Ok, so over the last couple years I have picked up a couple of old school BMX rides when they have come my way cheap, but I am NOT a BMX connoisseur. As a kid, my only BMX bike was a department store Huffy-type thing that was spray bombed black with yellow Tuff Rims lookalikes. But I had lots of friends with Mongooses and Redlines and Hutches and like that, and my younger brother had an '83 Predator with the 8-bit Space Invaders-type graphics that I watched him upgrade piece by piece, so I am the right age to have an appreciation for early BMX stuff. Some of the guys in the group I ride with are really into it too, so when they shared the information for an Old School/Mid School BMX ride just up the road in Harrisburg, I figured I'd tune up the crusty old Scrambler I pieced together recently and see what it was all about. Verdict: It was a really good time.
I was a little apprehensive at first because I was riding a bike that's worth less than some of these guys' handgrips, but everybody was very cool. I am told that some of these bikes are a pretty big deal:
We started with a lap of City Island in Harrisburg, near Senators Stadium, then cruised around downtown Harrisburg and stopped at Arooga's for frosty beverages. The diehards stuck around long enough to go back to City Island for ice cream before heading home.
They organize a ride like this every fall; this was the first time they tried it in the spring. My goal is to come back with a bike that has a freewheel, since I had the only coaster brake there today.
I was a little apprehensive at first because I was riding a bike that's worth less than some of these guys' handgrips, but everybody was very cool. I am told that some of these bikes are a pretty big deal:
We started with a lap of City Island in Harrisburg, near Senators Stadium, then cruised around downtown Harrisburg and stopped at Arooga's for frosty beverages. The diehards stuck around long enough to go back to City Island for ice cream before heading home.
They organize a ride like this every fall; this was the first time they tried it in the spring. My goal is to come back with a bike that has a freewheel, since I had the only coaster brake there today.
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