Sweet June

I love June. Oh, if it could just be June all year round. After a full day working I went home, had a nice supper, and still had time and daylight to get in almost 20 miles on the bike trail between Hamel and Staunton.

It's such a luxury to be able to ride in nice weather and daylight while working full time. I guess people in warmer climates have more options, and I think about that more and more as I get older. If and when retirement gets here, I want to live where I can enjoy the majority of the year doing activities like riding and walking and playing outdoors.

I like living in the Midwest most of the time. Winter is getting harder for me to take every year, and I'm sure tired of the incessant rains we've had this year. I'm waterlogged.

Certainly a lot of people have solved the problem in their retirement years by spending the winters down south. My dad lives most of the year in southern Texas, and spends his summers in the north. I imagine that he has the right weather for bike riding most of the time, but I also want a good place to ride. Many of the places we've visited would not be good for riding: no trails, or narrow, congested roads. I am not a road rider, although I'm starting to branch out a bit more. Riding the trails all the time gets a bit monotonous, though we're fortunate to have a pretty good variety if you don't mind driving a bit to a different starting point.

You can't get consistent if you only ride on the weekends. The key is to find another day or two during the week to get in a ride or some other kind of exercise. In bad weather, I don't mind a half-hour on the treadmill. But in nice weather I want an hour or so of daylight so I can get outside. I love June.

Torn Asunder

[caption id="attachment_30" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Schwinn Sierra"][/caption]

Beautiful weather was the main story this weekend. Perfect June weather, temperatures in the 70s and 80s. That's the kind of weather that makes everybody want to head for the Madison County Transit trails system and ride and walk and jog.

Traffic was heavy on the trails both days. On Saturday I rode with my wife, CJ, and we did a little less than 20 miles around Edwardsville and Glen Carbon. We were on our mountain bikes, and rode slowly and tried our best to be careful and stay out of harm's way. But I did end up with some road rash when I slowed down inside a tunnel to let a walker with her dog get clear, only to be passed by another rider. I was pretty startled and reacted by running into the right side wall in the tunnel. My pride was more hurt than my arm, but I did get scraped up and bruised a bit.

I'm glad the tunnels are there. I've cheered every time a new one opened and I could avoid traffic crossings. But I always cringe at riders who tear through them at regular trail speeds and pass.

Part of my problem with the tunnels is that I suffer from a bit of night blindness. Especially with sunglasses, when I enter a tunnel I don't adust to the reduced light very quickly. So my rule is to take it slow and easy, and I generally don't pass.

So I'm going to have to keep in mind that there are a lot more people out there, and a lot more situations are going to arise during nice weather than on the crappier days. Maybe it's time for me to do some road riding instead.

On Sunday I took the Fantom Cross bike out and decided to tackle that same tunnel first thing. It was a little overcast, and I didn't wear sunglasses. I didn't have any problems, and I had a pretty good ride overall. I'm going to have to look for a good pair of modular riding glasses that allow prescription inserts.

* * *

"All hail, here comes forth the young princes in the double jog stroller. Behold them as the light reflects fairly from the royal crowns upon their royal heads! To one side, commoners! The royal couple require most of the trail, on both sides, to go forth and display the royal personages. Smile gladly and yield!"

Then look as a 20-something speedster dashes forward, colliding with the jog stroller hanging over the center line and tears the young princes asunder (ooh, my phrase for the day). Oh well, they'll make more young princes when they run out of these.

* * *

Phew! Just had to get that out of my system. With the good weather has come the people who don't honor the center line. Mostly cyclists riding two-up who don't move when they meet you. And yes, the jog stroller-ing family I met on Sunday who wouldn't get over. Biggest head-slapper to me is the mother with tiny cyclists on training wheels who walk 40 feet behind their kids. I had one youngster with his head straight down riding right across the line at me. I was only going about 3 mph trying to avoid him, but even missing him at that speed was tricky. It was like watching a squirrel head one way, then the other, then back again. The mother smiled and managed a weak "honey, watch out…"

Yes, watch out indeed. Lest the young prince be torn asunder.

Big Wanda Loop

[caption id="attachment_22" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Motobecane Fantom Cross"][/caption]

On Saturday I did my longest ride of the year so far, and hoo boy did I pick a hot day for that. New rule: no more than two hours when it's in the upper 90s. I did what I call the Big Wanda Loop.

I did 44 miles on the Motobecane Fantom Cross, starting in Wanda at the start of the Watershed Trail, traveling up to Edwardsville. Then I went down the Nickel Plate trail through Glen Carbon, out to merge onto the Nature Trail at Pontoon Beach. From there I went to Horseshoe Lake and went a couple of miles toward Madison before I realized how far I was going. I turned around and headed back through the southern part of the loop.

This was my first long ride with the new Gatorskins, and I was very happy with their performance. I hit 27 miles at the Collinsville rest area and stopped for a short break. My water was warm and I needed to freshen that up and get out of the helmet for a while. I was pretty toasted, but the math said I had 17 more miles to go to get back to Wanda, using the most direct route.

A lot of times I'll take a shorter loop, then add little small side trips to add miles on. On Saturday I just wanted to get back in one piece. I felt fine heading up the bluff at Collinsville, and that seems to be a good route for me since it's probably the most gradual way to go up the bluff, and if you have to go uphill toward the end of the ride it's nice to go easy.

I don't care that much for the final section of trail going from Old Troy Road into Edwardsville for the same reason most people like it: the tunnels. It's fun to go through all those tunnels, but when you're tired, you have all the uphill runs coming out of those tunnels. And there's usually puddles inside that splash all over. Note to self: fenders on at least one bike.

When I finally got through Edwardsville and was ready to start my decline back down the final six miles to Wanda I had a really startling event. A bee flew high speed right into my mouth and stung me at the base of my tongue! I immediately jumped off the bike, spitting out the bee. It hurt like crazy! I couldn't tell if I got stung once or twice, but my mouth was on fire. I began drinking my water and rinsing my mouth out at the same time. By now the temperature was over 95. I started worrying that I was going to swell up or have a reaction to the bee sting.

I was lucky. Other than being freaked out and having pain for another half hour or so, I had no bad effects from it. I had some pain for about 24 hours, and a little swelling, but I have to admit it made the next six miles go a bit quicker. The pain that I did suffer a lot from was burning in my neck and shoulders and numb hands. That's become a tough problem to beat. Later in the afternoon I did a test ride on a Specialized Sirrus Elite hybrid. I liked it -- more on that later.

The last stretch from Edwardsville to Wanda is primarily downhill. That trail is also good because it has a lot of trees and blocks the wind well. That's probably one of the reasons I like to start from there so much. I was really suffering the last few miles, and did a lot of coasting, just anxious to be done.

I looked at the computer on the bike and it took me right at three hours. When I got home I got plenty of ice and water and worked it around my bee sting and tried to get rehydrated. I think in the future I'll limit those rides to around 30 miles unless I can get out of the house really early and beat the heat.

Vintage Bikes I've Known

[caption id="attachment_25" align="alignleft" width="531" caption="1939 Schwinn DX from freakbikenation.net/Nostalgiariders1939schwinndx.html"][/caption]

Just what is my fascination with vintage?

I'd be hard pressed to even define "vintage" or "retro." But when it comes to vintage stuff, I'm a bit of a sucker for it. I don't need vintage clothes. I still dress the same way I did when the Beatles first hit America. Jeans and a button down shirt and tennis shoes. Is that vintage? Is it retro?
I've always been in love with the look of early 1950s pickup trucks. Drove a 1951 International when I was in high school. That was vintage in 1975. What is vintage now? A 1970s Ford truck?

Vintage really has a lot of meanings to me when we're talking about old bikes. That 1972 Raleigh Grand Prix would sure be a vintage bike today. But I like to go into the Wayback Machine and go back to the '50s. There's an industrial design style that existed in the bikes and cars and toasters of the 1950s that always catches my eye. It has been argued that the '50s ended in 1963 with the death of President John F. Kennedy and the end of Camelot. I think most of that design mentality ended then, as well. The big, round, full heavy metal design was giving way to the sleek, straight lines and the influences of rockets as well as European design.

In my case it was the 1985 movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" that brought the old bikes back. I remembered the old tank bikes of the 1940s and 50s. They were no longer cool when I was a kid, too old fashioned. As soon as I saw Pee Wee's bike I wanted one just like it. Me and a lot of other people!

It was easy to find old coaster brake bikes in yard sales. I found my first one, a Montgomery Ward Hawthorne, for one dollar. It was ready to ride, though a bit too small for me. I put a piece of pipe from the hardware store in for a seat post and rode that bike for the next 10 years. I added fenders, then a basket, painted it with spray paint.

Over the years I've grabbed up quite a few more, including one I found in the trash with a tank. I was always going to fix it up. I'm beginning to doubt that I will ever do it. I've given a few bikes away already, and I need to find a home for this one, I guess.

I think my best bet for my future in vintage bicycles will be to get rid of all the old bikes I have and concentrate my efforts on finding one great condition English 3-speed roadster that is ready-to-ride. Then, I swear, no more bikes.

Early Bikes - Part Two

[caption id="attachment_18" align="aligncenter" width="509" caption="Gazelle Tour de Lavenir"][/caption]

Honestly, I get carried away at times. I'd really like to make the claim that the bicycle is the finest example of mechanical genius made manifest. History would probably not support me. The case can be made for a lot of other innovations throughout time. The bow and arrow. The stirrup. The printing press. The grain mill. The wheel...

But what an incredible machine. A transportation machine using gears and chains and wheels and levers. And it is self-powered. And elegant! Beautiful designs...

Even as kids, we all knew that bikes could be beautiful, functional, elegant things. I was never allowed to buy a Stingray bike, which about half the kids I hung out with rode. I wanted one, but my parents thought they were frivolous and trendy gimmicks. They were mostly right on that one. But it didn't take long to outgrow that 20 inch Schwinn coaster brake bike I'd gotten when I was four or five.

By around eight or nine I needed a bigger bike. My grandfather made a deal with me: if I could save half the money, he would match me. In 1965 a new 24 inch Schwinn was probably less than $50.00. I did my part, he did his, and I had a new bike. I had to keep that bike a lot longer than I wanted, and I grew out of it pretty quickly. I created a big stir when I traded the bike for a used 3-speed English racer in questionable shape.

And that led to a renewal of the grandfather deal, and this time I was a worldly 12 year old and aware of the value of a dollar and I knew that I could buy a 26 inch silver Murray a lot cheaper than a Schwinn, and it didn't take me long to save my half of the money. I got a bike that was functional, but certainly nothing to brag about. It got me around town just fine, in fact it had the slightly narrower 1.75 tires, which was nice. But there was a new wave of bikes coming out. The 10-speed! And teenagers were riding them, even adults were riding them. They were sleek, shiny, engineering wonders. They were very cool.

Having that perfectly okay Murray worked to my advantage that year. It gave me time to study and research bikes. My friends and I pored over catalogs and went to the bike shops looking at the 10-speeds that were available.

There were really only three 10-speed bikes any of us had ever seen. The Schwinn Varsity, the Schwinn Continental and (rarely) the Schwinn Paramount. But this was a college town, and soon we were hearing about the European invasion of Raleighs and Peugeots and Motobecanes, to name just a few.

As every kid got a Varsity as soon as possible, I bided my time. I had too new of a bike to deserve a trade-up. I would have to save the money myself. And the longer I had to wait, the more time I had to read and learn about quality components and frames. A few dedicated friends at that time were doing the same research. A European bike was going to be the only suitable steed for me. Lugged frame, 27 inch wheels. I needed center-pull brakes and a decent derailleur. Throughout 7th grade I saved my lunch money, subsisting on 2 cent cartons of milk and 10 cent bananas.

I had over 100 bucks when summer hit. And that was enough. I could buy a bike, if I could find one. Problem? Meet solution. Endre's Bike Shop in Belleville, Illinois had the Raleigh Record. It was a really decent bike, better in my estimation than the Schwinns I could afford. We found it in my size and took it home and it was the greatest bike of all time.

For about two weeks. My yellow Raleigh Record was stolen from our garage on Lindenwood, chained to a post. The thief cut the lock with bolt cutters. A year of savings vanished overnight. A year of research into the best bike and components, gone in an instance.

* * *

My dad said that insurance covered the theft. Forty years later, I doubt it. I think he felt so bad for me that he gave me the money to get a new bike. I couldn't get another Raleigh Record. But at a small bike shop in Smithton, Illinois -- Macks' Bike Shop -- I found a new bike which I would drag around with me for thirty years. It was a Dutch made bike by The Royal Dutch Gazelle company, the Tour de Lavenier. It was an exact duplicate, made under agreement with Raleigh, of the Grand Prix.

The Grand Prix was a better bike all around than the Record, so it was a nice step up. I put a Brooks B17 on it and a lightweight rear carrier. I upgraded to Weinmann center pull brakes and a Simplex Prestige derailleur. I learned to tear it down and rebuild it to the smallest ball bearing. I rode it to school, then to college. And then it sat in shed and garages over the years as I quit riding, then decided only to ride coaster brake bikes many years later.

I left the bike in a garage many moves ago. I guess I'll never know if it ended up in a landfill or at a flea market or in the hands of some aficionado who saw in it what I had seen so many years before.

Early Bikes - Part One

When I was about eleven years old a friend of mine, David Boyle, showed up with a few modifications on his bike. He had replaced the chainring on his Schwinn Stingray with a larger gear. This made it harder to pedal. I asked him why he wanted his bike to be harder to pedal, and he said it was because it was better exercise. Well, and it made it go faster. I guess he was always the kind of guy who wanted to push a little harder. David went on to become a Marine and, unfortunately, at the young age of 19 died in service to his country.

* * *

When I think back on that conversation, it was probably the first time I ever thought of bicycling as exercise. For kids, bikes are fun, freedom, mobility and sport. I got my first bike at the age of four. It was a 20" black Schwinn coaster brake bike. I rode on the sidewalk in front of the house with training wheels and screamed bloody murder when my dad tried to remove them. In a compromise, he left one on. But I couldn't figure the system out, couldn't learn to ride a bike.

The transformation to a functioning bike rider required the intervention of next door neighbor Lou "Buddy" Kessel. Buddy had two older sisters, and he was a couple years older than me. He'd been through this, and had a great idea: start by learning to ride a girl's bike. He brought out his sister Barb's bike, and it turned out he was on to something. Without that top bar, it was a lot easier to straddle and get my balance. Instantly I took off riding. No training wheels. No idea how to stop this crazy thing now that I'd started.

So I just stayed on and kept riding. He ran next to me. I finally glided next to some steps where I could put out a foot and stop with some dignity.

For a few days I wanted my dad to get me a girl's bike. He was wise to resist. Actually, I was able to transfer the technique to my own bike very easily. And then I was a true bike rider.

* * *

During the school year in Kindergarten a new school opened. They were closing the two-room schoolhouse (Old LeClaire) that I went to, and which had Kindergarten and First Grade classes, and we were moving to the new LeClaire School. The entire school walked the distance on Transition Day.

It was a pretty long walk to the new school, so neighbor Chris Kane and I began riding our bikes to the new school. After about a week we were called to the principal's office. Kindergarteners were not allowed to ride bikes to school. We would have to wait until next year. Frankly, the trouble we caused that year walking could have been avoided if they'd just let us ride our bikes.

It was at Chris's house that I first saw an adult bicycle. He took me into his parents' room to show me (no touching) his dad's English Racer. It was a slender tall three speed wonder. I've wanted a bike like that all my life. Someday. An English three-speed racer with leather saddle and bag, fenders, headlight, the works. Someday.

* * *

Bike = Fun, Freedom, Mobility, Sport. And Exercise.

[caption id="attachment_20" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="1950 Raleigh Roadster 3-speed "Sir Walter""][/caption]