drglinski
Finally riding a big boys bike
Most of you know my Schwinn history. For those of you that don't, I'll repeat part of it. I grew up with Schwinn bikes but never had one outside of a 20" Campus green Typhoon that us 4 kids learned on. Dad had his 10 speed 74 LeTour that he bought after college that was always present. Fast forward to 2007 when I graduated college I started cycling as a hobby; I found a decent 10 speed a thrift shop that I got into riding (I was tired of cheap Kmart mountain bikes). That served me OK until Dad told me about an estate auction where they were selling what turned out to be a 79 World Sport. I learned more about Schwinn bikes and remembered the bikes that were in the barn at my grandparents farm (on my dads side). Dad told me about his Typhoon that he had in college and I told him I was going to get it. "Why?" 'To ride it.' I got a perplexed look but he said OK. From the day I brought it home I fell in love with Middleweight bikes.
I found a bike forum shortly after and discovered Schwinndemoniums photo of his 1961 Jaguar.
I asked him if he'd ever be interested in selling it to keep me in mind. I jokingly asked him on and off for the past 12ish years where my bike was, thinking there might be a chance someday, but wasn't too optimistic. The call finally came last December (of 2021) that Jim was willing to part with it. We set a date for the week of Easter 2022 for a road trip to the Lancaster PA area as he would not ship. (I didn't want the bike to be shipped either.)
After a very long winter, my wife, daughter and I loaded up a rental mini van and set off from SE MI to PA for an 8 hour 500 mile trip. Traveling through northern Ohio turned out to be the biggest challenge: it snowed and caused black ice throughout the majority of the state. In April, go figure. I dropped my wife and daughter off at our rental home for a week (we decided to make a week trip out of it) and set off for Jim's home. We did some story telling, some history chatting, and traded some cash for a bike I had been hoping to make my own for more than a decade. It was great to meet Jim and Phil; Jim knows just about everything Mark IV Jaguar. I felt privileged to continue his legacy of caring for his red Jaguar.
-at our rental house in PA-
My family spent some time exploring the area traveling to Hershey and Strasburg for a day before needing to travel back home yesterday. I was glad that we had rented the mini van as the Jaguar rode comfortably upright out of the elements in the center of said vehicle. No bad weather on the way home this time thankfully. We all had a great time exploring the eastern PA area for a few days and had a great piece of history to take from it.
-at home in my basement-
More to come!
I found a bike forum shortly after and discovered Schwinndemoniums photo of his 1961 Jaguar.
I asked him if he'd ever be interested in selling it to keep me in mind. I jokingly asked him on and off for the past 12ish years where my bike was, thinking there might be a chance someday, but wasn't too optimistic. The call finally came last December (of 2021) that Jim was willing to part with it. We set a date for the week of Easter 2022 for a road trip to the Lancaster PA area as he would not ship. (I didn't want the bike to be shipped either.)
After a very long winter, my wife, daughter and I loaded up a rental mini van and set off from SE MI to PA for an 8 hour 500 mile trip. Traveling through northern Ohio turned out to be the biggest challenge: it snowed and caused black ice throughout the majority of the state. In April, go figure. I dropped my wife and daughter off at our rental home for a week (we decided to make a week trip out of it) and set off for Jim's home. We did some story telling, some history chatting, and traded some cash for a bike I had been hoping to make my own for more than a decade. It was great to meet Jim and Phil; Jim knows just about everything Mark IV Jaguar. I felt privileged to continue his legacy of caring for his red Jaguar.
-at our rental house in PA-
My family spent some time exploring the area traveling to Hershey and Strasburg for a day before needing to travel back home yesterday. I was glad that we had rented the mini van as the Jaguar rode comfortably upright out of the elements in the center of said vehicle. No bad weather on the way home this time thankfully. We all had a great time exploring the eastern PA area for a few days and had a great piece of history to take from it.
-at home in my basement-
More to come!