Vintage Wheels
(My new-to-me vintage bike.)
My dad cleaned out his garage recently, and asked me if I’d like a pair of old bicycles he’s had for years. I jumped at the chance, since Ryan and I have been talking for months about buying bikes to ride with the boys. The bikes I’ve inherited belonged to my parents, and I used to ride them when I was growing up. One is a basic brown bicycle from the late 1970s or early 1980s that reminds me of Jack Tripper (“Come and knock on my door…”). The other is a blue vintage Schwinn that my mom rode as a girl, and it’s my new bike now!
When my parents came to visit while Ryan was traveling, they brought both bikes and we dropped them off at a local bike shop to be cleaned up and repaired. The process took about three weeks, mostly because the tires on the Schwinn had to be special ordered, but it was definitely worth the wait. And for less than the cost of one new bicycle, we now have two refurbished bikes in excellent riding condition, as well as the family memories that come with them.
As a girl, I’d go on long rides with my dad and sisters, sometimes accompanied by neighbor kids. We would ride to the undeveloped edges of our subdivision, often seeing cottontail rabbits along the way. Those rides are one of my happiest childhood memories, and I can’t wait to share the same experience with my boys as they get older.
I didn’t grow up wearing a bike helmet (did you?), so that is something I’ll have to get used to, along with actually riding a bike again. They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but it’s been years since I’ve ridden, and I’ve felt really nervous and unsteady the few times I’ve sat on the bike in my backyard. I have to practice before I start riding with the boys, and I’m sure I’ll be nervous at first, but I’m looking forward to that feeling of freedom I had as a girl on those long bike rides. I hope I can feel it again.
What a cute bike! We weren’t super into biking as kids, but we did always wear helmets. I don’t know how much they helped though, because the only time I ever crashed was on my neighbor’s gravel driveway and I bashed up my chin pretty good. I still have a scar with a few specks of gravel underneath that we couldn’t get out.
Thanks! I think I’m about 10 years older than you, so nobody wore helmets back then. I fell off my scooter once and scraped my knee pretty bad, but I never hit my head. Of course, I make my boys wear helmets, so I have to do the same. 🙂
I love it, especially the basket! What a great treasure!
We used to bike around with our helmets slung over the handlebars, as if that would somehow keep us out of trouble if a cop drove by.
Ha! That is so funny about the helmets! I love that basket and it has a working light in the front, too.
So cute.
I loved going on family bike rides when I was younger. As we got older, my sister and I would bike down to the gas station at the edge of our neighborhood and get slushies.
My dad would sometimes take us to the gas station near our house and let us pick out a piece of candy each. It always felt so special, and to this day, the smell of a gas station makes me think of that. 😛