Retro Bike Fix

I goofed.  The kids were all dressed to swim at our local pool, I fixed an earlier dinner, I drove them to the pool, we walked in, I started to pay, and the receptionist told me I had the wrong day of the week.  There were no Public Swim hours at 7pm on Wednesdays.

Luckily, my kids were not disappointed as we headed back to the car. They quickly found a back up plan of inviting neighbors out to ride bikes in our cul-de-sac. Whew.

My husband worked late that night and came home about the same time.  I warmed up his dinner and we both ventured to the front porch to catch up and watch the kids ride their bikes.  There is something cool going on on our porch and patios this summer. My husband and I have the best talks!  Maybe it is the fresh air that gives us new insight compared to chatting indoors.

Anyway ....

My husband's wheels were turning as he watched our son with his two friend switching bikes, riding through the sprinkler water that was hitting the sidewalk, rushing down the one and only steep driveway on our block, and listening to them chat about their bikes. He went in and came out with a stack of his business cards and some tape.  We did not have poker cards and a clothes pin.

Next thing you know, the three boys are getting their Bike's Retrofitted.  Take a listen to the video and remember back to the 70's and 80's (maybe 90's?? By then I was grown up). Brings my husband and I both back to our summer bike days as kids with cards on the spokes of our tires.


The boys LOVED it.

However, we noticed instantly that the boys could not hear us talking to them over the loud sound of their new "motor"bike. That part is a drawback, but we'll work around that for the sake of good, summer time Retro Bike fun.

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I received this email from my dad and I think it is amazing, really, when you stop to think how long trends, fads, things to pass down from generation to generation that do not involve big business have been traveled. And, my dad is super cute in his writing:

Hi Elle J.

The retro-fit goes back further than I remember, the 40's and 50's, as it was the "motor" of choice of us young wanna-be motorcyclists. We were eco friendly and didn't realize it. The hardest part of the whole experience was stealing those spring loaded clothes pins from mom as they were more expensive than the regular push pins and were prized by both of us and had to be shared. We didn't have "tape" or "business cards" to fall back on but good old fashion light weight card board worked as well too.

I'm sure if you'd ask your Uncle he would tell you that the "motor" was available in the 30's, after all, I learned from him.

Love you, Dad