TheEnthusiast

Well it all started when I was a sophomore in high school(2010) I was on the bus ride home when I noticed an older 10 speed on the porch of an obvious pack rad or hoarder as some may call it. Well for three long years it sat and during that time period I had grown to an obsession restoring and riding old ten speed from the 70's and 80's. So after graduating in May of 2013 I rode my 1988 Schwinn Sprint every day back and forth the same boring route. So one day I decided to go ahead and knock on the door and ask about the bicycle. I saw a large dog at the back door chained up and it wouldn't quit barking. There was no way I was going that way. The front door was somewhat blocked by cardboard boxes and I finally saw the brown Peugeot racing bike up close for the first time. I still don't remember the model but it was love at first site and I had to have it. About the only thing wrong with it was the dry rotted flat tires. I knocked for about five minutes and left continuously coming back for the next two weeks with no sign of anybody home. I then went to the neighbors and asked the little old man who lived next door. He was hard of hearing and kept forgetting what I said and what my name was. So his wife gave me a phone number and told me to ask for John. I called as soon as I got home and he answered! I asked him about the bike on his porch and he said that he didn't want to get rid of it because maybe he would ride it someday. Bummed out, I got my first paycheck that week and called again telling him I have cash. He yelled at me in anger and told me he wanted to keep it. So I rode my bike the same route as always and the bike wasn't there no more. I guess he thought I was going to steal it or something. He was a dick, yes, and very selfish. I cant believe he is going to let that thing die untouched. I still think about it to this day and wish I had a Peugeot 10 speed.


P.S It looked similar to the one pictured (I just pulled of google images) except the one I was wanting had a leather brown colored frame.

polishmadman

People like that always have a problem with letting go. Sorry to hear that a good bike is going to die a slow death.

smurfy

I can't understand why people are so anal about their stuff. I love bikes and cycling but it's really just a piece of metal, an inanimate object. You can't take it with you when you die. This guy should have taken the money and bought something else, if the price was right. He seems like a piece of trash to me and really needs to get over himself.

TheEnthusiast

I couldn't agree with you more!

TheEnthusiast

Yes he was a piece of trash and very rude. He sounded like a frustrated meth addict and I wanted to yell at him back!

polishmadman

From the sounds of this guy. He's a hoarder, he really thinks one day he will ride it. He doesn't care about money. He probably would tell you some story about his attachment to it.

Leisesturm

Kid, there are people who have driveable cars that they allow to sit and languish until they... ... nothing... they just sit out in the yard, maybe under a tarp, maybe not... its a waste, but... its not like we are talking about something rare. Those vintage Peugot's are a dime a dozen. At least on the West Coast they are. Any co-op will have 3 for sale at one time. They will usually be gigantic 25" frames like the one you linked. You should be well over 6' to straddle a beast like that. Are you? Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. Come out west sometime soon, kid, the perspective will do you a lot of good. Any transit station will have more abandoned bikes worth more than your neighbors Peugot. Eventually the police take them and bike co-ops get them by some sort of process that I don't exactly know but I don't think it involves money (shudder). They then sell them to the biking community at extortionate mark-ups but if you ask really nicely you can often get one for what its really worth. FWIW.

H

howeeee

There are millions of old 10 speeds sitting in garages and sheds across America. Wait till spring hits, go to garage sales and find one. Or if you want to know one of my tricks, run an ad on craigslist wanted category that you want to buy an old 10 speed rusting away in your garage. Tell the price you are willing to pay , even if it is only 25 bucks and you will for sure get calls.
howie

TheEnthusiast

Thanks howeeee I made flyers on time and drew them with pencil and paper and every business I posted them at took them down the very next day. It pissed me off because the managers even gave me permission. I did receive one call from a lady and she said she had and "old ten speed bike with U-shaped handlebars and skinny tires" it made me laugh when she said it. she said $50 and I asked the brand. Free Spirit she replied and I told her those bikes are very heavy, poorly made, bottom line and I have plenty that were giving to me for free because nobody wants them anymore. I told her she should pay me $5 just for getting the thing out of her garage. I bet its still there.

the fly

don't know that i'd necessarily hate on the pack rat. while my father was alive he ran an informal junkyard at his house (~200 cars). after he died, we got rid of them to a local junkyard. it's been over 5 years now, and people still come by the house and want to buy parts. it can be a real pita to continuously have random strangers on your property wanting to buy stuff that may or may not be for sale. obviously he should keep everything out of sight, but who knows, he may be really pressed for time. i know after my workweek, family obligations, and riding 10-12 hours a week i don't have time to do everything i want to either.

longbeachgary

So someone responded to your ad and in return you were a jerk to her?

TheEnthusiast

longbeachgary I offered her $35 even though I still thought it was too much and she claimed I insulted her so I gave her the hurtful truth. I'm not a jerk, I am very polite when I speak to people just like I was polite to the guy who didn't want to get rid of the Peugeot.

slowride454

same thing happened to a '70 Z28 near my childhood home. I asked about it every few months trying to get the guy to sell it to me. Until after 10 years of trying one day the rear springs went through the floor and they finally realized it was completely lost.

longbeachgary

That makes a difference. You need to be respectful even when people are not respectful to you.

scroca

So the implication is that a property owner is in the wrong because you want something of his to the point of obsessing over it and that you believe he is wrongful in his ownership and rude and undeserving.

What do you mean he's selfish? Are you kidding?!? It's not your property. He told you no and you pestered him again. No wonder he got irritated.

Now you're posting online about it. Get over it.

Reynolds 

That bike wasn't something special, as said above you can find plenty of them. It isn't worth to obsess over it IMO.

exile

From what I can tell from shows like "Hoarders" and "American Pickers" its not about the money with some people. It's about the accumulation of stuff. If you offered a trade (something like X,Y,& Z bike for the Peugeot) or explained how much more stuff he could buy with the money then you might have had a different result.

Just keep looking around and maybe you'll find something else that you like.

rebel1916

Get off my lawn!

zonatandem

Some folks have no idea what the word NO means!

jon c. 

The older I get, the more sympathy I have for crazy old guys. Some days it seems just a few quirks away.

FBinNY 

I don't get it. It's HIS bicycle, and you have zero claim on it and no reason to expect that he should sell it to you. Grow up, and covet what's available, not what isn't yours.

Regardless of his reasons, or non-reasons for keeping it, it's his to keep and you''re the one who's out of line by making a pest of yourself.

megalowmatt

The nerve of the guy for not wanting to sell his property!

TheEnthusiast

[QUOTE=scroca;16388510]So the implication is that a property owner is in the wrong because you want something of his to the point of obsessing over it and that you believe he is wrongful in his ownership and rude and undeserving.

What do you mean he's selfish? Are you kidding?!? It's not your property. He told you no and you pestered him again. No wonder he got irritated.

Now you're posting online about it. Get over it

He clearly isn't going to do anything with it. That's my point here. I'm not hating on people who love their stuff. You're not as hard as you think you are.

TheEnthusiast

I like the sarcasm there megalowmatt.

TheEnthusiast

FBinNY, SIT ON IT.