Thinking back thirty years, my first commuter was a beat up 7 ?? speed (5 speed??), 26" tires, no name brand "mountain-type bike"; drop bars from somewhere mounted upside-down. I don't even recall where it came from.

I stll recall how much I enjoyed riding the four miles into work on that bike. Even brung it when I moved to Texas, where it served for a 20 mile round-trip commute (I was young and fit then, and back then I think we had fewer options and fewer expectations when it came to bikes).

Shortly thereafter (1984??) I bought a Schwinn Passage for that same commute, and likely got in the best shape of my life on it. And given the comments on forums about that bike, I wish I still had it, but I gave it away to a friend when leaving. I still kept that old beater tho', I was fond of it.

Finally gave it away to a friend some years back who worked at the airport and had to transition between hangars a lot, he gave it back eventually, and I believe we donated it to charity. Wish I still had that bike too.

Mike