When i was 15 in 1977 i bought a Sekai 2500. It was $235 with tax and that was about all the money in the world to me. I was terrified it would be stolen. For almost 2 years i rode it only on weekends, and then perhaps only on "priarie cycle club" tours in Urbana, Illinois. i finally decided it was a crime not to ride the thing and i decided to get all the enjoyment that i paid for out of the bike. it became my daily commuter bike. i rode it every day from 1979-1986, when it was stolen out of my garage because my roommates left the door open.
you see, it would have been stolen in 1986 whether i was riding it or not. i had greatly enhanced it, adding an eclipse bag, one of those white vertical lights, i built-in a charger, and bought low-voltage bulbs to get "nightrider" performance, and had special rain pants in the bag. i mourned for a few weeks and then bought a trek 500.
it is better to have had and to have ridden, then to have never ridden at all.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA