Love this thread. I always loved bikes, I remember pedaling my own hand-me-down banana seat bike shirtless around the neighborhood at age 6 or so.
Age 12 I started babysitting for a family that had a used FRENCH ROAD RACING BIKE sitting on their porch—that no one rode! I’d discovered that bike racing was a thing, and I loved mechanical stuff, so I brokered a deal: Babysit the whole year, every Friday or Saturday, and they‘d give me that bike. It was an ASTRA by Motobecane. It just succumbed to intrusive rust this year…35 years after I earned it. It’s travelled abroad and had several configurations in its lifetime. And was one of probably 100 bikes I’ve owned, sold, traded since then. Discovered Bridgestone in the early 90’s Discovered Riv in the mid-90’s Now have two Bridgestones (MB-5 and MB-1) and an Atlantis (amongst other non-Riv bikes). > On Sep 3, 2021, at 19:47, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasandle...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > <FBF4D63F-529C-4A88-93D4-0120A8B5C0F5.jpeg> > <0286DF72-AD8D-4769-BD82-B1A4BE769160.jpeg> > I can’t ever remember not loving bikes, but the problem was that I got the > damaged ones from garage sales. I remember my trike had been backed over by a > family car (was it our family car???) and if you pedaled with all your might > you could inch along. I was 5 when I got my first bike, another garage sale > find that had ALSO been backed over by the family’s car. The dad welded the > bike back into shape, good as new, surely. It had no training wheels (who had > those in the 80s?) but it DID have little rose decals and a purple banana > seat, and it smelled like freedom. I determined I would learn to ride it. I > pushed off and crashed my way down the busiest street in my tiny hometown, > shoeless and bleeding, scaring the neighbors as they drove by. I’m sure no > one could be bothered to see that I had air in the tires. But I was building > character! 80s kid character. > > Like my damaged trike, this damaged bike took massive effort to pedal. I > didn’t realize or know any different until my friend got her Rainbow Brite > bike. I was pea green with envy. She had a basket and STREAMERS. And when I > pedaled her bike, it was like butter. So easy. In 6th grade, my parents > bought me a Huffy mountain bike for Christmas. The best Christmas gift ever, > and no one had run it over with the family car yet. It was December in North > Dakota, so I waited months to ride that bike. But I went out to the garage to > admire it often. Ok, all the time. It had a little zippered handlebar bag and > a plastic water bottle (with a crack in the lid). I was delighted. My best > friend got the same bike and we’d sometimes ride to her farm on a Friday > after school (5 miles of gravel, seemed like we were setting out into the > great unknown) and ride her horses all weekend. > > Then came high school and a long bike drought. > > My husband bought me a Schwinn bike from Walmart for my birthday in my 20s, > and my father in law bought me a bike trailer, so I could bring my baby boys. > It was so fun and freeing and it reminded me of being a kid. I was so proud > of that bike; if it said Schwinn, it must be quality! I rode that blue > Schwinn until it developed mechanical problems and THEN I found Rivendell. > The rest of the story has been written elsewhere… > > Here is a photo that proves I haven’t gone too far from my roots. We might > discuss what is going on with those fenders, and muse that my parents NAILED > the saddle height, which appears to remain unchanged. And another photo of my > Christmas bike in the storage shed at Mom and Dad’s. I swear it was so much > cooler than you think. > Leah > > >> On Friday, September 3, 2021 at 4:44:37 PM UTC-7 Robert Tilley wrote: >> I was 18 and was a bit chubby. I decided I needed to find some exercise to >> keep me fit and knew I needed to settle on something I enjoyed so that I’d >> keep at it. I hated jogging but loved riding and rode all over town up until >> I got my license on my 16th birthday. So bicycles it was. >> >> The first bike I bought was a Schwinn Sierra in the sweet black chrome >> “colorway” and I rode that to work as well as to campus. A bit later I >> decided I needed something for recreational riding and picked up a Nishiki >> Prestige in an even sweeter plum/mauve “colorway”. >> >> I have too many other outdoor hobbies but cycling is still #1 and the one I >> spend the most time, and money, on. I’m 54 now so it’s been over 30 years >> since I made that decision. >> >> Robert Tilley >> San Diego, CA >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>>> On Sep 3, 2021, at 1:48 PM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>> Will has an interesting post in the the recent Riv Newsletter about how he >>> and some friends first noticed bikes and got into them. After your initial >>> foray as a kid with a bike, what was the thing that made you notice them >>> later and turn you into an adult-person-cyclist? >> >>> >>> Mine is similar to Will's as a young man in Los Angeles, except it was the >>> flashy riders in "tight clothes" I picked up on. I vividly recall being >>> stopped on Pacific Coast Highway somewhere south of Long Beach (probably on >>> a motorcycle) and watching all the roadies go by, this would be early '80s. >>> This one guy went by on a green (actually celeste blue, but I didn't know >>> that at the time) Bianchi with matching bar tape and riding gear. That was >>> the moment I - a car and motorcycle nut - realized bicycles were a thing, >>> too. A very cool thing, and you got a workout in the process! >>> >>> I was hooked, what hooked you? >>> >>> Joe Bernard >> >>> -- >> >>> 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-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ba0d13a9-5d4d-456f-99a1-813bab06d4c2n%40googlegroups.com. > > -- > 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/061c036f-933c-4460-b064-17f0bbb76f6bn%40googlegroups.com. > <FBF4D63F-529C-4A88-93D4-0120A8B5C0F5.jpeg> > <0286DF72-AD8D-4769-BD82-B1A4BE769160.jpeg> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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