I was readying my tandem for shipment to Louisiana for a week-long cycling trip when I was horrified to discover a large fracture in the downtube. Bernie and his partner Mel were willing to give me same-day service. They are true craftspeople with 40 years of experience, eager to help, a joy to spend time with, and an example of a skill that is disappearing with the throwaway society. I could go on. They let me linger to watch, take photos, occasionally lend a hand, and patiently explained the steps they were going through.
As Mel cautioned, watching the welding of a frame lug to repair a cracked frame tube is like watching sausage being made - you don't want watch. But as predicted, the repair came out great. The bike needs a righteous paint job after its surgery, but I needed to ship the bike out pronto, so they sprayed it with Rustoleum to keep it from rusting during the ride.
Thanks, Bernie and Mel!
