Remember when

I rarely use suntan lotion. I'm French/Irish. I don't burn, but I don't tan either.

 

I had the Lemon Peeler in bright yellow. Clipped playing cards in the spokes or wove a long balloon in the spokes to get the cool sound. Until the cards got too bent or the balloon burst. At one time you could buy color molded rear tires. Then when you`d throw it into a powerslide you`d leave colored marks instead of black.

 

My bike was my social media in the late 80’s/ early 90’s. We woke up at 8 on the weekends and stayed out until dark with friends going to other friends houses. Kids are deprived now days

 

I was chatting with some former co-workers over refreshing adult beverages. One of my mates asked the table, "What was the best gift you ever got as a kid?" I replied, "No question, my Schwinn. It gave me freedom to do things and not be dependent on adults to shuttle me around." After much thought, everyone (at least those who had a bike) agreed. For me, back in the mid-70's to early 80's, there was even less social media / kids entertainment. You were left up to your own imagination.

The bicycle, for a kid, gave your freedom to roam and explore. I too, would leave the house pretty much after brekkie and come home to shit, eat, and maybe pick up something else (like my glove). I can't imagine that my childhood would have been as exciting if I didn't have a bicycle to cruise around on.. The only question we had to ask was, "How far do you think we can go and still make it back for dinner?" and "Do you know the way back?"

 

I'll be the brave one to say it..young.

Yup I remember having coloured tires on my BMX when I was about 7. Currently have at least one bike with pink.

Same starting in the late 70s.

I was talking to a coworker recently about that..I'm 48 and still ride. My bike was in no real order:

Recreation
Sporting..never did team sports and racing/trick competitions gave me that experience.
Work..throwing papers, mowing lawns, my regular job before I had a car..
Kept me active instead of going around drinking and getting in trouble.

While a different style my Schwinn Predator is up there with my old AMF I got when I was 7. Still have one just like the Schwinn.

 

One of the best gifts, especially during wet and near freezing temps as a youth..

Edit: notice Christmas hat

 

I dont have the track set up but I still play with them.. lol.

 

I had a hand-me down slot-track racing set... It actually was nailed down to a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Could never keep it out for any long periods of time, since it took up a lot of room that others in the house really needed to use. I still have some of the cars, but alas, not the track anymore. I LOVED the smell of the electric motors..

When that system bit the dust, my dad got me a "Power Passers" set, where you could change lanes on the straightaway. The tracks had high walls, and the curved sections had this snap on deck lid that kept the cars in the track and not flying across the room (as they didn't have pins).

Good memories...

 

Same in the early 60's. The 'hot' bike back then was the Schwinn Wildcat with hi-rise handlebars and a banana seat. By the late sixty's it was 10-speed bikes with skinny skinny tires.

EDIT.... memory failing. Schwinn must have been Stingray, wildcat was a Murray bike.

 

I had that same set -- it was the biggest, baddest track set they made. I used to make straightaways down the halls to see how fast I could get those cars going!

 

Green Gremlin?

 

I never saw green Krates in person, but saw plenty of Ross Apollo bikes in green when I was a kid... Was the green gremlin that lie-down big-wheel type thing? (Maybe that was the green-machine...)
Actually, the Krates were quite rare in my neck of the woods, and by the late 70's, I don't even think they were made. Most "Sting Rays" were red or blue... Some had 3-speed hubs; most had one speed and a coaster-brake.

 

Kid in neighborhood had a green bike, it had a slick-like tyre in rear & small(?) wheel up front. No shifter either. That's all I can remember.

 

Those slot cars are huge! We used to go out to a track & rent a slot by the hour.

Some did racing competitions. In later years, the cars were so fast that they were blurs!

 

they are 1:32 scale Carrera slots

 

I had the regular AF/X 1:64 cars and then G-plus came out! Holy shnikes!

 

These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart say, 'For fast relief.'

 

Ive seen some sold intentionionally without icing!

 

What kind of crazy person would buy those??