One afternoon in the spring of 1969 I rode away from Naults Bicycle Shop on my brand new Schwinn Varsity drop handle 10 speed bicycle after having placed an even $92 hard earned dollars on the counter for it . That $92 dollars represented a few months of full weekends hauling golf clubs around 18 hilly holes for golfers back when golfers were still fit enough to walk . I owned that Schwinn for 24 years before I repeated that same scenario by placing $559.99 on that very same counter and rode off from Naults Bicycle Shop once again . This time it was on a Trek 930 twenty one speed Mountain Bike and I still have the original sales receipt dated Sept. 11, 1993 …. and the bike is out in the garage right now ..
Now back when that old Schwinn was $92 bucks I knew an awful lot of adults who needed to work a full week to bring home a weekly paycheck equivalent to the value of that bike and mine was the only one of it’s kind for miles around as most parents of my friends couldn’t afford it. Neither could mine . When I purchased the American made Trek for $599.99 in 1993 it represented less than two days pay for the skills I had to offer at that time while the average rent was 20% of an average rent today .
The Trek hasn’t seen a lot of use over the last few years, the shift and brake cables had frayed and the tire’s refused to hold air for more than three days and as its owners age marched on the forward leaning configuration of a mountain bike became more and more uncomfortable . I suppose I’ve just come full circle as the price of an expensive new bike would no longer be equal to less than two days pay but instead closer to a few months of carrying golf clubs just like the purchase price of the old Schwinn . So we hit Plan B …
Plan B entailed replacing the knobby tires on the Trek with something more street worthy … cool looking ones with tan sidewalls that matched the new tan handlebar grips . A new handlebar stem bringing the riders position up to something more comfortable . And new shifters with replacement cables for them and the brakes and all of this took but $70 and a pleasant day in the garage . And the bike looks very cool for something that would now be deemed vintage and I was now thinking of a rack on the back with the ability of carrying a 12 pack home from the local ABC liquor store .
Took it out on its maiden voyage around the local streets last week and when I brought it home and entered the driveway I dismounted like I used to as a young man only with a difference . I went over sideways to land hard on a hip on the concrete with a resulting bruise and an obviously broken blood vessel as that small bruise has grown longer heading further South towards the knee with every passing day. Just goes to show ….
…. man my age shouldn’t be riding bicycles sober
