cehowardGS

Just got the wife a bike about 3 weeks ago.. A $25 pickup at a thrift shop. A Schwinn Traveler. We did about 25 miles. I don't ride that much, I do have some skill. Her skill needs to come up to par. As luck would have it, she fell. Just got a skinned knee. Other than that, the 25 mile ride was nice. She is already planning an after-church-ride tomorrow. nice..

I am really crazy about her bike. Dam thing looks better than my Raleigh Competition..

At 69 years old, I can still hit some speed downhill too..

My wife with her $25 bike.
Pics.

The old man in on the action, and don't laugh at my old cheapee wally mart helmet.. New gear is on the way..

Pics.

10 Wheels

Nice post.
I got some helmets at Goodwill for 99 cents.

longbeachgary

Dude, she does not look happy.

bobthib

That's great! Encourage her to stay with it. Enjoy!

JanMM

Very nice $25 bike!

cyclinfool

I have to agree - she does not look happy.
I would also say you don't look 69 either, and if you are she must be young enough to be your daughter.

Louis

Nice find. I've bought some nice bikes at thrift stores in the past, but nowadays it seems all I find is junk. That Schwinn Traveler is a jewel.

Welcome to the 50+ forum.

cehowardGS

Cool, I am looking on ebay and craigslist to see if can come up with some biking shoes too. Since I am just starting, I really don't know what to get. Today my wife told me that the tennis she had on wasn't cutting it. My Wally Mart helmet has been around for a good 15 years or more too..

cehowardGS

I ride once in a whlle, and long while too. However, she took me a couple months ago, look I want a bike. I told her my motorcycles have ****led up all the money, but I will see. Low and behold, one bike in a thrift shop, and it was a ringer. She is happy. However, I am afraid that if she gets the hang of this, she is going to leave me, after all, she is stronger than me.

cehowardGS

Well, thanks for the double compliment. 2

The reason I don't look 69 is because I don't act 69..I don't do nothing people my age do. I am just a silly and cocky as I was when I was 25, and still the same size. Now, on the youngness, you would believe, we use to date some 20 odd years ago!! I was robbing the stroller than. We hooked back up some 20 years latter, and we melted together and got married.
I hit the gym about 6 times a week. Been taking her lately, she squats more than me.. I am 23 years her senior. Mind wise, we are equal.

BTW, we only pass this way one time, I ain't got nothin to save!!

I be 70 years old my next birthday.

cehowardGS

Guess what, it was the ONLY bike in the thrift shop too. Since that day, I have look at a bunch of bikes in different thrift shops, nothing even comes close. I got real lucky, real lucky. It rides just as good or better than my Raleigh Competition. I was cleaning it the other day, and it has matching tires with emblems on them, cool!

RoMad

That is a great find. I don't think she looks mad, I think the hand on the hip is a "look at me the cool biker girl" look. Enjoy your riding together. That looks like a Brooks saddle on your bike?

cehowardGS

My bike is an old Raleigh Competition GS, made in England. The Brooks was standard on this model, so was some of the Campy gear. My son picked the Raleigh up used some 30 years ago and gave it to me. I ride it every now and then. Now, it looks like it will be all the time. Will be carrying the bikes with a bike hitch and going places.

rm -rf

The BF Classic & Vintage guys would drool over that Raleigh. 1970s(?) Reynolds 531 tubing and Campagnolo components. You should post some pictures of it there.

The Schwinn is a good deal for $25 too.

Retro Grouch 

Well, he did say she was planning an after church ride tomorrow. That should count for something.

cehowardGS

She didn't look too happy, because she fell on that first ride too... She got her front wheel stuck in a groove in the street, and forgot her feet were in the toe straps.. Plunk!! She hit the ground. Glad she was going real slow...Skinned knee..

Retro Grouch 

Hope the fall didn't warp the rim. Skinned knees heal themselves - bikes have to be fixed.

donheff

+1 I'm working on getting in that shape by 69. Seven years to go

gcottay

Thanks for the fine pictures of your children. How about some of you and your spouse?

Beverly

Great find on the bike!

The Weak Link

Yep. One word: SMILE.

Now, she looks pretty athletic. Don't overdo it with any ride in the near future and you will have yourself an excellent riding partner.

BigBlueToe

I'd get rid of the toe clips if I was her. When things happen fast it's hard to remember how to get your feet out, and for a newbie there's so much to think about it would be even worse.

I have clipless pedals. I'm a very experienced rider, to the point that lots of the decision-making of bicycling has become second nature. I've practiced getting out of my pedals until it has almost become second nature. But in panic mode that tends to get short-circuited.

Last weekend I came upon a couple stopped on the other side of the road. The man started to do a 180 degree turn to go back, then stopped, blocking his lane. They were both looking back at something. I looked but couldn't see anything, so I blithely pedaled on at a good clip. As I was about to go by them, I saw it: a giant (4 foot) snake stretched out across the road in my lane. We have lots of rattlesnakes around and it sure looked like one.

Not only had the couple not pointed it out, they were blocking my path to swerve around it. I jammed on the brakes and went into a full skid. I stopped with my front wheel about 10 inches from the snake. During the milliseconds of panic, it took a few of those milliseconds to remember to unclip, right before I stopped. I got the left foot out properly, and the right came out but I think I simply ripped it out; I didn't rotate it out.

It turned out not to be a rattler (at least, it didn't have a rattle on the tip of its tail) but I'm still glad I didn't run over it. If I had been in toe clips and a new rider, I'm sure I would have fallen, and been quite upset. I'm still trying to decide if I want to keep those d@*n clipless pedals!

Daspydyr 

Great to see you out for a spin. Great pricing on everything.

How was church? We're getting ready now and then riding afterwards.

bobthib

ce, you are a lucky man indeed. I know you are counting your blessings every day. Pedal on!

cehowardGS

You know this makes a lot of sense. The Sunday ride was nice, however, I did take her a parking lot to practice getting in and out of the toe straps. She was getting very frustrated. At one time she rode almost two blocks and still couldn't get a foot in the toe strap. I explained it to her this way. I told her if I had got her one of the coaster brake, single speed, ballon tire bikes, we wouldn't be having this problem. I said what we have here is a performance bike, set up for performance, and you are way on level one, and want to move like you are level 10 and that is not going to happened. One thing for sure, I am into motorcycles heavy, and she had stress that she wanted one. Well, from the way things are going with these bicycles, and way glad I didn't take her into motorcycles, and never will. You have to have the knack.

Back to the bicycles, I am going to show her your post, and see where we will go from there. Because she is having a problem with the toe straps. She has put the problem on the shoes and the pedals. IMO, a rationalization. I am keeping her out from traffic as much as I can. I explain to her that when I am riding the motorcycle, I got on full gear, completely covered. On the bicycle, we have flimsy helmets, and that's it. our bodies will take all falls. Nothing wrong with that, just don't want to fall when you don't have too.

thanks for the info, much needed..