Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

… Back in the 60’s in the Motor City, I had an “English Racer,’ and longed to tour at about age 14, but then joined the car culture. In Ann Arbor MI in the 70’s I really realized the utility of bicycles for commuting, and began touring on a five-speed Schwinn Suburban, but soon bought a Mercier as did my girlfriend, later my wife.

We toured in Michigan and Ontario. In 1977 we moved to Boston on our bikes, as a bicycling honeymoon from Los Angeles to Washington, DC and then took the train up to Boston.

Originally Posted by kenzo1979

I was in high school in the 70's- graduated in '74. I raced in a club in Northern NJ, Nutley Bike Club. I did club races and did Somerville and the state championships….

Bike and cycling were not "elitist" so much as enthusiast driven…These were the days of nail-on cleats and leather "hairnet" helmets. I remember shaving my legs for the first time and getting puzzled suspicious looks from my girlfriend in HS.

The so called "bike boom" was certainly a boom in my mind- I was obsessed with cycling and racing and European racing and Gran Fondos. The "boom" it seems to me, was driven by the growing import of better equipment and teens (like me) or 20 somethings in college (which I was by '75 in New York City) creating a growing and graduated market for imported upscale bikes…

The gasoline shortage of the mid 70's definitely boosted bike sales around my area as more people turned to bikes as an alternative to driving- especially when they sold gas alternating on days according to odd/even plate numbers. I was just starting to drive, and i turned to my bike as a much more reliable means of transport. My bikes became utilitarian as much as for racing and sport riding.

Another bit of a phenom was the growth of the American Youth Hostels (AYH) that held large teen bike tours through New England and all around the country with a network of hostels for extended overnight trips….

I would guess that the cycling "boom" was mostly located on the east and west coasts because the growing distribution of new bikes and components branched out from importer located near major shipping distribution points- NYC, MD, LA, SF, etc.[As others have reported, my sense and memory of the boom was it was driven by teens and college students and more as a utilitarian alternative to cars for campus and in urban locales…

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

My wife and I crossed the country in 1977 from LA to Washington DC. Some of the now-old-fashioned elements as I recall:

Hairnet helmets, woolen bike shorts, jogging suits for colder weather, toe clips, paper maps, phone booths for calls; sent post cards; for cash we used travelers checks and had money orders wired to us at various post offices. We were not into photography, so instead of an SLR film camera, we had a Kodak Instamatic.

To track mileage we had a mechanical odometer with a metallic striker affixed to a spoke. For lights we used those strap on D-cell battery powered lights with a front yellow and rear red lenses.

We rode Merciers, model not recalled, with sew-up tires and fully loaded rear panniers (not recommended)…