The bicycle blog begins with my decision to get back in the saddle after three non-bicycling decades.
As much as I like to live in the past, I won’t do it here, except to say that a mid-1970s bicycle/automobile collision scared me away from cycling. I was on that bicycle (a French Motobecane).
I tried a few more times with a custom-built bike, but I never felt comfortable; I finally gave up and put the bicycles in a garage to gather dust.
Fast forward to today and a change of heart
So, Joan and I decided to buy bicycles, gear, and all the stuff we need to be serious touring bicyclists. Not speedy, but comfortable and safe. But I quickly learned that all my bicycling knowledge is pretty much worthless after 30 years. Everything has changed.
The biggest shock is the price of a decent bike. My first 10-speed bicycle, a Schwinn Varsity Sport, cost an outrageous $65 in 1966. It was a struggle to justify the expense.
James and his Schwinn Varsity Sport
Here it is in 1968. I don’t know the skinny guy in the picture.
The location is the McDonough Heights Apartments—the cool place to live after graduation from Roosevelt High School. The apartments are still there, right across the street from the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.
The Schwinn Varsity Sport has a reputation for being the heaviest bicycle every built. That’s just a joke of course. There were two or three others that were probably heavier.
Historic bicycle
Nonetheless, it was the bicycle that started a revolution in the United States, and it still holds the record for being one of the top selling bikes of all time. Read more about this historic bicycle right here.
http://sheldonbrown.com/varsity-shaddox.html
It’s also interesting to consider that this (heavy) bicycle was not made from steel tubing, but steel plate—pressed and welded into tubes.
If you’re interested in manufacturing processes (and who isn’t?), read this:
http://sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html
Next time: The search for the perfect bicycle
As much as I like to live in the past, I won’t do it here, except to say that a mid-1970s bicycle/automobile collision scared me away from cycling. I was on that bicycle (a French Motobecane).
I tried a few more times with a custom-built bike, but I never felt comfortable; I finally gave up and put the bicycles in a garage to gather dust.
Fast forward to today and a change of heart
So, Joan and I decided to buy bicycles, gear, and all the stuff we need to be serious touring bicyclists. Not speedy, but comfortable and safe. But I quickly learned that all my bicycling knowledge is pretty much worthless after 30 years. Everything has changed.
The biggest shock is the price of a decent bike. My first 10-speed bicycle, a Schwinn Varsity Sport, cost an outrageous $65 in 1966. It was a struggle to justify the expense.
James and his Schwinn Varsity Sport
Here it is in 1968. I don’t know the skinny guy in the picture.
The location is the McDonough Heights Apartments—the cool place to live after graduation from Roosevelt High School. The apartments are still there, right across the street from the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.
The Schwinn Varsity Sport has a reputation for being the heaviest bicycle every built. That’s just a joke of course. There were two or three others that were probably heavier.
Historic bicycle
Nonetheless, it was the bicycle that started a revolution in the United States, and it still holds the record for being one of the top selling bikes of all time. Read more about this historic bicycle right here.
http://sheldonbrown.com/varsity-shaddox.html
It’s also interesting to consider that this (heavy) bicycle was not made from steel tubing, but steel plate—pressed and welded into tubes.
If you’re interested in manufacturing processes (and who isn’t?), read this:
http://sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html
Next time: The search for the perfect bicycle
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