My first true bike,( i.e. after the "Pixie") was a Hercules three speed English racer, with internal hub, that my Dad stripped and repainted black with a brush. In high school I repainted it a dark metallic green with a "Schwinn" rattle can paint and added drop handlebars. It got me through grade school, high school, and went to college with me. To this day it hangs in my parent's garage and when I visit, I often go into the garage at night and look at it for a few minutes, thinking of taking it down and refitting it. Some day perhaps. My disenchantment with the Hercules came when my younger brother got a Schwinn ten-speed (a Varsity as I recall). I would ride the Varsity whenever I could get it away from him, which by high school was fairly frequently.
In college, several of us on the floor wanted a new bike but were seriously strapped for cash. One of the guys found a motorcycle store in Macomb, IL which was repossessed by a bank and in the back were 4 Bianchis, covered with dust. We offered the bank $400 for the group and walked away with four bikes. This was fall of 1972. That bike would be my first ever "good" bike. It had steel rims and post, Valentino derailleurs, and Weinmann (?) centerpull brakes. Oddly enough, it came with Gnutti straight arm Q/R skewers, the ones that BC has listed as Very Rare ($75 - yep, still got the Gnutti skewers). The Bianchi has had many riders over the years, and currently lives in the basement. Its current incarnation is as a "path" fixie, which I ride for a good spin now and again.
12 years later I was gainfully employed with (finally) some discretionary funds. I splurged on a Trek 720, ($320). Over time it was upgraded to a Suntour triple crankset, (it was still a struggle to climb Mt Eden on those Sunday morning rides in the Bay). Also fitted it with racks for touring. Still have the Trek, but it is rarely ridden, more a commuter than anything else.
In 1993 I acquired a 'dale 3.0 and discovered the sports car feel of a tight wheel base and stiff rear triangle. In 1995 I picked up an Eddy Merckx EX-Pro when Motorola dropped sponsorship of the pro team. According to my wife, that's when the bike madness truly took off.
When did I start, in all seriousness, probably about 1972, with waning commitment here and there, but I've always had a bike ready to ride.
- Sid Smith, Bright but cool today in Chicago