Bike rides and ice cream

I enjoyed this summer more than any summer in recent memory. I took plenty of walks, visited plenty of places with my camera in hand, spent plenty of evenings on the deck reading, and took plenty of weekend day trips.

1986 Schwinn Collegiate
My 1986 Schwinn Collegiate

The one thing I didn’t do until just the other day, however, is ride my bike. I’m not entirely sure why I waited so long. I love to ride my bike, a vintage 3-speed. Last year I even had it mechanically restored. But then we had the hottest summer anybody could remember, and I hardly ever rode it because the extreme heat robbed rides of all their fun. It was often dangerously hot for a bike ride. So you’d think I would have been chomping at the bit to get my bike out this year. But fortunately, when I finally got it down and blew off a year’s accumulated dust, it rode as great as it did when I got it back from the shop.

THDQ
The DQ nearest my Terre Haute home. Dig that great sign. Michael Ray photo.

Riding my bike was one of my great childhood pleasures. I lived on my bike when I was a kid! And as a young adult I used to take rides all over Terre Haute, where I lived then. There must be more Dairy Queens per capita in Terre Haute than in any other U.S. city, because I could easily pass two or three on a single bike ride. Well, except that I usually stopped at one of those Dairy Queens during the ride, and headed home sucking on a chocolate malt. So much for the calories I burned!

So what did I do on my first bike ride of the season? I rode two miles to the Dairy Queen nearest my Indianapolis home, naturally.

I rode so much as a boy that I had legs of steel. Read that story.


Comments

5 responses to “Bike rides and ice cream”

  1. Jon campo Avatar
    Jon campo

    Hi Jim,
    I wondered what happened to your bike. I have the same model and love it. I do ride my English three speed more, but there is nothing like the smooth ride of an old Schwinn. Glad to hear you had a banner summer – you deserve it.
    Best regards, Jon

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks Jon! Someone I know is giving me an old early-70s Schwinn Collegiate 5 speed, so I’m going to have another pleasant bike to ride! Though I do understand the charm of an English 3 speed.

  2. socialbridge Avatar

    Lovely post! I won’t accept summer is over as long as the sun is shining as it is here in Ireland today. Off for a swim in the ocean!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      The very idea of sunshine on the Irish coast sounds incredibly exotic to this fellow hemmed in on all sides by cornfields! Enjoy your day.

      1. socialbridge Avatar

        Cornfields have their attractions too but, yes, the Irish coast is wonderful. j

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