gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane » Gitane Route de France???    View previous topic :: View next topic  Gitane Route de France???   Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 2:18 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area There's an old Gitane fork on eBay with Route de France decal. I've never heard of this model before. My guess is that it was one of the European only models designed for randonneuring and was never imported into the US. "Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling. This style of riding is non-competitive in nature, and self-sufficiency is paramount. When riders participate in randonneuring events, they are part of a long tradition that goes back to the beginning of the sport of cycling in France and Italy. Friendly camaraderie, not competition, is the hallmark of randonneuring." Brevets are long distance cycling events that take place all over France. Italy and the UK have their own versions. The goal of the riders is to cover a specific route within a time limit. The PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris) for example is one of the most famous Brevets ridden from Paris to Brest and back, 1200 Km in 90 hours! http://www.rusa.org/pbp.html Chas.   Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:47 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California You beat me to this post! I noticed the same thing. Cool decal, though. _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com Fork Decal   Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:51 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area I did a double take on that one. Stephan, when we were working on the foil decals you mentioned the bottom of the TdF fork decals were cut off. I'd never noticed that before. Did you ever find out what was on the section that was cut off? I've seen some old pictures but they were not clear enough to tell. Chas.   Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:03 pm sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California Yes...we had put it in one of the old posts. I think it was a number like "1860" or something like that. We couldn't be sure, but thought it referred to the old catalogue number for the TdF. When they abandoned the numbering system in the early 1970's, they started chopping off the number on the TdF fork decal. That was the theory, anyways! _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com   Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:31 pm smilingroadrunner Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 278 Location: Salina, Ks. Good evening fellows, Chas, there was a recent post Nov 28 "First Post" by Discobiker http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=834&highlight= and a link from that post to an earlier post by Stephan from Sept 9, "Gitane Tour de France Fork Decals" http://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=741 With discussion related to the cut off portion of the fork decal I'm still drooling when I see Disco's track bikes. Thanks for the fun in 2008 ---looking forward to the future. I Like Steel !!! __________________ C.A. Salina, Ks. DOH!   Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:15 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area C.A. you're right, I completely forgot about that thread, DOH! The old "memory muscle" is wearing out! Happy New Year, Chas.   Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 6:44 am sandranian Site Admin Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 2701 Location: Southern California "1860"? Wow...I was way off. And I even made a "Brew 102" reference. Chas....do you recall that beer, or was that only a So Cal thing? _________________ Stephan Andranian Costa Mesa, CA www.gitaneusa.com   Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:52 am verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area sandranian wrote: "1860"? Wow...I was way off. And I even made a "Brew 102" reference. Chas....do you recall that beer, or was that only a So Cal thing? HEY! I'm not that old! (I'm feeling a little touchy - I had to sign up for Medicare yesterday) I was at Pendleton for a while in the early 60s - now you know why I'm crazy. I wasn't old enough to drink in Calif. so I didn't get to try much of the local swill... I thought I remembered that there was a 101 beer or Jacks 101... Maybe I mixed the two up with Jacks and 102? Highway 101 was 3 lanes from San Clemente to Torrey Pines. It was called "Blood Alley". I used to visit my aunt in Lemon Grove. They still grew lemons there! My cousins used to take me to some beatnik enclave in SD, maybe it was Ocean Beach? I grew up with REAL beer, Iron City (real bear whiz beer)! "Ha bout dem Stillers" .... and 1 for the thumb! Happy New Year everyone and drive or ride safely. Chas. Re: Gitane Route de France???   Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:38 am Picchio Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 7 Location: Lancaster, PA verktyg wrote: There's an old Gitane fork on eBay with Route de France decal. I've never heard of this model before. My guess is that it was one of the European only models designed for randonneuring and was never imported into the US. "Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling. This style of riding is non-competitive in nature, and self-sufficiency is paramount. When riders participate in randonneuring events, they are part of a long tradition that goes back to the beginning of the sport of cycling in France and Italy. Friendly camaraderie, not competition, is the hallmark of randonneuring." Brevets are long distance cycling events that take place all over France. Italy and the UK have their own versions. The goal of the riders is to cover a specific route within a time limit. The PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris) for example is one of the most famous Brevets ridden from Paris to Brest and back, 1200 Km in 90 hours! http://www.rusa.org/pbp.html Chas. Sorry to bring this thread back, but that decal reminds me of "Les Diagoneles de France," which are the famous touring routes along the diagonal lines formed by connecting the most distant points across the hexagon of France. The lines inside the map of France on the decal really evoke that concept for me: http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2006/06/les-diagonales-de-france.html Ed Granger Lancaster, PA, USA Re: Gitane Route de France???   Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:06 pm verktyg Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 2814 Location: SF Bay Area Picchio wrote: Picchio wrote: Sorry to bring this thread back, but that decal reminds me of "Les Diagoneles de France," which are the famous touring routes along the diagonal lines formed by connecting the most distant points across the hexagon of France. The lines inside the map of France on the decal really evoke that concept for me: http://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2006/06/les-diagonales-de-france.html Ed, You're correct, it looks like a stylized logo of "Les Diagoneles de France". Gitane listed a number of models designed for randoneuring in their French catalogs. These ranged from entry level models to top of the line tourers. Hardcore randoneurs usually ride custom built bikes equipped with racks, fenders and lighting. Chas. Gitane Route de France???     gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Vintage Gitane You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours   Page 1 of 1   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First  Select a forum Gitane USA----------------Vintage GitaneGitane RacingModern GitanePro Racing - Classics/Giro/Tour....Owner Gallery   Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.