I'm not a big podcast listener but I highly recommend the one Leah mentioned. It's amazing, and parents in the '70s were nuts!
On Friday, August 21, 2020 at 11:31:10 AM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > Julian, your childhood looks to be the stuff of dreams. What a cool and > eclectic group of kids - I think it’s rare that the older kids will let > much younger kids join their group. Yes, your Clem would feel right at home > - maybe this is why we like our Clems? They are a visit to our childhood > eras. Great photo! > > If anyone else’s appetite has been whet for a great story in the vein of > this thread, check out this podcast episode about a group of kids in the > 70s and a 240 miles bike trip that they took...alone. No parents. 2 states. > Zero supervision. 100% true. > > > https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heavyweight/id1150800298?i=1000451295628 > > Sent from my iPad > > On Aug 21, 2020, at 9:58 AM, Julian Westerhout <weste...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Leah, > > Here I am (on the far left) with three of my siblings and two kids from > the neighborhood on a fine fall day in Maryland circa 1971. > > Note my Wald basket (descendants of which are on my Clem and our HHH), > wide tires, fenders, and upright bars. My Clem would feel right at home in > this photo. > > The majorly cool kids in that group were the kid with the Sting Ray with > Ape Hanger handlebars and "realistic stick shifter" and my older brother on > the 10-speed -- he could ride up hills that we had to hop off and push. > :) > > Bikes meant freedom to me then -- we could ride to scout meetings, to > sports, to friends' houses -- all on our own, and could explore the wood > paths on our bikes -- the feelings of empowerment and independence were > awesome. > > Today, nothing too much has changed, other than I no longer have hair and > am a lot taller... ;) > > Julian Westerhout > Bloomington, IL > > > > On Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 9:20:50 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! > wrote: >> >> Here is a thread that will veer just a bit from the normal subject >> matter. But it has been 112 degrees today, and we have to do something >> while we wait for our Platypus bikes. Going for a walk down memory lane is >> what we’re doing. >> >> I recently found this treasure. Pictured is me, at 5 years old with my >> very first bike. My parents purchased it at a garage sale from a family in >> town. It was a Huffy Desert Rose (long, dramatic, wistful sigh here).The >> story was that the bike had been backed over but -yay!- the man of the >> house had welded the bike back into working order. I was THRILLED. I never >> had training wheels - I learned by taking off and crashing all over the >> neighborhood. I didn’t care if I was missing a lot of hide; I had wheels >> and I was going places in my tiny North Dakota town. >> >> I would like to take this time to point out several things... >> >> 1. I really think they nailed the saddle height on the first try. >> >> 2. My bike had fenders! And they were clearly for decoration only. >> >> 3. What shoes was I wearing? I don’t know, but what I can tell you I >> didn’t trouble myself with socks. >> >> 4. My celebrity lookalike was Mowgli from the Jungle Book. >> >> 6. Banana seats > Brooks saddles. >> >> 7. No need for racks/baskets. I put a friend or a little sister on the >> banana seat and SHE carried the goods. >> >> 8. Kids were tougher in the 80s. That bike was huge for 5-year-old me, >> but I rode it. Pedaling that bike felt like being stuck in the hardest gear >> going uphill always (the welder dad overestimated his abilities), but I >> rode the wheels off of it..most likely with flat tires. >> >> In closing, I might also point out that I was into Rivendell before >> Rivendell was into Rivendell. Compare the Huffy with my Clementine - I was >> an early adopter. >> >> This was the day the love affair began, friends. I am so happy to have a >> photo of it. Who else has a story about their first bike? Bonus points if >> you can also provide photos. >> >> Leah >> >> >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/inPnblsLjKU/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. > > > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/03146fcc-0283-4ae9-92e2-d77b2b96d05ao%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/03146fcc-0283-4ae9-92e2-d77b2b96d05ao%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > <IMGP0699.jpeg> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2740d7e8-d269-495c-9ff6-68cd6193dbe2n%40googlegroups.com.
