Biker chick

Bubba (my grandpa) ran over my first bike with his VW bug. The VW was a '60's model, beige. And my bike was technically a trike - green with a white seat. It was the old kind of tricycle - the way the used to make them, out of metal.

My trike was similar to this one

It was my fault - I parked the trike right behind his car. Bub used to stop by our house at 202 Crombie for a cocktail on Friday nights when Dad got home from his week on the road. He probably wanted to hear about the Dad's sales gig - since he too was once a salesman.

The trike was okay with a little bending. But there was always a mark on the seat after that. I learned my lesson!

I must have had a "hand-me-down" bike after that. I remember training wheels. It was BIG when I got my next bike - a Sting Ray. It was so 70's cool. Mine was turquoise blue with a white basket on the front with plastic flowers. Useful for things like music books for riding to my piano lessons at Mrs. Sandhorst's house. I felt like a rebel on that bike. My friends (Robyn, Theresa, Lee Van Nostrand, Jill Grayson to name a few) and I rode around in little packs - taking up half of the streets of A-town.

Picture this in greenish blue with a basket

After I got to junior high age, I felt I had outgrown my bike. Then, the 10 Speed bike became popular. My parents took me to the Best Western Store in downtown Atlantic, I got a blue Western Flyer 10-Speed, with turned under racing handle bars.

My bike was blue with white tape

The first day I had it, I rode to Chris Deardorff's house to show it off. Riding down the big hill on 14th Street, I heard a big BANG. The tire went flat. On my NEW bike. How could it? Chris was watching for me to ride up, and I had to walk it. How embarrassing. Mom had to come get me so we could take it back and get it fixed.

I got a lot of use out of that bike. I rode it to softball practice, and when I got that job "pumping ethel" (working at Harry Hjortshoj's gas station pumping gas and doing the books), I rode it there too. I'm not sure what happened to it. I suppose Mom sold it at the garage sale when they sold the house.

My next bike was a Raleigh 18 speed (guess what color - right again, blue) from the Ames Bike store. Paul and I got the bikes in Ames - a matching set - a couple years after we got married. We rode them around the flattest town in Iowa - Osage. We lived there from 1984 - 1986. When we moved to Creston, since we had a bambino, we got a child carrier and a helmet and Paul hauled Amy around on the back of his. Of course Paul and I still didn't wear helmets - our heads weren't precious like our little angel's...

We kept those bikes for a long time. When we decided to "trade them in" on new bikes at a Bike World warehouse sale, they said they'd allow $15! Woohoo! So we took them home. Paul got his first good bike then at Bike World, since he was going on RAGBRAI. I didn't get a better bike until a few years ago when I purchased my brother-in-law Bud's bike  - a blue Trek crosstrainer - from sister Carol, after Bud passed away. It's a nice bike - but it's a guy's bike - a little too tall for me.

The pic doesn't do Whitey justice...can't wait to get her outside this weekend!

Now we live on a bike trail! So Monday I got my very own new bike at Bike World West. A white Trek crosstrainer. Not blue! I shall call her (it's a chick bike - but it doesn't look too girlie) Whitie. I won't be able to keep up with Pablo on his road bike - but it should be better than before. And I don't expect to be buying another bike for a long time.

Tuesday, my co-worker Scott and I walked to the State Library to pick up our Bike Passports and Des Moines area bike maps. Scott just got a new bike too, and he's now biking from his home on 31st Street in Des Moines to the Wallace Building each day. May is Bike month around here. I've been challenged to get stamps on my passport at various sites around the city. I may need to put a headlight on the new bike. A woman at work has talked about doing a bike ride together sometime.

I'm glad my long relationship with two (and three) wheels is continuing!