The more I thought about them the more I missed some and others, not so much. So I decided to drag the 5 people who read this on a trip down memory lane.
The Tricycle:
Strictly speaking this is not a bike but it was the first thing I remember having that had wheels that I could ride - apart from maybe a Postman Pat van...
In fact I don't remember ever actually pedaling it. I only remember the pedals being broken and just spinning. I do remember the fact that it was red, black and yellow and that you could attach a handle to the back and get pushed along - something we used to do with my sister when she was little. I think the pedals were directly in the wheel though (not in the middle like the picture). However what I most remember was riding it down the slope in my parents back garden when I was younger. Often leading to crashes and much hilarity for all. I think it was here that both my enjoyment of XC and fear of falling were born!
My trike was very similar to this but I am sure the pedals were on the front wheel and the seat was black.
The Raleigh Burner:
Looking back at my bike history I have had a lot of Raleigh bikes. This is fine because they are a solid make, however it does not lend a very exotic bent to proceedings!
The Burner was my first true bike although I am sure I always referred to it as a BMX! It started with stabilizers and I remember learning to ride on a pub lawn by falling off many times until I got my balance. I think this was done on grass as my Mum expected me to bin it quite a lot and didn't want the bike scratched up! I also have memories of riding this on whilst wearing a GIANT polystyrene helmet that made me look like Toad from Mario - safety first eh?
I had this bike for an absolute age until I was physically too big for it. I rode it to my Nan's and back, up and down my street, wherever I could really. I also remember my first large crash on this where we were riding down towards a nearby park and I pulled my front brake exclusively. Head over handlebars and into some bushes and nettles.
Good times!
Apart from the Dennis the Menace stickers and some 'clickers' in the spokes this is pretty much how I remember the Raleigh except I am sure it was badged as a BMX!
The Unknown Bike:
I remember a Christmas where we all got new bikes. I remember it was my first mountain bike. I remember it was a bike I first started doing paper rounds on. I remember crashing it lots and racing my friends down the street. I can't remember any other details on it. I have no idea where it went, what colour or brand it was. Strange how I have such vivid memories of all the others apart from this bike.
Raleigh BMX:
I think owing to breaking the first mountain bike or outgrowing it I ended up bike-less. This as you can image was a tragedy for me. Although I don't recall it being a major incident just something that happened. One day I had a mountain bike, the next day I ended up with my neighbours old BMX.
This was a strange thing, I must have been 13+ but I really don't remember the transition. I just remember cold mornings opening the garage to fetch out the BMX in the dark. I remember it being the heaviest bike in the world and I also remember it being an absolute pig to pedal. Yet of all the bikes I have had this is the one I miss the most. From a paper boy point of view it was great, could be mistreated as much as possible - no gears, one brake (I think), tiny wheels that never seemed to puncture - brilliant.
I remember my most stylish crash on this bike too, going down the hill on my parents street in the snow and the bike skidded out from under me, owing to the bike not being high off the ground I landed fairly softly (snow as well) and then skidded down the rest of the hill on my paper bag.
Lots of fun but slightly scary as I got towards the main road at the bottom!
The picture below is pretty much how I remember the bike but I am sure the frame was MUCH larger and the wheels were tiny! Although this might be a distortion of the truth based on the fact it was so hard to pedal! As I said I really want another BMX but am told I'm not allowed - the other half says I would look ridiculous on one, she is probably right too.
Maybe.
I remember the BMX being really hard to pedal but a lot of fun once you got it up to speed.
The Ragazzi:
At some point it was decided that I couldn't continue with the BMX (which mysteriously disappeared shortly after) and a new mountain bike was needed. What was chosen was a full suspension Ragazzi in blue and yellow, yes I am in the photo below but I couldn't find another one! Anyway I kept this bike right through from being a teenage to a late 20's person. It was a lot of fun to ride, even if it gave me the most mechanical problems ever! I remember changing tires, broken gears and exploding rear shocks!
Still I got a lot of riding out of it and lots of enjoyment, plus it was easier to pedal than the BMX!
One downside was that one bike rides with my mates I discovered that I was not as strong at riding as I always remembered myself being. Often being left behind and lagging for both power and energy. Something to this day that I am still trying to improve on! However I also remember being the quickest down Bardy Lane of all my friends, even though it was rapid and had some very blind corners - this daredevil approach to downhilling has completely gone now!
I do also remember freaking out whenever the bike fell over (happened a lot) and touching up the paint work with model paint! Odd what comes back to you when you have a little think...
I had a love/hate relationship with this bike but it served me well for many years!
The deathtrap (Coventry Eagle Colorado)
This one is worth mentioning for the fact that I brought it as a stop gap bike to get some fitness in. It then broke and got condemned by a bike shop. I fixed it myself (to a fashion) and smashed it about the Downs. The deathtrap name comes from Geoff who upon learning that the brakes did nothing wondered how I hadn't killed myself on it. It works fine now, if you were going to only ride it on bridleways and roads, but I would not recommend XC for it!
Despite the limitations I have gotten a lot of XC use out of the Colorado!
The current stable:
I have written about the Scorpio and the P7 before so I won't add to it here except to point out these are my current bikes.
Extras:
Below are the Emmelle Prestige road bike and Raleigh Mercury that I have 'restored' (basically cleaned up and got working) and will be selling as soon as I get them from my parents house. Although I am tempted to keep the Emmelle for commuting but I don't have room really...
The one that got away:
When my Grandad retired, that is to say stopped getting paid for work but still worked fixing things up for people, he was given a Raleigh 3 Roadster (I think - seems to be the one that matches my memory the best).
I always remember him riding this bike all over, I remember the bike always seeming to be massive to me, I also remember it sitting in our shed gently rusting away after he passed and the sadness that my Mum had when she finally skipped it.
He loved riding his bike - although he was a very dangerous and wobbly rider - and I remember him being upset when he finally had to stop riding. I never got to ride this bike although I would have loved to.
With the rise of restored vintage bikes maybe one day I will get to own a Roadster too.
There we have it, a quick sprawl down memory lane (on a bike naturally). Would be interested to hear what bikes people have owned and what they remember about them.
Chris.
No comments:
Post a Comment