After we consulted Fr. Jeff, we went bike shopping and I got an el cheapo from Target. $80!!! Hopefully it doesn't fall apart with me on it. But in case it does, I got a helmet too. Safety first!
I'm debating wearing the helmet to work tomorrow. I look like a dork in it but that's half the fun. Actually, I don't understand the whole helmet craze. [ANGRY OLD MAN RANT STARTS HERE] When I was growing up, no one had helmets. I'm sure there were occasional head traumas, but we survived. I was once screwing around and somehow caught my foot in the front wheel while my bike was moving - causing the whole thing to flip on top of me. It's a wonder I lived through that.
Anyways, the whole bike thing has brought back some childhood memories. I don't actually recall learning to ride a bike but the bicycles themselves were signs of maturity. It was a big deal in my family when you got your first "ten-speed" it meant you weren't tooling around the neighborhood on a "kid's" bike anymore. My first "adult" bike was maroon. But actually I rather enjoyed the hand-me-down bikes from my dad's childhood. I had a gold sparkly schwinn with a banana seat and a gear shifter knob right on the frame. But the ultimate was my Dad's bike. It looks a whole lot like Pee Wee Herman's bike. It's even got a built in horn that required a couple of D batteries. It's a real smooth ride on account of it's giant shocks and tremendous size and weight. And the best part was it was no other kid in the neighborhood had one like it.
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without reading the post below, your post reads like you were asking fr. jeff for advice about bicycles.
bike helmets might not have been used much in our day, but neither were seat belts or child seats in the car. i was two cars ahead of someone who hit a bicyclist on the way to work one day. it's better to have the safety equipment & look like a doofus than not & have serious injuries.
don't forget about the bicycle parades where we used streamers in our spokes during the block parties.
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