Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Bikes that Were and Are


*Big wheel - Red

*Green Machine - I don't know if it was the honeycomb wheels or the dual lever steering, but this was the first time in my life I experienced the feeling of "cool". And I most certainly was.

*Lime green bike with solid 16" tires that I taught myself to ride a "two wheeler" on

*Yellow racer style w/ probably 26x1 3/8 wheels - A bike that should have been put out of it's misery.

*Black Schwinn single speed w/ coaster brake - Once rolled over my glasses with it

*Faux blue Torker twin top tube looking BMX bike. Gotten cheap at a flea market somewhere near North Webster Indana.

*Light blue singlespeed cruiser frame with drop bars and coaster brake. A sweet (for the time) bike that I rode many, many hours on at the summer cottage.

*Black and Gold (I mean GOLD) Columbia BMX complete with pads and nut guard for the gooseneck. After getting his matching bike stolen, my brother destroyed mine by getting run over by a truck. Seriously. He's proud of his scar.

*1986 Raleigh Capri - Black. The 8th grade graduation gift. Also bought my first Campagnolo hat so I could roll completely Pro. Chic velcro running shoes by Puma.

*1991 Trek 1200 - Bonded aluminum. Ugh.

*1988 Gitane RS - Reynolds 531c steel. Buttery smooth ride. Seemed made of butter under more than a casual climb. Hit by car and became a banana.

*Late 1980's Peugeot 531Pro steel. Worn out. Shifted when I was "goin' for it".

*1991 Nishiki Pinnacle - Tange Prestige tubes. Suntour XC Comp. Elevated chain stay. Squirrel magnet.

*1992 Nishiki Colorado - Turned into commuting bike w/ rack, fenders, lights, etc. It served it's purpose but it could never be more than a Colorado. Given to brother who promptly was robbed of it. As seen by the pattern, my brother and bikes don't mix.

*1992 Concorde Squadra TSX - Learned to pay attention to c to c, c to t, and c to tt.

*1993 Colnago Master Olympic - Blue. Heavy. Still not for sale.

*1993 Gitane XO cyclocross - Safety orange. A crowd pleaser. Later became rent $.

*Late 1980's Peugeot Dolomites - Columbus SLX. Traded to Ringo for a Laser Disc Player.

*1988 Gitane/Vitus 979 - Nice. Light. Comfortable. Sold to Jim for more rent $.

*Mid 80's Hutch BMX- Bought to be used for certain "action" scenes.

*1995 Bianchi TSX Ultralight - First racing bike sponsor! Chrome. Nuovo celeste. Lugged steel. Beautiful.

*1991 Look KG 96 - Early lugged carbon wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.

*1996 Steelman Stage Race - Current commuter

*2001 Bianchi XL-EV2 - The Pantani Bike. Recently sold.

*2006 Bianchi Pista Concept - Sold to someone who'll actually use it

*2007 Pegoretti Responsorium - Should be here by July

2 comments:

The King said...

WOW you have a lot of bikes. How about coming out to ride on Wednesday's (your day off) you peenie pucker!!!

strangelife said...

Ahhh. The Wednesday night rides. I LOVE riding in rush hour. I'll see ya guys when it stays dry on Wednesdays for a change....sometimes.