my first Barn !!!

[fast eddie]

so im on my way to arkansas for some gravity riding, i see a row of old bikes displayed in a front yard, i pull over, and i meet Bat (for short.)

Bat tells me he's got a ton of bikes and asks if i'd like to see them, uuhhmmm...YES !! so he shows me a few piles of bikes that are not so impressive...then we get to this pile of "older" bikes. NOW we're gettin somewhere!

those rusty parts are mostly model T parts, and under them all are a model T !! you can see some of it behind me in the pic below... wood rims and everything! but im still more interested in the bikes.

Bat asked me if i wanted to see his workshop. here im holding a tandem bicycle, the front chainring was a skip tooth, the two on the back were skiptooth, a sprocket a the bottom of the rear frames head tube was connected to the front frames head tube by a chain so that it could be steered from the rear, ill probably never get to hold a bike like this again! he also had a complete model t motor still on the wheeled rack that they were carried in the ford factory all those years ago, he had boxes and walls full of stuff that made my head spin! he's been at this a LONG time!!

then Bat asks me if i want to "see the vintage bikes in the barn" ive been waiting to hear that question for a long long time!!!

i think i have more pics, but they must be on my friends camera, this is all i got in the barn, but it was wall to wall old bikes, skirt gaurds, straightbar/skiptooths, beehive springers, baskets, racks, lights, tanks, spring seats, it was like heaven!!

there were two other barns that i didnt get to look in cuz i was in a hurry to get the mountains and make camp. Bat was saving the best for last, in one of those were the bikes he was "almost finished with" and a peek in the window showed the front end of a monarch silver king with those awesome forks that i have a repo of !! Bat would not sell me anything..yet! ill be back that way to ride again and im gonna stop by Bats house!!!
fast eddie

 

[Anonymous]

those are the cats you hate and love at the same time. hate that they won't come off nothing but you love to hang out with them checking out their stuff.

good score on the new friend!!

 

[user 135]

The hunt is better than the kill. Looks like a fun time even if you don't ever get anything.

 

[Gold Street Customs]

I just hope Bat dont slip in the drool you left and bang his......bellfree :lol:

 

[murraymadman]

i beleive that is a colson rear steer frame you are holding! very cool, one person could actually ride it from the rear.

 

[BankerRAt]

wow dude that what we alllll dream of.

 

[karfer67]

yes that is a colson rear steer wow imagine a colson rear steer burrito bike? :shock: and i want a model T that is a treasure pile for sure!!

 

[skoda]

Eddie, you needed to pull the "hug" bargaining tecnique. I.E. sell me this - or I am going to hug you. Long, uncomfortable...nevermind, he might have shot you....it might have been worth it. Thanks for sharing those, that's an awesome experience if nothing else. Crazy stuff still out there!

 

[fast eddie]

thats hilarious you say that cuz i considered the "hug technique" !! but i thought he was gonna hug me anyway so i kept that ace in my sleeve! he had old pedal cars, cars, parts, a ton of stuff besides just bikes and i know he could easily spend the next year making money online selling his collection. he know each bike and where it came from, i was trying buy but he seemed emotionally attached! he was tickled that i knew what i was looking at and that i appreciated it, otherwise i get the feeling he would not have given me the tour! his wife didnt seem to happy w/ all that stuff though!! ill stop by there again and bring a picture of him and i to give him for his collection, ill talk him into selling me one !!! that experience was just as cool as bombing the mountains at breakneck speeds!!!
fast eddie

 

[mybike1]

Those bikes look great. The smile on your face in all those pics tell the whole story. :mrgreen: Any pictures of the downhill racing? I have always been interested in that sort of thing but not many mountains here in northern Indiana

 

[Rat Rod]

Anyone else think that Bat and Eddie win the "two most unlikely to find common ground" award. :lol:

Awesome how bikes can bring the generations together.

I still think you should have got a shot with the two of you pullin' a Gene Simmons...ha ha.

 

[fast eddie]

there's always next time!! mike if ya wanna see some downhill pics there's a few shots on http://www.myspace.com/midwestgravityriders in the photo album for Memorial day fun run. if ya add it you can keep posted on midwest rides, you can prolly hit one or two and i'd be happy to help ya get started.
fast eddie

 

[roadmaster]

wow... i know what im dreaming about tonight. how we all dream of finding something like this, just wall to wall, layers of bikes. when i was like 10, i was into the electic train sets, and one day this old guy took me to his shop where he had an entire room set up with model trains. he had full on extras, hills, tunnels, little extras and such. point being, its really cool when these older guys open up their hobbies like that. he musta been collecting bikes and other stuff for a long time. very, very cool indeed.

 

[pjbaz]

Awesome!

My first barn was actually 2 garages, an old shed and a wicked pile of rusted metal- 2-3 piles at least 20 X 10 feet long each of what were once bicycles and are now "art."

This is not cruiser collection but the BMX stuff I bought from the guy's house. I had previously bought a couple of other BMX from his little bike shop which unfortunately is no longer in business.

Some of the highlights for you BMX folk- 1984 GT Pro Performer, Hutch Pro Racer, 24" Tuffs, 87 Haro Sport frame, 87 Haro FSX, etc.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

eddie that's a great story. way cool.

 

[Wildcat]

Too bad he won't sell any. It's like going fishing and throwing back all the big ones.