Personal Bike History Part 3 - Adulthood

After I graduated from college I didn’t think much about bicycles for a while. I started working in my chosen field. I drove a lot. I had a pretty far commute for work. I was also in a band that travelled for gigs. I was the main van driver and I spent many hours behind the wheel.

Eventually my heavy gigging days came to an end. Around this time I had a roommate that moved out and she left behind a bike. It was a dark green Royce Union Savoy – a department store “mountain” bike. The wheels were bent, so she never rode it. I got the wheels fixed at a bike shop and decided to try and ride it around town. I got a seat post rack so that I could carry stuff. I occasionally rode this bike for errands and exercise. I would ride to the post office (I was selling a lot on ebay at this time) and on a multi-use path.

The bike did not inspire me to keep riding, though. It was very heavy and it didn’t fit me very well. The wide knobby tires provided much rolling resistance. I often felt sore, tired and winded after riding this bike. I attributed this feeling to the fact that I was out of shape. I had a mental image that riding was painful if you weren’t in top physical condition. The bike spent a lot of time chained to a fence in my backyard.

During this time I made my first visits to Europe as an adult. I visited Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark in two separate summer trips. I saw a lot of bicycles in use (especially in Copenhagen, of course). The bicycle began to creep back into my consciousness.

While visiting a friend in Finland, we borrowed two of the family’s bikes to ride into town one evening. We had so much fun exploring the area on two wheels. I have a fond memory of scooting around the town in the glorious evening light of Scandinavia.

I wish I had been a cyclist during this period of my life. I was single, I had time and a little bit of money. My trips to Scandinavia, great as they were, would have been so much better if they were bike tours. I probably didn’t really know what bike touring was, though.

I went through a motorized two-wheel transport phase before I became a full-fledged bicycle enthusiast. My wife (fiancé at the time, actually) decided to buy a new Vespa scooter. It was so fun to ride. I soon bought one of my own, a Genuine Stella which is a metal bodied, manual shifting copy of a late 70s Vespa. I really liked it. I rode it to work, I rode it around town. We quite stylishly arrived at our wedding rehearsal on scooters. When I wasn’t riding it, I spent a lot of time reading books, magazines and websites about scooters.

Scootermania lasted for about a year and a half.

A few things contributed to its demise. First of all, my wife became unenthusiastic about the scooter. Hers was somewhat unreliable mechanically and it visited the shop a few times in that first year. She decided to sell the Vespa after one year of ownership. We also bought a house that did not have a garage. I kept my scooter under a tarp in the backyard (not exactly secure) and I sometimes parked it in the basement (not exactly safe).

Slowly, I began to think that I might enjoy bicycles more than scooters.

We visited two summer vacation places where bikes are popular – one in the mountains and one by the ocean. We didn’t ride in the mountains, but we did rent a tandem to ride on the boardwalk by the sea. The tandem was old, out of proper adjustment and not sized well for us (me in particular) but it was fun. Then, pretty soon after we married, we visited some friends in an urban area. We had our morning coffee near a multi-use path and we saw many families enjoying their bikes. I remember seeing a bike with a kid trailer behind it and I knew that was what I wanted. My wife and I planned to have a child someday and I couldn’t see myself EVER transporting my darling offspring on a scooter. It didn’t seem safe. I felt confident in my scooter driving ability and I didn’t think that I took unnecessary risks on it but I didn’t trust the car drivers around me. Suddenly, the scooter didn’t seem like the proper choice for a person well on his way to having a family.

I began feeling envious of cyclists that I passed on my scooter. I liked the idea of getting away from the gasoline engine and the simple mechanics of the bicycle was also appealing. I was intimidated by working on the scooter myself. Bikes were a different story. I had tinkered around with them as a kid and I thought the bicycle was something I could understand.

Eventually the above reasons plus the realization that I could make some quick cash made me come to the decision that I should sell the scooter. I told myself that I would replace it with a bicycle.

The scooter was sold on ebay for a fair price, ironically to a young, new father.

I began doing research and visiting bike shops. Luckily, the first one I visited made a great impression on me and it became my favorite bike shop. I was impressed by the salespeople and I liked the feeling of the place. I liked that the staff urged me to take my time and to test ride many bikes before making a decision. They provided lots of great advice. For example, I was of the impression that I should by a hybrid and work my way up to a road bike. One of the salesmen urged me to consider a touring bike instead, pointing out that the more comfortable geometry and wider tires would provide a more accessible ride. I saw his point, but I wasn’t ready to commit the resources towards a full-fledged touring bike like the Surly Long-Haul Trucker he suggested. I wasn’t sure I was going to stick with cycling.

While I was researching, I was also attempting to ride my Royce Union Savoy occasionally. I was not doing well. I was having trouble riding the thing to a park only a few miles from here. I remember feeling exhausted after riding. After test riding some bikes at the shop, I knew that this bike wasn’t helping me any.

I made a database of all the bike models that I came across. I compared wheelbase lengths, chainstay lengths, tire widths, gearing and frame materials. I was pretty much locked in to purchasing a bike from my favorite bike shop because I had received some gift certificates to that store from family. Luckily they carry quite a few bike lines and they have a wide selection of inventory.

I settled on the 2007 Schwinn LeTour. I didn’t notice it at first; the 2007 Schwinn catalog was pretty poorly designed and none of their bikes appealed to me all that much. When I got into the specifics, however, I knew I had found my entry-level road bike. I liked the relaxed geometry, the 700 X 25c tires (with room for something a little larger) and the rack braze-ons. I wasn’t thrilled about an aluminum frame, but I chose the model with a steel fork. A winter sale came up at the shop and I got my gift certificates together and bought the thing. I am very glad that I did. That bike has been perfect for me. It’s my main bike and it will be for many years to come.

Things Found in the Street – found weapons and weapon-related items edition

I found this blue box recently. I originally thought that it was a case for a power tool. Then I recognized the embossed Smith & Wesson logo. It was pretty light, so I knew it didn’t have its deadly cargo within. When I got home, I opened it and discovered the contents. Inside were the paper items that probably came with a newly purchased gun – pamphlets, a sticker, etc. Also included was a form that transfers ownership from the shop to the buyer. There was some personal information on it with which the person who threw this out should have been more careful. Underneath the foam liner of the case was some kind of extra handle and a gun lock with key. I could probably use that lock for something. As for the case, I’m not sure what I’ll do with it now, but it might be useful in the future.

This lock-blade Buck knife was another street find. It appears to be in good condition. It probably bounced out of a pickup truck bed or perhaps someone left it on their vehicle and then drove away. I keep it with my bike tools.

The third weapons-related find was kind of creepy. It’s a toy handgun, but I didn’t know it was a fake when I first saw it. I was walking along and I saw it under a bush. The size, shape and color are very realistic. When I looked closely, I saw the faint orange paint on the end. I picked it up and felt that it was not much lighter than a gun would be and it was made of metal. Because it was so real-looking, I took it home. I wouldn’t want some kid to find it and meet a tragic end because of this plaything.

I believe that there is some kind of regulation now regarding the appearance of toy guns. I think that they are not supposed to be black in color. This was probably an older toy with only the orange on the end. As with this one, I’m sure the orange wears away over time. It could also be easily covered over with paint or a magic marker by the child that desires a more realistic-looking prop.

I’m not sure why parents would let their kids play with toy guns in the first place. It’s a complicated issue (with long roots in American cultural memory) but it’s disconcerting to me to see kids playing with things that are designed to kill.

These three items were all found on the same street, within three blocks of each other.