MikeFoley Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 (edited) I would like to hear about those special bicycles of Christmas past. The first one I recall was maroon with a fire-flame banana seat and chrome fenders, but hey it was the '70s. Rode it down the street on December 25th, and pretty much every sunny day thereafter. Took me places I needed to go, wanted to go, and got me out of there in a hurry sometimes too. Edited December 1, 2008 by fomeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 (edited) I didn't get a bike for Christmas (got those in the summer) but I CLEARLY remember getting my Crossman 760 rifle for Christmas. I almost froze to death shooting it out in our garage...and it sits in my safe to this day. When I did get my first bike I had training wheels for only 2 weeks then I was off to the races! Edited December 1, 2008 by hk_mtbr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John2A Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Man I got a Schwin it was black with yellow mags. That thing was awesome. It was my first bike with hand brakes. Man did I love that thing. Washed it every week when dad washed his car. I don't know how many miles I put on that bike but it was worn out when I was done with it. Thanks for the thread and the good memories it brought back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpops Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Ahhhh, the green metalic Schwinn "Stingray"...with banana seat! That bike was the bomb! I remember a few months later...coming home with fork extensions installed.....had the chopper look in the 70's. The look on my parents face was priceless. Needless to say, the bike was restored to original configuration before the day was over. I thought I would not live to see the age of 11! Want to take a trip down memory lane? Do a google search. I cant remember the website but there is a guy selling the old Schwinns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken hebert Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Never could believe that my parents got me a bike for Christmas. We lived 7 miles from the nearest town on a 640 acre rice farm and ranch, and at the time I already had a 3 wheeler. I mean, like, where exactly was I going to ride that thing? It was a regular WalMart copy of a BMX and I literally had no real places to ride it. That, and why would I pedal when I can use the throttle? And the 3-Wheeler had a gun rack! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 OK guys, here it is, the challenge: If you got a bike as kid and enjoyed it, if you have one now, if you just want to do something nice for someone else... PLEASE go down to Walmart and buy a $50-$100 bike, add a $10 helmet, and a $3 lock...take it to your fire station, Marine Corps office, Toys for Tots, etc. and leave it there for distribution to a kid who will get it for Christmas. All of us in this sport are so fortunate, and we could miss a meal out, or a movie, or drinks and make someone's holiday very special. I bought mine on Sunday, get yours and post back here to let others know. This isn't just for those of you who posted, but lurkers too. Mods, if this is more appropriate elsewhere, feel free to move it. Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterment Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Mike, That was an incredibly reflective request you have bestowed upon us. It is also a request I am happy to say has been completed. I was out and about doing my Christmas shopping and was at WM and remembered reading your post a couple of days ago. So I found a bike and helmet and was walking up to the check out line and heard some one say, "Wow, someone is getting a new bike for Christmas." This person was not speaking to me, she made this comment to the person she was shopping with. I realized what an exceptionally good thing this was. I thought for a moment and remembered that I had some Thanksgiving holiday pay, so I actually bought two bikes and two helmets. Again on my way out the door I heard another make the comment that some one was getting a bike for Christmas. That feels good... Delivering the magic, Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterment Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 AWESOME PHIL, THANKS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpops Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Glad to report....bike purchase is in the works. Some co-workers may follow! Great idea! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatD Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Interesting thread. When I was a kid my dad got me a tricked out Schwinn, silver with black and yellow logos and Tuff Wheel 2's. Great bike. Rode it everywhere for quite a few years and had it up to about 5 years ago when it was saved from my mothers basement and sold in her yard sale for like $20.00. AI'll have to get over to target and take a look at the bikes and helmets. Here at work, we do a similar thing where we sponsor children who are less fortunate at Christmas time. The Fauquier county jaycees does all of the coordinating. I can tell you that 4 year old Savannah is going to have a really great Christmas. The Jaycees brought us 10 little cards with childrens names on them. Every last one was snapped up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 GREAT STUFF GUYS, KEEP IT COMING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterment Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 10, 2008 Author Share Posted December 10, 2008 "I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike. Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwmagnus Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 OK guys, here it is, the challenge: If you got a bike as kid and enjoyed it, if you have one now, if you just want to do something nice for someone else...PLEASE go down to Walmart and buy a $50-$100 bike, add a $10 helmet, and a $3 lock...take it to your fire station, Marine Corps office, Toys for Tots, etc. and leave it there for distribution to a kid who will get it for Christmas. Thanks, Mike Great idea, I'm in! My wife and I were just talking about getting toys into the Toys for Tots program earlier this year and I think the BIKE & helmet idea is awesome. Kids and bikes go hand in hand. Let's see my earliest memory is of my Dad and I putting together a single speed Schwinn that I think came from Sears. Many busted and scraped knuckles later we had her operational. I can't remember the color but like many here I rode the wheels of it. Times never really change while not a XMAS present I bought a Trek Fuel EX 8.0 and got killer deal deal on it. Needless to say I'm back into mountian biking (almost as fun as IPSC ). This bike is just insane to ride, very trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpeltier Posted December 11, 2008 Share Posted December 11, 2008 This is a story of a Bike i gave, not recieved for Christmas. In 1980 as I was finishing up high school I came upon my dads old bike in the garage. It was in very poor shape, rusted spokes, bent wheel, bent fork, and just pretty neglected for many years. I remember seeing it all of my life but never gave it any thought. I asked him what he planned for it and said he was going to throw it away. I asked for it and he said sure. I took it to a local bike shop to have the fork straightened and they said $10.00 and give me a couple of weeks. Well soon after I dropped it off I joined the Army, shipped out to basic training and proceeded to forget about the old bike for the next four years. When I returned home I found the stubb from the bike shop and called, they were still in business and said i would have to come down to personally look for the bike as they had a few unclaimed but none are cataloged. A few was an understatement, they had perhaps a couple thousand in the basement of that bike shop. Took about an hour of searching till I found it, matching tag hanging from the handle bars, fork straightened. Paid the $10.00 (shop owner refused to take more that I offered for the storage) and took the next 2 years to restore it. The Bike is a Raliegh (Notingham England) Greg Harris Road model, Linton Grand Prix 8 speed. It turns out that my dad had done some work for a bike shop in 1959/1960 and the shop owner had a bad month and could not pay cash so traded my dad for his choice of bike. He made a good choice. This bike has a Brooks leather saddle, The following components are aluminum=rims, wheel hubs,brakes, break levers,tire pump, shifters, the frame is Reynolds 531 chrome molly tubing. It was in its day a state of the art bicycle. All parts I used in the restoratrion are European to keep with the authenticity of the origins. The paint was the biggest challenge. It was covered with years of road grime and dried grease/oil. When I finally got it cleaned it was a marvel. The base color is a metalic gold with Hand painted lettering and leaf/scrollwork all over the place. The second biggest challenge was finding a replacement tire pump, as the original had dissapeared long ago. Every frame size used a size specific pump. I searched every bike shop for miles till I found the correct one. After reassembling the entire bike and making some final adjustments I took it for a ride. WOW what a machine, a smoother and more nimble bike I have yet to ride. I then and there decided to give it back to my dad for christmas, that was in 1986. He had tears in his eyes, as he met my mom the year he got it and rode it to visit her many many times. It was that sentiment that had him hold onto it for so many years even though it was in bad shape. He still rides it to this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 11, 2008 Author Share Posted December 11, 2008 Great stuff guys, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 12, 2008 Author Share Posted December 12, 2008 So yesterday we went the Salvation Army Angel Tree and looked over the 700 kids left. Most were boys. Many wanted bikes. We got another bike setup and some other items and took them by last night. This morning they only have 160 kids left in our area. Thanks again to all of you who did this. I have no affiliation with any group. I just wanted to do this myself, and see if I could get some of you to do the same. You guys rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betterment Posted December 12, 2008 Share Posted December 12, 2008 I am pretty sure I will be doing this every Christmas. I am only 26 hopefuly there are alot more left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 13, 2008 Author Share Posted December 13, 2008 Bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 Used Western Flyer for Christmas the year I started the first grade. It astonished me as my family lived in a one room concrete block house with a bare concrete floor and I never ever even considered that I might actually get a bicycle.... I remember my dad patching the tires and then my first ride on a bike. I fell over a few times and then kinda got the hang of it and blasted off down the gravel caliche road. After a couple of trips up and down to the gate where the fence separating us (the migrant workers) from the rest of the farm I decided I could ride with no hands like the older kids. It was several weeks before the scabs went away or softened up enough for me to ride it again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeFoley Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighVelocity Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 when I was 13, I got a Raleigh 10 speed for Christmas. It was a deep red and had a lot of chrome on it. I rode that thing all over Fort Bend County for about a year, then got a motorcycle and the bike was history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosler4570 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 It was a monarch bicycle with a banana seat,chrome fenders etc and it make me feel like i was king of the hill. good times,memories of those days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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