first bike, first post

I've been riding bikes since a very young age and this blog is supposed to be an outlet for bicycle related issues that I come across on the net, in the media or in my daily life. My aim is to have fun with this blog and use it as a tool, and an excuse to dive ever deeper into the swirling bottomless pool of bike culture. That's me on my first bike, a Schwinn Super De Luxe, convertible. I learned how to ride a bike on this one, starting out in the store with training wheels. This bike had a detachable top-tube so it could be sold as a boys or a girls bike. In my case this meant that I could ride it for a number of years, as the stand over hight was almost to high for me when I first got it, and this was even with the top tube off. The first few years I rode it without the top tube, and the last years with the top tube on and religiously keeping it there. I blocked it out of my mind that underneath it all this was really a girls bike. One day I felt like playing with wrenches and loosened the bolt that held the top tube in place... and voila! It was off, I remember being a little shocked and then quietly putting it back into place. Ingenious design, and tough as nails. The frame was built of lugged steel, single speed and coaster brake equipped. I think I remember tightening the chain on this bike once or twice and lubing it, but other than that it was virtually maintenance free. A bombproof ride and kind of cool looking too. Note the two bells on the chrome mustache bars; tres stylish. The springer seat is nice too, you could ride on that thing forever. The Schwinn lasted me a long time, but this was an era when BMX's were all the rage so I got on that wagon in my next step up the bicycle ladder. The next bike would be a BMX but I don't know what happened to the Schwinn. It was probably passed on to some friend of the family.