In the mid- fifties my father bought me a Royce Union thin tired coaster braked bike. All my friends had ballooners. In 1967 I bought a brand new orange gold Astra, a Motobecane made bike (I beleive) with a Brooks saddle for $65 to start my freshman year at the UofA. My parents flipped when they realized how much I spent for a bike. I drove it into the ground to class, political demonstrations, on and off road and the parts became part of a sculpture years later. I've found a few Astras over the years, but never the gold one. It is the bike that opened the world of cycling to me.
Art Smith
Phoenix\u20ac