Presumably I had bikes of some sort prior to the late 60's but none that I remember. The first bike that comes to mind was a gold, single speed Stingray clone with black and whie banana seat, sissy bar, etc. Around 1970, give or take, I got my first 10-speed from J.C. Penny's. It was your basic department store 10-speed in a kid's size frame most likely made by Huffy or some such, dark metallic brown with white bar tape and 26" wheels. Around 1972 my uncle gave me his Sears Free Spirit. Aside from being a full adult size frame with 27" wheels and being white with black bar tape, it was essentially identical to the J.C. Penny bike. Unlike most of my friends who rode just for transportation, I was really into bikes and had already decided to get a "good" bike at first opportunity. That would require saving up some money since my parents thought of bicycles as toys and would have laughed at the idea of spending more money on a bicycle than the $70 or so they cost at the department store at the time. By 1974 I had some money saved up and was ready to buy - a had my heart set on a red and yellow Raleigh Record.

The bike shop that sold Raleigh was the local pro shop. Their main store was downtown but they had a branch out in the suburbs near where I lived. The shop had a large showroom on the ground floor with a high ceiling so that only the back half of the store had an upstairs which was where the parts and repairs were handled. And in the back of the showroom was a small room for the high-end racing gear. Along one wall was a long row of racing bikes and along the other were glass cases containing all manner and variety of shiny alloy parts. That was a magical room and I and some of my friends would go to the LBS and visit that room almost as if it were a shrine.

So I'm 12 years old and the day comes and I head over to the to the LBS to buy that Raleigh Record. It cost $145 and was sitting there on the showroom floor. I had "visited" it many times. But the shrewd salesman desided to pull a bait and switch. "The Raleigh is a nice bike but why don't you let me show you another bike that you might like even more". And he lead me to the room in the back. Woah! No way could I afford any bike back there! And he showed me this beautiful darl matallic blue Bottecchia Special. It had alloy bars, stem, rims, and even alloy chainrings. And chrome lugs and Campagnolo hubs! I was hypnotized by it. It cost $175 but it was worth every penny. I had that bike for 22 years until I was hit by a towtruck in 1996. That is my Rosebud. And I am recreating it now. Who says you can't go home again?