Hello!
About 6 months ago I was over at my middle 30's married daughters rustic 10 Acre place and noticed her old pink Ladies bike lying outside in a rough old 'lean to' shed under a pile of rubbish. I don't know what possessed me, normally I'd just mutter quietly to myself and drive away. But not this time; I asked her if I she'd mind if I took it home and cleaned it up. 'Of course not Dad', she said.
I extricated it (VERY gingerly, we have dangerous snakes in this part of the world) tossed it into the back of the Station Wagon and took it home. I'd say from the look of the tires and ancient, outdated telephone numbers on the frame, this bike was manufactured some time in the 1970's. I removed both tires and wheels, discovered they were 70c size and went down to the bike shop to get replacements. Two tires and tubes $130.00 AUD (Our dollar is $0.85 to $0.90 US) and struggled fitting them, but eventually I got it done. The bike has 18 Gears, brakes were OK but I gave the frame a big clean up using cut and polish compound, the pink pain had fainted where years of sun exposure had got to it but essentially it scrubbed up well. Time to get astride the thing and go for a ride.
I cannot remember how many decades its been since I was astride a pushbike, at least 40 years. I can say when I took off (Very Gingerly) I had the same thrill I got when I at age 4 or 5 I stepped on both pedals of my Dad's ladies bike after spending days using it with one leg on the pedal, like a scooter. That thrill never left me and I'm hooked once again. However, as you have gathered if you've read so far, I'm now a LOT older and getting bike fit is an issue I'm now dealing with. I now ride 30 to 45 minutes every day, each time a bit further than before and I'm getting stronger by the day.
The bike is, I've discovered looking at other bikes, rather a good thing. It's very light, especially compared to a 3/4 Mountain Bike I took off my son-in-law. This is too small for me. I have also acquired a small Moped from a friend, this is powered by a 30cc SACHS two stroke hub motor which recently gave up the ghost for want of an ignition spark. Interesting thing, at least to me, is that THIS bike is an immensely stronger and heavier build machine than the Pink Lady bike I began with. It has no gears and I imagine even without the purpose built little helper motor it would be quite an effort to use, especially on the hills. I'll get the spark fixed and use this machine. It's a 1982 build, but hardly ever used. The tires are the originals with the 'beads' on them, hardly any wear at all. My friend bought it for his missus after she lost her license being six (!) times over the alcohol limit. That was about six years ago, she was unable to ride this bike because she is very slightly built and constantly under the influence, poor girl. They have since divorced, she's remarried and most days still drinks, poor girl.
I still have two cars, a nice low mileage Mercedes and an old but immaculate Porsche 944 which I part restored some years ago. I haven't driven either for months, and in this economy Cars like my old Porsche are worth nothing. What I'm trying to do is get fit after a hip replacement and take it from me, there's no better way I can think of than a bike.
About 6 months ago I was over at my middle 30's married daughters rustic 10 Acre place and noticed her old pink Ladies bike lying outside in a rough old 'lean to' shed under a pile of rubbish. I don't know what possessed me, normally I'd just mutter quietly to myself and drive away. But not this time; I asked her if I she'd mind if I took it home and cleaned it up. 'Of course not Dad', she said.
I extricated it (VERY gingerly, we have dangerous snakes in this part of the world) tossed it into the back of the Station Wagon and took it home. I'd say from the look of the tires and ancient, outdated telephone numbers on the frame, this bike was manufactured some time in the 1970's. I removed both tires and wheels, discovered they were 70c size and went down to the bike shop to get replacements. Two tires and tubes $130.00 AUD (Our dollar is $0.85 to $0.90 US) and struggled fitting them, but eventually I got it done. The bike has 18 Gears, brakes were OK but I gave the frame a big clean up using cut and polish compound, the pink pain had fainted where years of sun exposure had got to it but essentially it scrubbed up well. Time to get astride the thing and go for a ride.
I cannot remember how many decades its been since I was astride a pushbike, at least 40 years. I can say when I took off (Very Gingerly) I had the same thrill I got when I at age 4 or 5 I stepped on both pedals of my Dad's ladies bike after spending days using it with one leg on the pedal, like a scooter. That thrill never left me and I'm hooked once again. However, as you have gathered if you've read so far, I'm now a LOT older and getting bike fit is an issue I'm now dealing with. I now ride 30 to 45 minutes every day, each time a bit further than before and I'm getting stronger by the day.
The bike is, I've discovered looking at other bikes, rather a good thing. It's very light, especially compared to a 3/4 Mountain Bike I took off my son-in-law. This is too small for me. I have also acquired a small Moped from a friend, this is powered by a 30cc SACHS two stroke hub motor which recently gave up the ghost for want of an ignition spark. Interesting thing, at least to me, is that THIS bike is an immensely stronger and heavier build machine than the Pink Lady bike I began with. It has no gears and I imagine even without the purpose built little helper motor it would be quite an effort to use, especially on the hills. I'll get the spark fixed and use this machine. It's a 1982 build, but hardly ever used. The tires are the originals with the 'beads' on them, hardly any wear at all. My friend bought it for his missus after she lost her license being six (!) times over the alcohol limit. That was about six years ago, she was unable to ride this bike because she is very slightly built and constantly under the influence, poor girl. They have since divorced, she's remarried and most days still drinks, poor girl.
I still have two cars, a nice low mileage Mercedes and an old but immaculate Porsche 944 which I part restored some years ago. I haven't driven either for months, and in this economy Cars like my old Porsche are worth nothing. What I'm trying to do is get fit after a hip replacement and take it from me, there's no better way I can think of than a bike.
I agree that bikes at "our" age, can keep us young. They work great for knee replacements..........I didn't pick up on an Australian accent in your writing, so where ya from originally? :lol:
