The Stingray
I rode my Stingray from age 8 or 9, until I received my 10-speed around my 13th birthday. My travels with the Stingray were limited to my universe at the time -- those five or six streets that linked the neighborhood pool, swamp, a local baseball diamond and my friend's houses.
The Stingray was versatile. Baseball gloves could be hung from the handle bars. It would power up and down the hills and trails of the local swamp (now a protected wetland area). It was sturdy enough to fly over the variety of home made jumps we built from scraps of lumber and concrete blocks. My friends and I even tried to mimic Evel Knievel and jump over each other's bikes.
The Stingray has grown a slight cult following, with dozens of web sites dedicated to them. They've become popular enough that Schwinn has brought the Classic Stingray back after a 25 year hiatus.
The 10-Speed
My next bike reflected my desire to travel longer distances from home, and changing interests of a young teenager. Everyone had to have a 10-speed of some type with either the Schwinn Continental or the Schwinn Varsity being the most common.
The Varisty, in contrast to the Stingray, could no longer fly off jumps, and it was near useless on the muddy earth and loose sand of the local swamp. However it was very good at covering longer distances.
Covering longer distances was important. My universe was no longer limited to my home neighborhood. I had friends at school that lived in other neighborhoods, and there were girls in those neighborhoods.
Sports also made the 10-speed bikes a necessity. It was a six-mile round trip to baseball practice (according to MapQuest). A trip made nearly every day in the summer. There were lifeguard jobs at the pools in other neighborhoods.
My life had grown from one that existed inside a half-mile radius of my home, to one that roamed as far as my legs could take me (before I had to be home for dinner, or in for the night). The 10-speed was the best I could do short of a driver's license and a car.
What bike(s) did you ride? Where did they take you?
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2 comments:
Ahh yes. I remember our childhood bikes as well. What sticks out most for me is the time you "fixed" the brakes on my 10 speed. Not being able to stop well, of course, led to the inevitable crash that broke my arm. If I recall; I was following you, you stopped quickly, I couldn't, I crashed.
Remind me to never let you work on the brakes of my car.
I used to ride my Stingray all over the South Side of Indianapolis. I vividly remember using Interstate 65 as my personl roadway before they opened it to traffic. Fond memories. Thanks for the memory apark.
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