Yesterday I said goodbye to an old friend. This buddy of mine was with me from my later days in elementary school all the way through high school when I got my license. For the past 16 years, this pal has hung out in the garage.
I had two bikes growing up as a kid. The first one was a Sears brand dirt bike. It was black and I rode the wheels off of it. At some point in the 4th or 5th grade, I saved up some money and bought this gently used (it was at the time) blue Schwinn from a friend of a friend. I trekked a ton of miles on it. I only wish I had an odometer on it to see just how many. In my mind, I would imagine that I put, literally, 10,000 miles on it. My ride from the old house to school was ten miles alone and then the ride to Jeff's (my best friend) was another five miles on top of that. Since I hung out at his house all the time, I was putting 30 mile round trips on that thing regularly.
...at least, that's what I thought. Earlier this year I went back and looked up exactly how many MILES I was traveling to school. It turned out to be a little less than a half of a mile. That trip to Jeff's might have been a mile--maybe.
But who cares how many miles I put on this bike. It was a great bike. I kept it hanging in the garage of our new house from the time we moved in, convinced that someday I'd clean it up and give it the respect it deserved, but yesterday I finally threw it into the van and took it to Goodwill. I hope someone enjoys it.
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7 comments:
I feel down after reading this, like I want to go buy the bike at the Goodwill.
I just got back from Goodwill again. They didn't have the bike anymore, but I was able to sell my 14 year old son.
Sometimes in life we have to make hard decisions. Everything is a trade off.
I wish I could think of some REALLY funny clichés but right now this is all I got.
There is a Foo Fighters song that every line is a cliché. Clever.
Some kid is going to love that bike. I remember my first 10 speed was a brown Huffy and I got it for Christmas. I had it for a long time and was so proud of that bike. There's nothing like getting a new bike for Christmas. Take care and have a good week. Kellan
I still ride my 22+ year old Schwinn to work now and then in the summer. Some guy at the bike store told me it would cost $150 or so to get it fixed up right but really, do you need BOTH sets of brakes? LONG LIVE THE SCHWINN!
Mr. Shumway,
I remember my 'first' bike. I had to use a cement block to get on the thing to ride it. Then I finally learned how to mount the bike without the block. I felt I had arrived! I know how it's difficult to pass with something that has meant a lot to you.
By the way, thanks for commenting on my blog, I appreciate it so much!
Be well,
Randy
Something about that title and the picture made me laugh my head off. Um,...that's a VERY high seat you had on that bike.
How many times I've dropped something off at Goodwill and wanted to run back in and buy it back. Sigh.
Blessings,
~Toni~
p.s. if I see it at the GW Outlet, I'm buying it back for you, lol.
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