Dan Burkhart 

Nope, not my birthday. That's next month. Lemme 'splain.
A few years back, a friend of mine gave me his old Schwinn tandem that he had bought new back in the 60s when he was in college. The bike was in totally rideable condition when he gave it to me, but as anyone who knows me can tell ya, I've never seen a non broken bicycle that I can't fix, so I lovingly restored and updated it, thinking the whole while about what great times my wife and I would have riding it.
Well, long story short, after all that work, my wife hated it, and I just could not get her into it. So, we still enjoy our rides together, only on separate bikes.
Anyway, the thing about old Schwinn bikes is, you can look up the build date from the serial number. During the course of the restoration, I discovered the build date was Oct 22, 1964.
I didn't give it a thought until I found myself at my storage unit this morning checking on things when I noticed the bike hanging forlornly and forgotten in the corner. It occurred to me then that today is the bikes birthday. Well, it just didn't seem right that it should hang there all year, and not even be taken for a ride on it's birthday, (I know, I know, inanimate objects don't care about birthdays), But I'm a sentimental old fool I guess, so I took it down off the hook and took it home.
I managed to talk my wife into giving it another try, but that's all it turned out to be. A try. On the first launch attempt, she was so nervous, she pulled one of the grips right off the handlebar. Back to the garage and give it a shot of hairspray so it would grip the bar a little better.
Did the trick, but she just couldn't get comfortable with it.
We circled the block a couple of times to see if she could get over her fears, but no dice.
Well, I didn't want to spoil today's ride for her, because it's most likely her last ride of the year.
Monday, she goes for major surgery, and her convalescence will last until the snow flies.
So, we grabbed a couple of solo bikes and went for a nice ride down to the waterfront.
Can't wait til she will be well enough to ride with me again.

teachme

Cool story...

Louis

Nice story, Dan.

Here's wishing your wife a successful surgery and a fast and complete recovery.

cranky old dude

Wishing you and your wife the best and hoping for a trouble-free and speedy recovery.

Good old Schwinn. We've got a late 60's or early 70's (I'll have to research the serial #) Schwinn Twin, 5 sp. out in the garage. It'll probably sit there until/if one of the daughters lays claim to it. Meanwhile, there are always a slew of neighbor kids who enjoy riding in the stoker's position.

When my bride could no longer ride our recumbent tandem her stoker position was filled by my pet skeleton, Mortimer. We took our inaugural ride together last Oct. 31st. I've heard that the neighbors for blocks around are eagerly anticipating his return to the streets next week. Maybe you could find yourself a pet skeleton to share your tandem with?!?!

Hillbasher

I am sure there are others besides myself that would love to see a picture of this,especially at this time of the year. Any chance?

cranky old dude

I don't want to hi-jack Dan's thread, so just hop on over to this thread from last year for a look-see....

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=mortimer

Hillbasher

Went and it gave this message "Hillbasher, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:"

cranky old dude

Sorry. My Bad, fixed it...it works now.

Dan Burkhart 

Thank you for the well wishes. My Schwinn was a 5 speed as well, until I tampered with it and made it an 8 speed.
Here's a video of the before and after shots.
I'll see if I can locate that site with the serial number data base for you.
Edit: Found it. https://www.angelfire.com/rant/allday...innCodes1.html

cranky old dude

Thanks Dan. Now I have a mission for my days off, other than wishing it wasn't raining.

You did a beautiful job on that old Schwinn. You should be proud.

That's a nice rack. It reminds me of the Hollywood SportRider2 and the Swagman.

I'm shopping for a rack that will be versitile enough to handle my LWB recumbents as well as my uprights. Yours looks to have a 1 1/4" bar for a nice snug fit into a 1 1/4" receiver. I'll assume the WB on your Schwinn is roughly around 70" (don't go out and measure it). How do you like your rack? Does it seem sturdy? Did you ever wish it had a 2" receiver bar for more strength or perhaps less bounce?

Dan Burkhart 

it is in fact a Hollywood Sportrider II. I love it because it handles the long wheelbase bikes with ease, and for the recumbent, I can invert the hook on the mast to cradle the frame from below.
It's a 1 1/4" receiver which is the only size available for our car without getting one custom made.
There is no bounce in the receiver, and the mounting bolt holds the bar tight in the receiver so there is no slop. Great rack for the money.

cranky old dude

Thanks again, Dan.

Dan Burkhart 

Thanks again for the well wishes for my wife. Her surgery went smoothly, and she is resting comfortably, thanks in part I'm sure, to some really good drugs.
She had a radical hysterectomy, so she will be a bit sore for a wee while.
Meanwhile, I'll get my biking in doing a couple of 12km round trips to the hospital daily for a few days. Beats the heck out of paying the out of this world parking rates at the hospital parking lot.
I swear, for the price of a day's parking, you should have a wing of the hospital named after you.

cranky old dude

Hey Dan, how's your bride doing? I'm hoping the recovery is going well.

O.K. , it appears that your Tandem is a few years older than mine. With serial # FG001328, I'm thinking June, 1971.

The serial # on my Town & Country is JJ533482 or September, 1973.

I also have a Schwinn Traveler with a 2-spd. kickback hub. I'm going to have to give it a looksee too.

This little exercise has inspired me to build a data base of all my bikes. It will include but not be limited to; serial numbers and decoding of the numbers, method and approximate date of aquisition, accessories, and who knows what else.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Dan Burkhart 

Hey, she's doing fine. The surgeon says everything looks clear, but there's still the pathology report to come some time in the next few weeks.
I wish all bike makers had a serial number data base with date of manufacture. Especially interesting for someone like me who likes to bring old bikes back to life.

qcpmsame 

Dan,
Glad to read your wife is doing well after her recovery form the surgery. Now when the weather warms back up maybe she will get out with you some.

Bill

Beverly

Glad to hear your wife is doing well after the surgery and I wish her a speedy recovery.

Dan Burkhart 

Thank you.

Dan Burkhart 

Thank you. Best wishes to you on your own road to recovery.

miss kenton

Happy Birthday, Dan!!

Best wishes for Mrs. B's recovery.

Dan Burkhart 

Thank you. Unfortunately my birthday ride will not be on two wheels today. That will have to wait until next week.

baj32161

Hey Dan,

I am glad to hear about the progress of your wife and I hope the progress continues and that she is well soon. I also look forward to getting out and riding with you when the weather allows. Maybe you can even talk my girlfriend to get out on a bike...she hates riding, but has been thinking about getting a bike as she keeps losing weight.

Look forward to meeting you.

Cheers,

Brian J.

Dan Burkhart 

Thanks Brian. Yeah, we'll have to do it for sure. Just a matter of weather and scheduling right now.

qcpmsame 

Well I missed the note so I hope you do have a very Happy Birthday Dan. All my best to you and yours.

Bill

Dan Burkhart 

Thank you again.