French Fender Day

by Igor

This past weekend, Adrian and I traveled up to Connecticut to check out one of our favorite events of the year: French Fender Day. It's an intimate event full of passionate cyclists, collectors, great potluck food, New England Autumn rides, and lots of beautiful bikes.

Each bike on display had to be in the traditional French style - randonneuse, porteur, city bike, etc... Some of these bikes were collection pieces to be preserved, but most were daily riders and tourers, just as these bikes were intended to be from their construction.

Rob traveled all the way from The Netherlands with his Alcyon tourer.

Peter's work is always a joy to behold in person. Exceptional lines and perfect integration. 

Embellishments

Even though it isn't French, this Raleigh was a favorite of mine. It's a bike that doesn't ask anything of you other than to be ridden. Peter commented that the Rustines grips on the drops are "like 650b for your hands!" It was spritely!

This Dujardine was just a lovely randonneuse.

Only his second frame, this Shu-Sin touring bike shows tremendous patience and clean craftmanship. It features lots of rinko accessories including custom racks.

René Herse Demountable Porteur with a proper leather chaincase.

Just before lunch, rides were had through New England's back roads. The changing of leaves and good company made for a wonderful time.

Adrian and the Nutmeg gang

A wild sorcerer appears!

VO fenders were fitted on a multitude of bikes. Many of them sported customizations including shaping of the fender ends, custom hardware, and dynamo lighting integration.

What kind of Francophile gathering would it be without cheese?

When one fender mount isn't enough.

Large format - What better way to capture such a classy day?

This was a pretty clever use of a fender stay as a bag support. I think I may try something like this on my Polyvalent to support a dry bag.

Always in the big ring

Wayne's hot pink Weigle was clearly the fastest of the bunch.

Loved this randonneur by Mitch Pryor. Super clean bi-lam construction and lovely box-lining.

As the day wound down, we were greeted with a magical golden hour. This Rene Herse tandem was beautifully bathed in the natural colors of New England.

You can see the rest of the album at full resolution here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eccentricvelo/albums/72157686050295982