Paper Route StoriesDeath of a BicycleAfter a few years of faithful service, the old behemoth died of a rusty weld failure. The main horizontal frame member broke off at the weld to the steering column.
Dad took it to Grandpa’s garage saying he would get it repaired. Never happened. It was probably still there years later when the house was sold at the estate sale.
Instead, Dad talked me into buying an English touring bike from the Spiegel catalog. It was lightweight, had skinny tires, hand brakes and a 3 speed hub.
It had a much rougher ride and I never got used to the brakes. The gear shift broke in the first year and I was stuck in second gear. All in all, it was a sorry step down from the heavy duty machine I had relied upon.
The only other bike I ever owned was a 20” stingray that got stolen on Halloween night, 1968. It was a fun bike to ride but was totally unsuitable for hauling newspapers. |
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