Okay, so I was mulling around about how I absolutely NEEDED a bike for this summer. Some friends and I have been eyeing a couple of trails around my area, and on top of that, I get an email from RRB.com. (an online presence that I honestly have been neglecting since my previous Build Off attempt.....That women's pre-war Western Flyer has relocated to some sort of uncertain grave.</3).
"Hey Ian! time to remind you that you really want a bike and oh yeah, by Sunday!"
Tension is building inside me..... I've been scouring the rural thrift shops and dumpy flea markets for weeks now. I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT TO THE END OF THIS TRAIL!!!!(sobbing uncontrollably)
But alas, a sign from god! I went to church for once and as my sweet lady and I zipped home to get some sleep I remembered a dream of a black cruiser with teeny little pinstripes and a drop stand.....
"Oh wait a second! I got it! Isn't there a couple of flea warehouses we pass on the way home??"
I peek around, make sure to note that I shouldn't get involved with the absolutely outrageous amount of used vinyl that was around this place(oh god help me). Low and behold, this guy with a cowboy hat has 4 bikes marked "50's - $60".
Now, two of these were complete bull. A Huffy that had to be at least 90's and another Western Flyer that had me remembering of a certain bi-pedaller from my past.... but I pretty much immediately fell in love with this kinda rusty Montgomery Ward Hawthorne that seemed accurate. I force choked Cowboy Hat into submission of $50 as my final, and then proceeded to try and figure out how to fit this hunk of junk into my already packed sedan. I made it guys, I am back on [the] board!
After the giddiness settled (just kidding, it hasn't even yet.), I became aware that I had to name this thing..... It took a second, but then I remembered where this concept grew from initially. I swear it came to me in a dream, pretty quickly after I had viewed the film 'Amelie' a couple of months ago. The bike in the film likely sprouted my regaining of vintage bike interest, but I still remember vivid pictured of a sleek black bike, thin white pinstripes, and white wall wheels of course. And who might have given me this dream? Well, being the Gaiman fanatic that I am, I could only assume that the King of Dreams himself was the culprit. I want to state here that if you haven't even glanced at Gaiman's Sandman series, it is hands down one of the most important articles of reading in the past 20 years. Beautiful artwork, sincere storytelling, and just generally a good ride(badum tiss). So Here we are, Morpheus Bike Build 2016. Here are some references for the uninformed
soo kawaii
Now here is the bike in question. I would love input on the year as I cannot find much on these Hawthornes save the badge seems to be anywhere between 50's and early 60's. Serial number is 75SH.
"Hey Ian! time to remind you that you really want a bike and oh yeah, by Sunday!"
Tension is building inside me..... I've been scouring the rural thrift shops and dumpy flea markets for weeks now. I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT TO THE END OF THIS TRAIL!!!!(sobbing uncontrollably)
But alas, a sign from god! I went to church for once and as my sweet lady and I zipped home to get some sleep I remembered a dream of a black cruiser with teeny little pinstripes and a drop stand.....
"Oh wait a second! I got it! Isn't there a couple of flea warehouses we pass on the way home??"
I peek around, make sure to note that I shouldn't get involved with the absolutely outrageous amount of used vinyl that was around this place(oh god help me). Low and behold, this guy with a cowboy hat has 4 bikes marked "50's - $60".
Now, two of these were complete bull. A Huffy that had to be at least 90's and another Western Flyer that had me remembering of a certain bi-pedaller from my past.... but I pretty much immediately fell in love with this kinda rusty Montgomery Ward Hawthorne that seemed accurate. I force choked Cowboy Hat into submission of $50 as my final, and then proceeded to try and figure out how to fit this hunk of junk into my already packed sedan. I made it guys, I am back on [the] board!
After the giddiness settled (just kidding, it hasn't even yet.), I became aware that I had to name this thing..... It took a second, but then I remembered where this concept grew from initially. I swear it came to me in a dream, pretty quickly after I had viewed the film 'Amelie' a couple of months ago. The bike in the film likely sprouted my regaining of vintage bike interest, but I still remember vivid pictured of a sleek black bike, thin white pinstripes, and white wall wheels of course. And who might have given me this dream? Well, being the Gaiman fanatic that I am, I could only assume that the King of Dreams himself was the culprit. I want to state here that if you haven't even glanced at Gaiman's Sandman series, it is hands down one of the most important articles of reading in the past 20 years. Beautiful artwork, sincere storytelling, and just generally a good ride(badum tiss). So Here we are, Morpheus Bike Build 2016. Here are some references for the uninformed
soo kawaiiNow here is the bike in question. I would love input on the year as I cannot find much on these Hawthornes save the badge seems to be anywhere between 50's and early 60's. Serial number is 75SH.
