The Mystery of Tom Pritchard's Bike - for Bicycling Mag

“If 330 million Americans walked past this bicycle, maybe 10,000 would take a closer look. Maybe a thousand would try to steal it. And I’ll bet fewer than a hundred would be able to determine its provenance.”

- Ben Montgomery, Bicycling Magazine.

Ben Montgomery was gifted a quietly legendary bicycle by Tom Pritchard, a local celebrity chef and personality, upon his death a few years ago. The story sagas how Ben learned how special the bike was, both in quality and sentimentality. I photographed Ben riding the bike around his neighborhood one evening, while I also rode on my own.