After the price of oil went to $147 a barrel last summer I decided to change my driving habits. I stopped driving to the subway and started walking. I was planning on doing this before, but the perceived threat of peak oil made me decide it was time to do it. The subway is on the other side of a highway where I live so if I didn't want to cross it while dodging cars and trucks going at 70 mph, I had to walk through the woods to a bridge so I could go under the highway to get to the subway station. After being harassed by the subway employees while trying to hide from the trains so they wouldn't see me walking on the railroad tracks and beep their horn at me (freight train, not the subway tracks), I decided to go under another bridge that was farther away. A road goes under the second bridge and its all public property along the way to the subway. Naturally, riding a bike seemed like the answer. I didn't have to walk and got there faster on the bike. There's a pedestrian tunnel that goes under the railroad tracks at the station that you can walk a bike through, too, but can't take a motor vehicle through.
They have bike racks at the subway where you can lock your bike up and leave it there during the day. I didn't want to leave my ten speed there so I got my brother's bike out from under the house where it was for at least the last ten years, probably more, an old 1960's black Schwinn Deluxe Racer. I rode the bike for a while with the original Schwinn tires on it, but after seeing some tires on Ebay that have lower rolling resistance, I decided to get a set of them. I got some Kenda 26 x 1 3/8 inch tires and put them on. They seem to help make the pedalling a bit easier. A lot of grease and oil on the chain and in the wheels also helped. While looking around the internet for information about Schwinn bikes, I found this forum and the Schwinn forum and thought it was strange that there was so much interest in these old Schwinn bikes. I had a Schwinn Stingray in the 60's, too, as well as my brother and our friends in the 60's. I haven't seen any of these bikes in years. They always seemed to be hard to pedal and I just stayed with a ten speed from the 70's onward.
Here's some pictures of the Racer. The ten speed in the background of the first picture feels like its rocket powered compared to the Schwinn Racer, but after riding the Racer for a couple months I'm getting in better shape and its easier to ride. The Racer has the number B38181 on the frame.
Another 60's Schwinn Racer on this forum:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16408&p=170130
