Worcester Bike Event 1983

These photos are from some kind of bike show/swap/meet that ocurred in a place called Worcester in 1983. Does anyone know who these gentlemen are? Write us please. In the photo below, four fit fellows on their Fomac frames with fluorescent flags and fenders. Well, at least the three guys on the right have flags and fenders. The man on the left must be a roadie. He's got the speedy pants and shirt, no helmet, a tan and a cycle computer.

UPDATE: Greg Yatko was nice enough to write to me to fill in some information about these folks! The man on the left is Len Vreeland. Read much more about him on a page I made for him in our Scrapbook.

FURTHER UPDATE from Skip Radau: "I'm 99% sure I'm the guy with the orange Eclipse panniers. It sure would be nice to be that skinny again. I still have the 2000, though I'm using an R40 long wheelbase under-the-seat steering Vision now. I remember riding the 2000 out to an event around that time, but I don't remember it being all the way out in Worcester. I lived in Arlington at the time and biked directly out to wherever it was at. I bought the unit when I lived in Tucson in 1981. I got it right after a trip from Seattle to San Fransisco on a road bike. I had to stand on the peddles for a couple of days to keep from developing butt blisters.

I rode the 2000 well into the 90s. I eventually stopped using it when the standoffs for the cantilever breaks had to be re-braised back on for the 2nd time. Those mountain bike components that became available for the Vision made a big difference. There was also one design flaw in its seat. The aluminum tubes adjacent to the small of the back fatigued and fractured due to the bending stresses produced by the seat being restrained at its top. I replaced it with the Ryan seat, which restrained the seat lower down. I met Mr Maciejewski & Forrestal when I needed some repairs and Mr Ryan when I was looking for a replacement seat. I even ran into Dr Wilson when I was walking around in Harvard Square. He came rolling up on his Avatar and stopped at a stop light. I said hello and mentioned that I owned a 2000. I don't think he believed me."

- Skip Radau Tucson, AZ

Below, another view of the four Avatar 2000 riders of mystery. Is that Fomac co-founder Harald Maciejewski looking on??

The below image is also from the same event in Worcester. The gold bike in the foreground is an Infinity. High-tech electronic photo enhancement has shown the sign on the back of the van to read, "Test ride an Avatar". It has been suggested that the man next to the van is David Gordon Wilson.