A friend sent me one of those "Remember when . . ." emails and I thought you all might appreciate 3 that were bike related.
Remember when . . .
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I shared the first and last one with my wife and kids some time ago. I wish kids still got those experiences
No technology, not even a watch. Rule was home before the street lights came on. Then we just rode our quarter pipe under the sodium vapor light on the barn
We have some semblance of the last one in our neighborhood now. One particular house that's by the park and pool house seems to be the congregation point. Bikes always scattered all over the yard. About 6 months ago I built a little kicker ramp out of scrap wood and clandestinely dropped it off at the curb one night. It gets good use from what I see
No technology, not even a watch. Rule was home before the street lights came on. Then we just rode our quarter pipe under the sodium vapor light on the barn
We have some semblance of the last one in our neighborhood now. One particular house that's by the park and pool house seems to be the congregation point. Bikes always scattered all over the yard. About 6 months ago I built a little kicker ramp out of scrap wood and clandestinely dropped it off at the curb one night. It gets good use from what I see
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Is technology a problem for your kids? Don't buy them a phone. Problem solved. My kids seem alright (other than the fact they're like me).
Oh yea... Those were the days. Seeing certain bike tracks or the bikes lying about could mean some good friends being around or some times the neighborhood "gang" of older kids who are best avoided to not get beaten up.
Remember riding to see if a friend is home only to notice his bike missing or several more being there? I wonder if today's kids would even notice such clues.
I used to go with my cousin riding all day, morning to late evening, there was nobody watching us, no helmets, no cellphones, just the adventure of going where ever doing what ever. My trusty old Helkama Kulkuri got tested many times, I found it to be a very good runaway vehicle when the ground got too hot. Everything unnecessary stripped away, narrow slick tires, 3-speed Sachs Torpedo in the back, that thing was so handy. Loved that speed, it was faster than what most of my friends had back then.
Remember riding to see if a friend is home only to notice his bike missing or several more being there? I wonder if today's kids would even notice such clues.
I used to go with my cousin riding all day, morning to late evening, there was nobody watching us, no helmets, no cellphones, just the adventure of going where ever doing what ever. My trusty old Helkama Kulkuri got tested many times, I found it to be a very good runaway vehicle when the ground got too hot.
Everything unnecessary stripped away, narrow slick tires, 3-speed Sachs Torpedo in the back, that thing was so handy. Loved that speed, it was faster than what most of my friends had back then.
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Remember when you had to go to the local bike store to buy parts or to just stare at all the “jewelery” in the glass cabinets. I remember being 16 and spending a day with a few mates traveling on the train to all ends of the city with our bmx bikes to visit new bike stores.
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This was one of the most famous bike stores in Melbourne, Australia. Photo was taken years earlier but they built top end race frames and had all the good bits for road bikes to bmx. I remember the store filled with USA Diamond Backs, mongooses, redlines....... Astor radio was an Australian brand. My dad worked at the factory in the 40’s.
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"I used to go with my cousin riding all day, morning to late evening, there was nobody watching us, no helmets, no cellphones, just the adventure of going where ever doing what ever. "
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For me it was a J C Penny's Swinger 20". Same situation ran the streets of Tampa, FL all day no problem. Neighborhood Union 76 gas station owner would fix our bike flats for free.
I can really relate to the picture of all the bikes gathered at a house. Also, in the Vintage Bicycle Thread there is the kid on a 20" jumping over his friends off a ramp. I think it is one of the best pictures on RRB. We never had anyone lie in front of us like that but we jumped a bunch of ramps.
https://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?attachments/img_2959-jpg.93620/
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For me it was a J C Penny's Swinger 20". Same situation ran the streets of Tampa, FL all day no problem. Neighborhood Union 76 gas station owner would fix our bike flats for free.
I can really relate to the picture of all the bikes gathered at a house. Also, in the Vintage Bicycle Thread there is the kid on a 20" jumping over his friends off a ramp. I think it is one of the best pictures on RRB. We never had anyone lie in front of us like that but we jumped a bunch of ramps.
https://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?attachments/img_2959-jpg.93620/
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MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
I'm glad that I grew up on the cusp of the mechanical and computing ages. I'm not lost by today's tech, but I also understand mechanical stuff well and gained confidence to tackle anything (well almost—I know my limitations) by doing and learning things on my own without someone always looking over my shoulder.
We used these to surprisingly good effect to drive Canada geese from our ponds when even some coyote attacks weren't enough. Not cheap, but what price is a turd-free lawn? Of course, a solar panel, light sensor, and a traffic barrel strobe light on some kind of mount would do the job for cheaper.
https://www.awaywithgeese.com/product/water-unit/
We used these to surprisingly good effect to drive Canada geese from our ponds when even some coyote attacks weren't enough. Not cheap, but what price is a turd-free lawn? Of course, a solar panel, light sensor, and a traffic barrel strobe light on some kind of mount would do the job for cheaper.
https://www.awaywithgeese.com/product/water-unit/
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We recently had a problem with Indian Mynas doing their business on our back verandah as they watched the sunset. I hung a couple of old cds from the exposed rafters and left the verandah light on and they’ve disappeared.
Now you'll get cockatoos stealing your CDs just to mess with you
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I didn't know Cockatoos like Buble. Not fussed if they do as someone left them at my house one Christmas!
Remember when.........before technology took over..........motor vehicle operators watched where the vehicle was going ?
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
You don't anymore?!
crazy to think when I was 12 I'd go off all day long on my Huffy muscle bike (1976 Stars n Stripes) and sometimes be as far away as 8 miles in the next town. We lived in Waterford CT and rode to New London shopping center and New London Mall. We'd be home at dark. How did our parents not worry about us? Maybe they did. Sad that my kids will not know that kind of freedom an exploration until they are much older (about 39-40 haha).
