Nostalgia vs. reality.
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#27
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Second-hand Popular Science and Popular Mechanics were my mainstays, along with Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report, two weeks old from the library.
I didn’t see an Italian bike until I was about 20. Didn’t recognize Campagnolo until about age 27, and I thought indexing was “really cool” when I first saw it in 1987. I bought an STI-equipped Ironman in 2004, promptly determined “these don’t work,” and took it to a shop, where she calmly shifted the chain back and forth and said “they work” with a straight face and handed the bike back.
#28
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My dentist was upstairs over a candy store, the Ben Franklin downtown.
He pulled teeth for $5 cash, fillings were $10. Numbing? What was that?
He kept his tools in an aquarium that seemed to be steamy. It had some cool name. Clavicle?
The chair was a Ritter, black onyx with leather pulley straps or belts. Not high speed. I think they used them in prisons, too.
He used a pedal switch. No clamping things open, no assistant, just "hold steady," and "OK, spit."
He had Parkinson's and would shake until he got to your mouth, and then got steady.
You got very used to it, and it was actually comforting. As a child, I had no clue; thought it was normal.
Today, due to hyper-sensitivity, no numbing, maybe gas if it's not strong.
Wisdom teeth, then several root canals, no anesthetic. One took 4 hours.
I've learned to "go to another place" during these, but one guy only took 20 minutes, so I was barely "there."
As for bikes, my paper route Columbia 2-speed (kickback) was a tank and I would rather walk to the pool than take my paper route bike.
My '76 Bicentennial Free Spirit remains the most beautiful and fastest bike that I or anyone else has ever ridden.
And I'm not about to alter that with reality.
He pulled teeth for $5 cash, fillings were $10. Numbing? What was that?
He kept his tools in an aquarium that seemed to be steamy. It had some cool name. Clavicle?
The chair was a Ritter, black onyx with leather pulley straps or belts. Not high speed. I think they used them in prisons, too.
He used a pedal switch. No clamping things open, no assistant, just "hold steady," and "OK, spit."
He had Parkinson's and would shake until he got to your mouth, and then got steady.
You got very used to it, and it was actually comforting. As a child, I had no clue; thought it was normal.
Today, due to hyper-sensitivity, no numbing, maybe gas if it's not strong.
Wisdom teeth, then several root canals, no anesthetic. One took 4 hours.
I've learned to "go to another place" during these, but one guy only took 20 minutes, so I was barely "there."
As for bikes, my paper route Columbia 2-speed (kickback) was a tank and I would rather walk to the pool than take my paper route bike.
My '76 Bicentennial Free Spirit remains the most beautiful and fastest bike that I or anyone else has ever ridden.
And I'm not about to alter that with reality.
So getting back to the story, I was dropped off at the dentist for a check-up and it was determined that I had several teeth that needed filling, The person who had taken us to the dentist took my mother back home, leaving me there alone. I was 9 or 10 years old probably. Different days. Now mom would be brought up on charges or something. Anyway, after receiving 8 fillings, all of my molars I guess, I began walking home. Took me about 2 hours to get there, and every step was causing my teeth pain. I guess that's why I remember it!
#29
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On the subject of nostalgia, there are three bikes that I vividly remember from my childhood. One I've written about somewhere here on the forum and was a Raleigh Chopper, stick shift and all! I was so jealous! Another one was a yellow Schwinn Lemon Peeler. The front suspension was killer. And the last one was a yellow Schwinn road bike. I don't know what the model was, but it had 10 speeds, drop bars and I was cautioned not to touch the shifters because I might accidentally "strip the gears".
Meanwhile, I owned a hand-me-down bronze-colored bike with one speed. I eventually painted it with day-glo spray paint in a resplendent pink and green. I used masking tape and came up with a striped pattern which was pleasing to my juvenile eyes. I also swapped out my front tire for a super-skinny slick. I guess that was cool at the time. Or maybe that was the only cheap tire we could find? I rode literally every day and never really did any maintenance other than airing up the tires. Couldn't kill that bike. Left it outside, all year round because I didn't know any better.
Ah, the good old days....
Meanwhile, I owned a hand-me-down bronze-colored bike with one speed. I eventually painted it with day-glo spray paint in a resplendent pink and green. I used masking tape and came up with a striped pattern which was pleasing to my juvenile eyes. I also swapped out my front tire for a super-skinny slick. I guess that was cool at the time. Or maybe that was the only cheap tire we could find? I rode literally every day and never really did any maintenance other than airing up the tires. Couldn't kill that bike. Left it outside, all year round because I didn't know any better.
Ah, the good old days....
#30
Mad bike riding scientist
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My dentist was upstairs over a candy store, the Ben Franklin downtown.
He pulled teeth for $5 cash, fillings were $10. Numbing? What was that?
He kept his tools in an aquarium that seemed to be steamy. It had some cool name. Clavicle?
The chair was a Ritter, black onyx with leather pulley straps or belts. Not high speed. I think they used them in prisons, too.
He used a pedal switch. No clamping things open, no assistant, just "hold steady," and "OK, spit."
He had Parkinson's and would shake until he got to your mouth, and then got steady.
You got very used to it, and it was actually comforting. As a child, I had no clue; thought it was normal.
Today, due to hyper-sensitivity, no numbing, maybe gas if it's not strong.
Wisdom teeth, then several root canals, no anesthetic. One took 4 hours.
I've learned to "go to another place" during these, but one guy only took 20 minutes, so I was barely "there."
As for bikes, my paper route Columbia 2-speed (kickback) was a tank and I would rather walk to the pool than take my paper route bike.
My '76 Bicentennial Free Spirit remains the most beautiful and fastest bike that I or anyone else has ever ridden.
And I'm not about to alter that with reality.
He pulled teeth for $5 cash, fillings were $10. Numbing? What was that?
He kept his tools in an aquarium that seemed to be steamy. It had some cool name. Clavicle?
The chair was a Ritter, black onyx with leather pulley straps or belts. Not high speed. I think they used them in prisons, too.
He used a pedal switch. No clamping things open, no assistant, just "hold steady," and "OK, spit."
He had Parkinson's and would shake until he got to your mouth, and then got steady.
You got very used to it, and it was actually comforting. As a child, I had no clue; thought it was normal.
Today, due to hyper-sensitivity, no numbing, maybe gas if it's not strong.
Wisdom teeth, then several root canals, no anesthetic. One took 4 hours.
I've learned to "go to another place" during these, but one guy only took 20 minutes, so I was barely "there."
As for bikes, my paper route Columbia 2-speed (kickback) was a tank and I would rather walk to the pool than take my paper route bike.
My '76 Bicentennial Free Spirit remains the most beautiful and fastest bike that I or anyone else has ever ridden.
And I'm not about to alter that with reality.
The same doctor attempted to stitch up my knee when I was 9 after I tried to put a handlebar brake clamp through my knee. My dad made him numb it before the stitches because he knew what his wife would say if I had to endure that again.
I have a couple of bikes that are old(ish) but I’m not tied to keeping them original.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#31
Cheerfully low end
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Then I bought a 25” Witcomb frame and built some tubular wheels and rode the heck out of that. I still have the frame (just repainted the second time) but I haven’t been riding tubulars lately so the wheels are just hanging up in the garage.
Otto
Last edited by ofajen; 09-24-20 at 08:04 AM.
#32
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The "good old days" weren't.
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Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
#33
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I didn’t even know there were bike magazines back then.
Second-hand Popular Science and Popular Mechanics were my mainstays, along with Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report, two weeks old from the library.
I didn’t see an Italian bike until I was about 20. Didn’t recognize Campagnolo until about age 27, and I thought indexing was “really cool” when I first saw it in 1987. I bought an STI-equipped Ironman in 2004, promptly determined “these don’t work,” and took it to a shop, where she calmly shifted the chain back and forth and said “they work” with a straight face and handed the bike back.
Second-hand Popular Science and Popular Mechanics were my mainstays, along with Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report, two weeks old from the library.
I didn’t see an Italian bike until I was about 20. Didn’t recognize Campagnolo until about age 27, and I thought indexing was “really cool” when I first saw it in 1987. I bought an STI-equipped Ironman in 2004, promptly determined “these don’t work,” and took it to a shop, where she calmly shifted the chain back and forth and said “they work” with a straight face and handed the bike back.
#34
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I actually still use several of those parts, though on a lowly Schwinn frame which has better pedal clearance with big platform pedals. The Witcomb is waiting to be built back up into a bike. 😕
Otto
#35
Bike Butcher of Portland
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#36
aka Tom Reingold
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I don't know if I'm nostalgic for any bikes I used to own. I regret selling my 1975 Raleigh Gran Sport which I did after I bought a Peugeot PXN10LE. But the idea of having more than one bike hadn't dawned on me yet. Luckily I now have a Raleigh Super Course and a Raleigh International which are both close enough to the Gran Sport.
I rode my 1982 McLean with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record group for many years. I've since rebuilt it with a 3x9 indexed drivetrain and newer wheels. I wonder if I'd enjoy it with the old stuff on it, but I sold too much of it to try, and I don't want to go through the expense and trouble to experiment.
I rode my 1982 McLean with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record group for many years. I've since rebuilt it with a 3x9 indexed drivetrain and newer wheels. I wonder if I'd enjoy it with the old stuff on it, but I sold too much of it to try, and I don't want to go through the expense and trouble to experiment.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
#38
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All these years later, my right ear still rings from the time their guitarist decided to demonstrate just how loud a Rickenbacker can be through a Marshall stack.
#40
Strong Walker
When I was a kid back in 1963 I got a shiny red Murray Missile for my 8th birthday and I have many great memories of that bike. Hence my choice of user name. I have long thought it would be great to have one for old time sake. Well, I got the opportunity to work on a virtually identical Murray built Sears Foremost from the same era....... I no longer want a Murray Missile for old time sake LOL and they can't come get this Foremost out of here soon enough. Once again I will let memories just be memories. 😎
#41
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I don't pine for my early bikes, but I did get an at the time modern version of my first bike for my sister in 1977.
Raleigh Mountie.
Still in the family, so much easier to learn to ride on than the mod youth bikes. Something to be said for long trail steering.
Two years ago I did buy a sistership pf my first road bike.
the reprise was better than I remember.
Still have bike #2 , and #5
just bought a sistership of bike #3
Raleigh Mountie.
Still in the family, so much easier to learn to ride on than the mod youth bikes. Something to be said for long trail steering.
Two years ago I did buy a sistership pf my first road bike.
the reprise was better than I remember.
Still have bike #2 , and #5
just bought a sistership of bike #3