Just  a brief note…Maybe..So, since I was little, bicycles have been a huge part of my life…They have been family…friends to a kid , the youngest kid of a split family. Divorce was not very common in the 70’s which was the era of my youth…I had a hard time learning to ride as I was blinded in my right eye at 8 years old. Yes, I was a late bike bloomer…

When I finally mastered the two wheeled arts, I was hooked..I mean beyond words..This was SUCH freedom…Out the door and gone for hours without a trace or care in the world. Nothing mattered except trying to beat personal goals for speed,distance etc….My first bike was part of me. As beat up of a hand me down junker as she was, I wouldn’t have traded her for the world.

I remember going to the bike shop almost daily and staring at and sitting on this one particular BMX bike..I was fixated on this one for sure…I  wanted this one…No, NEEDED this one. A 1981 Raleigh Rampar R-10…Factory orange..

I dropped hints left and right about Christmas coming up and my desire for this bike..I tried all the tricks…”I’ll never ask for anything again” “I’ll shovel snow and clean my room” etc etc….Didn’t seem like I was getting through…

Well, Christmas morning came…I came into the living  room in our little apartment…No bike…I tried to act thrilled and grateful for the gifts I opened, but it was killing me…I knew even at that age money was tight and Mom was doing her best…Suddenly, Mom asked me to go out to the entry way hall and take out the trash or something like that…BAM SHAZAM!! I opened the front door   There she was in all her glory!!! My dream bike had come home to me!!! I think I may have cried a little…Somehow my glorious Mom had pulled it off!!! I hugged her and thanked her like never before, but honestly I couldn’t get my shoes on fast enough and despite the snow, I grabbed that baby and hit the street like I was running from the law!!! lol

This was the start of a cycling life and my true love of bicycles for a lifetime to come…..Stories will continue…I truly have so many bike stories and hope they touch you if you are a fan of these grand machines as much as I am…