Originally Posted by
pastorbobnlnh
Beautiful! And unique! Thanks for sharing!
It looks as if the Schwinn kickstand was somewhat modified. Was that done to accommodate the difference between the 27" tires on the Continental to the smaller 650B diameter?
Finally, what big adventures and long distance journeys did your Sparrow take you on? Any pictures of it in action along the Grand Canyon, or near Old Faithful? Fill us in on the stories about its travels!
Thanks for your kind words. You are quite correct that the kickstand was modified in that it was bent to effectively shorten it. Even so, the Sparrow does not lean over nearly as much as a Schwinn Continental does when the kickstand is deployed.
My last trip taken on the Sparrow was over 20 years ago before the era of digital photography, so alas I do not have any photos to show. I used it about a dozen times on multi-day camping trips, including several years on DALMAC (Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinnac), several trips in Michigan with my good buddy Red Reiter who recently passed on at the age of 83, and a ten day trip through the Smoky Mountains (North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky). I never took it out west as you suggest, and am just now restoring it with the intent of returning to camp touring again now that I have retired and have more available time.