couple of hundred Flyers, my Cottage Dwelling friend called up.  At the time he did not know it was me he was calling.  The voice offering to sell the old road bicycle smacked of familiarity.  Shortly after we had entered into conversation, he inquired as to who I was, indicating that he too recognized my voice.  Of course, it turned out that we already knew each other.  A viewing time was arranged at his cottage in the middle of winter!  Fortunately, his cottage is a year round dwelling and getting to and from was not an issue.  Getting to my summer cottage in the middle of the winter, is an issue!

It was a gorgeous, bright mid-winter day.  I fired up the Ranger, rang up my bike hunting chum and headed for the highway.  Bright sunny days in the dead of winter are usually cold and this day was no exception.  It was bitter cold, probably hovering around the minus twenty mark!  When I arrived at his place, the Cottage Dweller was already outside, splitting wood for the stove.  Splitting wood is a common form of exercise for many Canadians.  We split wood to keep ourselves warm and burn it to keep our homes warm.  The result of his toil was immediately obvious, as the wonderful smell of burning birch permeated the crisp morning air.  A brief hello, followed by the token Canadian prepared "boy is it cold" comments, and the three of us headed for his out building.  As is the case with many out buildings, it was poorly lit and somewhat difficult to see the bicycle clearly inside.  The bike, however poorly lit when first viewed, looked great even in the gloom.  And the TNT all but glowed, when smothered in the bright light of the winter's sun dropping from the sky and bouncing off of the pristine white snow covered ground.

The entire bicycle was in remarkably good condition.  The paint and art, though not perfect, were very good, sporting only a few storage blemishes.  The full and matched Campagnolo grouppo was also in great condition with only a hint of oxidation on some of the chrome plated surfaces.  Everything seemed to be working perfectly - even in the very cold weather.

My fellow Cottage Dweller and I worked our way towards a deal, agreed on a price and money exchanged hands.  As I was putting the Gardin into the pick-up, I ask if he know of any other old bicycle that might be available.  Two leads were offered and that was that.  One vintage road bicycle acquired and the possibility of a couple more waiting on the Hill of Hope, better known as the horizon.

NEXT - BUILDING THE GARDIN TNT