Saturday, January 3, 2015

BICYCLES...

For me, getting my first bicycle was my ticket to freedom!
          We lived in Portland then, and my best friend lived down the street; I actually learned to ride on her bike, then got one of my own for my birthday; we rode all over the West End together.

If my eighth birthday had been in 1902, I probably would have received a Sears “Josephine” bicycle (the boys’ model was called “Napolean”). It had wheels made of “the very finest swaged piano wire spokes,” high-quality hubs, bearings, an adjustable handle bar (with “internal expander,” whatever that was); it had a drop curved frame with dress and chain guards – can you imagine catching your 1902 long skirt in that chain mechanism? Also had handsome front and rear crown forks, double tube pneumatic tires; it weighed 28 pounds and came with a ten days’ trial period.




 In 1916, the Charles William Stores in New York (another mail order house) carried the “Overland Special” for only $23.95. It was available in three sizes (20, 22 or 24 inches), had rubber extension grips for the handle bars, a “saddle that is different,” and was “smashing all records for tremendous popularity.” Front sprocket had 26 teeth, rear had 8 or 9. Came in two colors: London smoke or battleship gray with a red head and red hairline striping. Also had mud guards – a great improvement over the earlier models.






But if I’d turned eight in 1930, it would have been a Elgin Streamline bicycle – all models were named for birds – suggesting freedom, flight. Boys could have a Cardinal or a Blue Bird for $32.25; less expensive models were the Red-bird or the Oriole. Women and girls were limited to one model (why am I not surprised?) called the Swallow.
The boys had options of headlamp, horn, luggage carrier and bike stand; they also had a choice of either a red or blue bike.
Girls were limited to blue (see my comment above), but they got to have a “laced skirt guard,” which seems to me a rather dubious plus.

I guess I was lucky: I turned eight in 1954, and by then, girls were allowed to wear pants for outdoor recreation – I never had to worry about catching my skirt/dress in the chain.


I probably would have done it on purpose.

16 comments:

  1. My first attempt to ride a bike resulted in a badly broken arm, which probably delayed getting my own bike. I rode my second bike to school in fifth grade, and dresses were required for school then. I think long pants may have been more likely to get caught than short skirts.

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    1. Well, I would have done anything to not have to wear dresses at that age, so catching it in the chain would have been a perfect solution for me!

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  2. My first & only bike was a second-hand fixer-upper, but boy, did my Dad fix it up! It was a beautiful shade of turquoise-blue, had white-wall tires, 3-speeds, fancy white handle grips with red & green reflector gems on the ends, plus a large front basket & a loud horn. It was a 12th birthday present & I loved it. I rode well, but took a few spills now & again because I was a bit of a dare-devil. Luckily, I never broke anything, but our medicine chest was full of bandaids for scrapes & bruises.

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    1. And wasn't it wonderful to have that sense of freedom? I remember it clearly -- felt like an adult, for crying out loud! I had a wicker basket; had fringe things coming out of the hand grips...boy, it was something!

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  3. What an interesting reflection on bikes. They are so popular over here at the moment (the after-effects of the Tour de France) but all the slinky smooth crafted designer bikes you see today don't seem to have the joy of those early bikes you illustrate.

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    1. They're pretty popular over here, too, Alan -- but you're right: the joy seems to be gone, and everybody takes it so seriously...helmets and special shorts and goggles, etc. Where's the fun in THAT?

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  4. I remember my bike having a chain guard in the 1960s, when riding to school was the in thing, and presumably protected our school tunics (uniform). Where are the photos of you on your bike?

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    1. I've got a couple, Jo, but pretty boring shots: me standing, posing, next to my bike. And by the time I was in high school, nobody would be caught on a bike...it meant you didn't have a junker, you didn't have any status!

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  5. Terrific adverts! One time many years ago I met an old woman in rural England who told me a story of how the bicycle transformed her life when she was a young girl in the 1915-1925 era. She described that liberating freedom of being on two wheels with such passion it made a very memorable moment for me.

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    1. That's how I felt about it, too. There was something about being in total control of it all...I could go places at what felt like breakneck speed; could do it all by myself -- it was wonderful!

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  6. Interesting old adverts, although the descriptions aren’t very appealing. Battleship Grey and London Smoke - oh, yes please!

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    1. Reminds me of Henry Ford, who said that people could buy his Model Ts in any color they wanted, as long as it was black.

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  7. You're going to need these ads again in a couple weeks. HA! I'm sure I never realized the flat piece over the back wheel was a luggage carrier -- I thought it was a seat.

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    1. I know, Wendy -- luggage? On a bicycle? Really? We sat on it, too -- sidesaddle, even -- and once I actually stood on it (did not turn out well...).

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