Cars were muscular, gas mileage was low. There were no seatbelts. Kids didn’t wear bike helmets, there were no helmets. Suntan lotion was just that, it helped you baste and broil and fry in the sun. There was no SPF factor. TANG, Easy Cheese and SPAM. Eddy Merckx was kicking ass. Richard Nixon was about to get his ass kicked. Elvis was getting fat. Euro style “ten-speed” bikes were all the rage. Cycling was getting popular as recreation but the oil crisis made people really start to think of bikes as transportation and not just toys.
I’m not saying those were the days. But I am saying I grew up with a
’71 Monte Carlo and didn‘t wear seatbelts, I rode the shit out of my
Sting Ray for hours unsupervised after school. I never saw a bike helmet until 1991. I had a dark, even tan as a kid and sun bleached blonde hair. I ate loads of
TANG I even ate the powder dry by the cupful in front of the TV until my hands and face were orange. I never heard of
Eddy Merckx didn’t care about Nixon but I liked Elvis. I inherited my grandfather’s Schwinn
Le Tour drop bar Euro racing 10-speed. It was nine sizes too big. I could barely get on the thing and reach the pedals but I rode it until it got stolen. Maybe those were the days.
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