Biker395 

I did that too, and the same year. My buddy and I decided to ride from the San Fernando Valley down to Manhattan Beach and back on borrowed 10 speeds. Getting to MB was literally a breeze … especially swooping down to the coast on Topanga an early Sunday morning. Combing back uphill through the Sepulveda Pass was another matter entirely. As I recall, I didn't even tell my folks about our plans. We just did it.

Kabuki12

I think in the 70's cycling for kids was our freedom and a way of life. The bike rack at Oxnard High was always packed with bikes and we rode bikes everywhere. It was a different time for sure. Joe

Biker395 

It sure was for me. Having my parents cart me around was out of the question ... my mother didn't even know how to drive. If you wanted to get somewhere, it was up to you to figure out how to get it done ... and we did. I remember one day collecting bottles to eek out enough money to get some lunch before riding home.

Good times.

Carbonfiberboy 

One of my most memorable . . . I might mention a few;

300k and 400k brevets in the Cascades. They were memorable, especially the part about learning that endurance is between your ears.

On our tandem, our most memorable days were touring. Riding the Prague waterfront. Accidentally camping in a Czech nudist camp. Blowing up while riding over PassStrasse from the Czech Republic into Germany. Riding the Avenue of the Giants in CA:

DiabloScott

STP 2009 to celebrate turning 50.

Memorable mostly because it was long, but it was a fun event too.

Sharp readers will note that 2019 is also an odometer year for me, I expect l'Eroica will be equally as memorable, watch for updates.

MikeSimone

I was stationed at Fort Sill, OK in October 1980, near Lawton. On a local Saturday club ride, I was alone out front on a packed dirt road in the Wichita Wildlife Refuge adjoining Fort Sill, which was open back then to cyclists on occasion. Passing by long-horn steer and tall grass filled with rattlers and tarantulas, I thought nothing at first of the cloud of dust ahead on the road -- must be a Park ranger or maintenance vehicle. A minute later I realized it was an oncoming small herd of buffalo trotting on the road!! I turned around, but was now headed into the wind and uphill as I heard and felt the stamping of hooves. The herd of about 12 buffalo split into two lines and pounded past me with about a foot to spare on either side -- big mamas and papas up front glaring at me, and little ones struggling to keep up. They stank to high heaven, but moved on and then off into a field. About three minutes later the cycling group caught up and couldn't understand at first why I was standing in the road by my bike with heart pounding faster than it ever did in a race or parachute jump! The Army had a sense of humor, I guess, about sending me to the only installations in America with free-roaming buffalo -- Fort Greely, Alaska in 1976; Fort Sill/Wichita, Oklahoma in 1980; and then on to Fort Riley, Kansas. Needless to say, I did not ride again anywhere near where the Kansas buffalo grazed. Mike Simone, COL (Ret.) U.S. Army (and still riding, but only near squirrels, birds, small dogs . . .)

Cougrrcj

My mother grew up in rural Nebraska during WW2. When attending school, they'd try to guess the number of planes in formation as they flew overhead, then run outside to confirm... LOTS of long-distance 'navigation training' flights flew over the Great Plains...

FWIW, my mother never had electricity or indoor plumbing - and her father used a team of horses to plow the fields until after the war... They were proud when grandpa bought his first (used) tractor after the war - and it still had steel wheels -- no rubber tires -- because of the war effort. How quickly we forget that even our parents grew up without... Today's youth doesn't have a clue!

jppe

IronM

My most memorial days on the bike: The 1st time I joined the 'A' group in the local ride - for the 1st time on my bike I felt like I was flying & it was magic. I've experienced it many times since, but won't forget that one ride.
More recently - I've been more into gravel rides up in the National Forest. I see a lot of wild life, usually as they run away. Last fall, while taking a remote dead-end forest service road, I came upon and surprised a black bear crossing over. We both stopped and stared at each other. For the 1st time in my life I looked a bear directly in the eyes; for maybe 30 seconds. We just stood there looking at each other - no fear or anything like that, just mutual curiosity. After a bit, I decided to reach for my phone and it wan't having any of that! It took off for dear life.

IronM

Fantastic & incredible experiences! I hope one day to stitch together a tour though Ireland, Scotland, possibly England. It's a bit difficult as my wife is unable to ride (from an accident) & this isn't anything I care to do alone. Experiences like that are best shared. But I still dream of cycling thought the countryside, meeting people & hearing their stories, and stopping in at a local pub for an evening drink.

philbob57

East Providence to Newport (R.I.) over the Mt. Hope Bridge, late '80s. As a kid my parents drove over the bridge time and again, and I always wanted to stop. After moving to the Chicago area, I invested in a rack and took the bike East for a vacation, with the idea of riding to Newport.

Took the ride on a beautiful Summer day. I got to the bridge and found the roadway unridable, so I switched to the 'sidewalk.' The sidewalk seemed to be 6' slabs of concrete with what seemed like a foot of space between them, a million feet above the water. I just looked out over the Bay at the incredible blue water, beautiful sailboats - and pysched myself up to get back on the bike and to ride off the bridge. I met parents, son, and wife at Potter & Company (for those who remember) on Thames St. and had a chourico sandwich for lunch. I avoided the bridge on the way back. As you can see, it was a memorable day for me. If I try it again, I fear I'm going to have to walk up a hill in Portsmouth.