Sharing the hobby in your community.

[sccruiser]

My hometown of Santa Cruz Ca, has always been a hub for cycling with lots of beachfront riding spots as well as some of the best trails in the state for mountain biking.
Ecology in Action and all the local bike shops and eateries come together in May each year and celebrate with various bike events over a 3 week span. I rode my ‘49 B6 to the “bike to work” breakfast spot a week back and found out there was an event the next weekend called “Pedal Palooza” that was geared towards the kids and families promoting bike safety and education. Everyone seemed so pumped on my vintage Schwinn, I told them I could bring a few vintage rides to the event and answer questions to anyone that wants to talk history.

I tried to show the evolution of kids bikes from the 1930’s through the mid 70’s.
People had the most questions about all the accessories on the Columbia dashboard bike and how the Wiselock fork lock worked. And then why the Elgin twin bar is missing part of its frame. I brought a 49 Cycle truck to show that cargo bikes are not a new thing. The 49 B6 geared up with news bags to how hard kids worked in the 50’s and then then the “Orange Krate” to represent the Drag race vibe from the late 60’s early 70’s. And finally, the 77 Swing Bike just because its so dumb, its awesome!

All in all it was a great event. Had a lot of fun, and hopefully educated some youngsters.

Even got a little news article

 

[sccruiser]

I had fun with the police volunteers doing free bike registration. I said mine was a little out of date.

 

[Schwinn Sales West]

Great job.

It really comes down to sharing the knowledge with younger riders.

You never know what interest you might be able to spark.

John

 

[Sprint 75]

Been wishing that kind of thing could happen in LA. Looks so fun. I know things happen in Orange County, but it's pretty far from me (north LA).

 

[Schwinn Sales West]

Been wishing that kind of thing could happen in LA. Looks so fun. I know things happen in Orange County, but it's pretty far from me (north LA).

Things like that "don't just happen".

It takes people that are willing to invest their time, knowledge and energy into helping others.

Everyone has something that could be shared and young people are like sponges looking to soak up new ideas.

Start small, maybe contact a couple of Scouting Leaders with an idea to share old bicycles, or hold bicycle safety training. It's these same young riders that will soon be on motorized vehicles and have not yet learned how to ride bicycles safely alongside car traffic on the roads. Bicycle riders need to be able to integrate into moving traffic safely. We will never have enough isolated bicycle trails and bike lanes.

Just a old guy opinion.

John

 

[sccruiser]

Things like that "don't just happen".

It takes people that are willing to invest their time, knowledge and energy into helping others.

Everyone has something that could be shared and young people are like sponges looking to soak up new ideas.

Start small, maybe contact a couple of Scouting Leaders with an idea to share old bicycles, or hold bicycle safety training. It's these same young riders that will soon be on motorized vehicles and have not yet learned how to ride bicycles safely alongside car traffic on the roads. Bicycle riders need to be able to integrate into moving traffic safely. We will never have enough isolated bicycle trails and bike lanes.

Just a old guy opinion.

John

You could not be more right. Especially with today’s distracted drivers and the amount of youngsters railing around at 30 MPH on mom and dad’s E-bikes.

 

[Sprint 75]

Things like that "don't just happen".

It takes people that are willing to invest their time, knowledge and energy into helping others.

Everyone has something that could be shared and young people are like sponges looking to soak up new ideas.

Start small, maybe contact a couple of Scouting Leaders with an idea to share old bicycles, or hold bicycle safety training. It's these same young riders that will soon be on motorized vehicles and have not yet learned how to ride bicycles safely alongside car traffic on the roads. Bicycle riders need to be able to integrate into moving traffic safely. We will never have enough isolated bicycle trails and bike lanes.

Just a old guy opinion.

John

I've been trying to meet people near by who might have some interests with Schwinn bikes, and they just don't seem to be there.

Every few days I'll see kids riding at night with no lights, no helmets, turning into traffic, etc. Kinda insane. Most are kids with cheap "mountain" bikes just waiting until they have a drivers license.

I have problems connecting with bike riders in LA in general. I'm not a hard rider with a carbon road bike. There's the San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club, which is basically an endurance group. I'm not there to try to keep up for 30 miles. There isn't anything that's just enjoying your bikes riding around for a while. I just seem to see that in Orange county.

 

[Porkchop & Applesauce]

Ya gotta think outside of the box. We take the vintage cruiser bikes to all sorts of different events. We’ll do car shows, parades, street fairs, museum events, bmx shows and even our own shows. One of the ways we’ve be getting the younger generation involved is by letting them ride our bikes. Pretty cool to see the look on their faces when they get back from riding a 60-90 year old bike! Make sure they know all about it firsthand and ride with them. The best way to teach is by example so the way you ride and respect the law and others will leave a much bigger impression than only telling them what to do! The family,friends, and community is the treasure and the bikes are the common bond! Start your own club and be a good human and they will come!

 

[Sprint 75]

CicLAvia in LA has been fun sometimes, closing the main streets downtown on an early sunday. Pretty huge actually, 200 bikes on the street! I haven't for a while because a friend passed away and we would go together. All types of bikes, hot rods, etc. They usually stay within their various cliques, though. LA is really different than the bay area. People in SF actually talk to each other, LOL. I get up to SF a few times a year, but I'm working. I was born in SF. They live on their bikes cuz there's no place to park! The bay seems to be bike capital of the US. That and universities. I'm sure Pleasanton is nice. That's the kind of place to meet people. They do a lot in Santa Cruz too.

 

[Sprint 75]

Ya gotta think outside of the box. We take the vintage cruiser bikes to all sorts of different events. We’ll do car shows, parades, street fairs, museum events, bmx shows and even our own shows. One of the ways we’ve be getting the younger generation involved is by letting them ride our bikes. Pretty cool to see the look on their faces when they get back from riding a 60-90 year old bike! Make sure they know all about it firsthand and ride with them. The best way to teach is by example so the way you ride and respect the law and others will leave a much bigger impression than only telling them what to do! The family,friends, and community is the treasure and the bikes are the common bond! Start your own club and be a good human and they will come!

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You got me thinking... Schwinn Bicycle Owners on facebook is growing every day. I put something up asking if anyone in my area might be interested in a Schwinn Club. We'll see what happens. I can't ride at the moment because I actually fell off my roof, 10 feet down. Somehow I survived LOL... ow. But it might be a start.