Tag Archives: Gage & Desoto
5ive Points: Mike Spriggs
In conjunction with the closing of the Rapha Cycle Club, we figure it would be a great idea to cue up our good friend Mike Spriggs for this week’s 5ive Points. A veritable “jack of all trades,” Mike was the manager of the Rapha Cycle Club and played an enormous part in putting on the fantastic events throughout the summer. Not satisfied with doing just one awesome thing, Mike is also the owner of Gage & DeSoto, purveying wickedly cool t-shirts to the cycling community fairly regularly. He’s truly a man for all (cycling) seasons.
NYC Velo: What bike do you ride these days?
Mike Spriggs: More and more I find myself going for my 2004 DeRosa Neo Primato w/ Chorus.
The steel ride is like a Cadillac (ok, maybe a Crown Vic), and in “Molteni orange” it just looks classic. My only complaint – the Italian paint job. If you look at that bike wrong, the paint chips off….
NYCV: What is your favorite ride?
MS: The Chinese Bakery Ride (TM). Brett, Andrew and I discovered this ride by accident one day. Brett was craving muffins. So, taking an unfamiliar turn off of 9W, we found a tiny asian bakery – like an oasis -with a seemingly limitless array of $1 pastries. The ride offers a great descent off of Englewood Cliffs, and a sharp, straight climb back up – AND can be done in under 3 hours. Perfect.
NYCV: What’s your favorite post-ride food?
MS: Bananas and yogurt. And coffee.
NYCV: What’s one thing you always carry on a ride?
MS: The key phrase here is “always”. Since I ALWAYS forget *something*, I can’t say there’s one thing I have with me all the time. In an ideal world, it’s my tube/lever/Lezyne pump combo. I can deal with forgetting money, or my phone, but stuck with a flat on a solo ride is just not right.
NYCV: What’s next for you?
MS: After the amazing gig of managing the Rapha Cycle Club for the summer…. REST.
And then turning my attention back to Gage & DeSoto, as well as helping out you guys (NYC Velo)!
BOTW: The Spriggscycle
This week’s Bike of the Week is our friend Mike’s townie. It’s a handmade bike from 20 years ago, when Mike’s buddy Greg decided to make track bikes with relaxed geometry for all his messenger friends up in Boston. This was Mike’s work bike in the early 90s, then it became a commuter, and now it’s Mike’s “around town” bike – as well as the official errand bike for the Rapha Cycle Club. Mike decided on a relaxed fit, with gentlemanly Nitto bars, a Brooks B-17, and a Shimano coaster brake for fun. Couple that with an slick t-shirt from Mike’s Gage & Desoto line, and you can see why everyone says Mike Spriggs is the “cock of the walk.”
