When I was a kid in the '60s, Mom and Dad had a matching pair of JC Higgins 3-speeds. Before we moved to the Cleveland area, we lived outside of Dayton and dad would sometimes ride his bike to work. Even when we moved here, my dad set a limit - we had to live within a five mile circle of where he worked, and yes, he'd ride his bike on occasion. The folks quit riding in the late '60s when they were approaching 40...

Growing up, we kids got used/abused garage sale bikes. I got my first new bike for my 12th birthday - a Sears three-speed. Our family only had one car, so the bike was my ticket to any place I needed to go. Swim lessons 3.5 miles away - and no sidewalks - no problem. Boy Scout meetings... riding to the local farm stands to get a dozen ears of corn for 75 cents... all in addition to riding to school. Then at age 15 I started cutting lawns for $1.50/hr - in a five mile radius of home! I was all over the far west Cleveland suburbs! I made enough to not only fuel my model rocket and model airplane hobby, but I saved the $150 to get my first Fuji in '74.