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My Hercules 3-speed bicycle.....
There are times I think about getting another bicycle, to run short errands to and from the grocery store, the library, and a few local restaurants.
I don't think I've ridden a bicycle since 1982 or 1983, when I started driving cars.
The bicycle I had was a Hercules 3-speed English racer. (I'm told it shouldn't be called an "English racer" as they were rarely used for racing.) I inherited the bicycle from one of my cousins, who gave it to my father for safe keeping, and kept it in the basement. When I was tall enough to ride it (either in 1975 or 1976), I took it out out of the basement, and started riding it.
I don't remember the dimensions of the wheels or tires, but it had "regular" handle bars (that didn't drop down like the handlebars of a 10-speed bike), and a Sturmey-Archer thumb-lever gearshift, which controlled the gears inside the hub or axle of the rear wheel. I later replaced it with a handlebar-handle gearshift. I also had it painted by airbrush -- the father of one of my neighborhood friends had an airbrush. (That's when I realized how heavy the steel frame was.) I made many trips to Ray's Bikes, a bicycle shop near me, for service and parts.
It was a joy to ride, especially on an open road. The furthest I went with it was in the summer of 1980, when I rode it all the way to Wilson NY and back, following state route 425.
When I stopped riding it in 1982 or 1983, my dad gave the bike to another cousin, who was younger than I, and soon started riding the bike.
Sometimes I wonder where that bicycle is now, or how much it would be worth.
I don't think I've ridden a bicycle since 1982 or 1983, when I started driving cars.
The bicycle I had was a Hercules 3-speed English racer. (I'm told it shouldn't be called an "English racer" as they were rarely used for racing.) I inherited the bicycle from one of my cousins, who gave it to my father for safe keeping, and kept it in the basement. When I was tall enough to ride it (either in 1975 or 1976), I took it out out of the basement, and started riding it.
I don't remember the dimensions of the wheels or tires, but it had "regular" handle bars (that didn't drop down like the handlebars of a 10-speed bike), and a Sturmey-Archer thumb-lever gearshift, which controlled the gears inside the hub or axle of the rear wheel. I later replaced it with a handlebar-handle gearshift. I also had it painted by airbrush -- the father of one of my neighborhood friends had an airbrush. (That's when I realized how heavy the steel frame was.) I made many trips to Ray's Bikes, a bicycle shop near me, for service and parts.
It was a joy to ride, especially on an open road. The furthest I went with it was in the summer of 1980, when I rode it all the way to Wilson NY and back, following state route 425.
When I stopped riding it in 1982 or 1983, my dad gave the bike to another cousin, who was younger than I, and soon started riding the bike.
Sometimes I wonder where that bicycle is now, or how much it would be worth.