There is something so nostalgic about BMX bikes. Although I still ride them, and maybe this is why, they just remind me of being a kid. I used to spend every waking moment on my bike, a Mongoose. I remember flipping it over, resting it on its seat and grips, and meticulously washing and cleaning every inch of it. I took better care of that thing than I do my own car these days. She was my first taste of freedom.
I found these shots while on one of my weekly reads over at DEFGRIP. You just can't look at these without smiling. Kids being kids when the most important thing was having fun. Makes me wanna go out and buy a 5th bike.
June 22, 2009
Back In The Day...
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18 comments:
"You just can't look at these without smiling."
Amen, brother! You nailed it with this statement; I smiled involuntarily while looking through these old photos.
It's funny...I was just talking to an old buddy of mine about how we don't seem capable of having that good ole' free & innocent "kid" kind of fun anymore. We met at summer camp (Arts Camp 82')--we were both 11 then. We didn't know what stress or anger were yet...
We're 38 now--grumpy old(er) men! Anyway...
I had a huffy back in the day. I remember saving my allowance FOR WEEKS (remember getting allowance, by the way--ha ha?) in order to buy these cool "Oakley 3" hand grips. Memories. To quote Edith & Archie Bunker, "Thooose were the daaaays."
We were doing the same thing back in the UK, getting all the US mags that sported Bob Haro on the cover and drooling over the bikes that still hadn’t hit our shores yet.
I had my PK-Ripper knock-off and raced it with pride in the back alleys of suburban London. I had my racing plate on; a lone number 7 for my GP bike hero Barry Sheen.
Great stuff from a fellow old dude…at a not-so-ripe age of 39!
Neil
I loved BMX, it was the first taste of freedom as you say. Your comment of flipping your bike upside down and cleaning every inch is spot on. I spent hours getting it just right. I changed the amount of teeth on my sprockets to get just the right power. Thanks for the nostalgia.
I would never in my wildest dreams have guessed that BMX bikes were this cool. Maybe it’s the warm, faded colors on these Polaroids? Or maybe the incessant action?
How old you guys think I am? Damn. No matter. You're never too old for a BMX.
Nice post Nick. We often had two bikes. The "good" bike for riding to school, etc and the "hack" bike for trashing over jumps and down tracks. The hack bike was not pretty; cobbled together from a collection of found bits and dead bikes. More often a Frankenstein monster type death trap than a real bike whose chain would fly off at the most innappropriate times. Oh, and as with the kids in the Polaroids, we wore no helmets.
I fondly remember jumping my bikes over dirt ramps and riding for HOURS as a kid. I stepped on a GT the other day for probably the first time in over 15 years and was just kind of stupified by it all. You know the saying "You can't forget how to ride a bike"? I think I forgot how to ride a bike.
LOVE LOVE LOVE these. i am way too much of a wuss to try this myself but i love bikes and watching other people be brave w/them. my brother used to do trials and would hop over obstacle courses. he also rode a unicycle but that is a story for another day.
(ps LOVE your blog, glad to have found it)
Andy's got an early 80s Mongoose. It's rad. It's what keeps him young. Well..... that and his awesome wife who bought him the Mongoose.
little does anyone know, nick is actually 14 yrs old. he's a crafty lil fcuker and patina'd these to 'appear' vintage. this is him and his crew last weekend, taken right after he rolled up his lemonade stand.
nice shots!
THIS IS SO GREAT!!! >>> smiling! <<<
Great 'roids, brings back memories of growing up on KC's southside in the eighties and hearing the neighborhood stories of the BMX Brigade; Dennis McCoy, Rick Thorne plus a whole host of other rif raf.
Amazing pics. I have an original CW Racing "Z' Frame for sale. Any interest?
Anon-
Hell yea. How rad would a Z frame be in my garage? I'm afraid the monetary issue may hold me up though. I take donations... Loving home and all???? No? Okay.
I remember when I was just a kid I was the one catching air. Now I'm old and fat and would probably hurt myself. :(
First stitches on bike, first made friends on a bike, first swear word on a bike. Now I work in a bike shop and ride my bike every day.
There were 20 inch bikes when I was a kid but they were called "sidewalk bikes". No one over the age of 8 would be caught dead riding one. We would rather walk than ride anything but a 26, preferably a coaster brake stripper with fenders, kickstand etc. removed. Times have changed, enjoy your memories.
Very cool. I smiled looking through the pics as a reflection of my days on a bike, in 'those days'.
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