At the bottom of THE River (NOLA)

[datman504]

Greetings from the mouth of the MISSISSIPPI River (or thereabouts). I have enjoyed the Gallery on RatRodBikes.com for years, and I thought that I had joined about two years ago, but couldn't find my correct login. Anyway, I've loved riding bicycles my whole life - and now I'm trying to build a collection of Cruisers for street riding. No mountains or even hills around here, so I'll continue to take it to the streets. I am glad to report that the bicycle culture is really growing in New Orleans, and there's an increase in the number of bicycle-centric social gatherings and group rides taking place. You should see how many people ride their bikes to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival each year.

Anyway, I'm really impressed with the skill, creativity, and sense of community that are displayed in the forums. Thanks to RatRod and all of the moderators for keeping it going.

I am looking forward to building a collection of bikes and parts, and then I hope to get creative with the customizations. I'm not a welder or fabricator, but I am a DIY guy whenever possible. Thanks to all the creative geniuses out there for sharing their art and trading ideas with other bike-lovers. Hope you all have a safe and happy summer.
Peace. And WHO DAT?!
Duane a.k.a. DATMAN504

 

[junknutz1975]

Welcome aboard!!

Looking forward to checking out your pics :wink:

 

[MartianSky]

Hello, I'm Michelle from northern MN!
I found this forum while looking online for info on Mongoose Beast bikes.
Lots of great info and pictures here to get me interested in bikes again.
I was one of the first girls/women to race bmx in MN way back in the late 70s early 80s.
I still have my Redline that I raced then.
I dont get out to ride often but now that I bought a Beast I will be out riding it along with my other bikes.
I have a Giant Dub chopper bike that Im turning into a trike.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and ideas!

 

[datman504]

Hey, thanks to junknutz1975 and Michelle for the Welcome.

Michelle, I had a Mongoose that I got in 6th grade (around 1979 - 1980) and I'm not exaggerating that I probably put 5000 miles on that bad boy. It was red with the red 5-spoke plastic-polymer(?) mag wheels. I started saving my money and added blue alloy handlebars, blue alloy pedals and blue alloy seat post clamp, etc. I absolutely loved that bike. Unfortunately, we had a garage fire in 1988. The bike wasn't badly damaged, but I was in college at the time and my dad screwed up and gave the bike away. I'm still upset about that :roll: I always wanted to get into the BMX racing, but I'm not sure how many opportunities there were in NOLA at the time. If you had a REDLINE or a Roger DeCosta, you were cooler than the kids with a mere Mongoose or a Schwinn Mag Scrambler... 8)

 

[extraplay]

Glad to know that there is another bike collector in N.O. .....I live in Kenner and would like to see some pictures of your collection. I have a few bikes and a few parts, I am always looking for locally for parts and bikes. Welcome, Tony

 

[Lowlife Lucas]

Welcome!

 

[datman504]

Thanks, Tony and LowLife.
I don't have a "collection" yet, but I'm starting to work on it. Tony, that's a crazy amount of bikes that you picked up on (I saw in one or two of your threads). Some really cool, older bikes. I've always liked the tank bikes - old or new. You have a lot of work in front of you. But, then again, if you're doing something that you love, it's not really like "Work" work. Just effort and reward. I will post some pics when I get my triple tree forks that I ordered for my Electra Hellbilly. Happy Memorial Day, all.
Ride On!