Barn fresh find

[jmagruder10]

I picked this up last night . A sears free sprit 5 speed . It is a Murray Elininator F5 in sears clothing. I got it from a co worker , the original owner.
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc185/jmagruder10/freespirt5.jpg



It is not cleaned up yet . This is how I found it after I plucked it out of the barn rafters. $35

 

[Clothespin n]

very cool Find..
That's a Beauty!

Kev.

 

[user 135]

great score. "Barn Find" must be a term you only get in the midwest.

I am waiting to find my Barn chocked full of bikes.

 

[Bicyclerick]

Nice find. Bring it by the shop so I can see it in person.

 

[Hooch]

great find!
and here in the midwest lots of barns built in the late teens early 20s were built from boards from dismantled board tracks in des moines, chicago, kansas city and omaha

copied from the des moines speedway website

The Des Moines Speedway was a mile in circumference. The straight aways were pitched ten degrees and the turns forty degrees. Speeds of over 100 miles per hour were assured by designers. The face of the speedway was built of 2x4's laid on edge. It was reported that 210 laborers were employed. In addition, more than three million feet of lumber and 45 tons of nails were required in construction of the great speedway at a cost of ninety-thousand dollars.
Unfortunately for the speedway, 1916 was the final year of racing. Many of the big name drivers were joining the war effort. In addition, attendance never again reached that of its glorious opening in 1915. In 1917, after a failed attempt by J. Alex Sloan to bring I.M.C.A. to the speedway, and the speedway company being named as defendant in a lawsuit, the track was dismantled and the wood was sold throughout central Iowa to satisfy creditors. It is rumored that many of the barns and other wooden buildings in the area built from 1917 to 1918 still stand with timber from the old board raceway.

 

[user 135]

Hooch, Thanks for the history. I love learning about the history of items that are unseen to the majority.

 

[RatFink]

!

That is cool history! :lol:

 

[tomb]

Another little know fact about the board tracks, is in some, there would be carpenters underneath tightning things up after the cars/cycles raced by.

Also, from my understanding, it was not uncommon for kids to climb the structure underneath and poke their heads through the holes in the track caused by crashes, only to duck out right before the racers drove by!

What a great time to be alive...

 

[Hooch]

heres a link
http://www.iowalink.com/users/lball/

sorry for hijacking your post but its still a cool bike! and barn finds are always the funnest

 

[Lightfoot]

That's an interesting bit of history Hooch.

The only thing I ever find in barns around here are cows and horses :lol:

I think the total lack of vintage bikes in my area must have to do with the primitive condition of the roads up through the 50's. Kids here rode horses not bikes. In the 60's and 70's when I was growing up here, we still had quite a few unpaved streets in the city limits. The local paper here prints a vintage photo every week usually circa 1900-late 50's and I don't remember ever seeing a kid on a bike in one, lots of kids on horses though. We also have a nasty weed called a goat head with thorny seeds that are heck on tubes. All the kids around here were experts at patching tubes. :lol: The goat head problem doesn't seem as bad now that the town has built up and got all civilized.

Anyways, I envy you guys in other parts of the country that seem to have an endless supply of old bikes to pick from.

Dennis

 

[goldz56]

heres a link
http://www.iowalink.com/users/lball/

gr8 link hooch.