Her name was Martha. We shared wonderful times together... Martha was an 8-speed Schwinn Super Sport, from March of 1973. She originally had drop-down bars, but i got those taken out. She was a cro-moly bike, which made for a much lighter bike than the usual Schwinn models. We rode thousands of miles together, and it came to a point where everything on her wore out. Having had to get older Schwinns repaired, i know that many of the parts are hard to replace (as Schwinn made custom dérailleurs, etc.) The seat post was a different size than usual, and the tires were 27", just like many older bikes. The cable housing on a Schwinn was also different from other models, making them a pain to ride in the rain. i've had bikes stolen before, and i've had components stolen from my Schwinns- in fact, someone was getting ready to jack the wheel on Martha a few days before i took her into the shop. And It was a wheel that was NOT quick release...
i'm sure it's my fault. i ride Schwinns until they wear out, and Martha has gotten a total of one overhaul in all the time i had her. Yearly overhauls are expensive. As much as i know the story about the end of a Schwinn experience i still rode them. Thank you Martha for all those wonderful years. (My other favorite bike was a two-speed Schwinn named Pierre. He was a Breeze). i also had a green 10-speed Schwinn Continental, amongst other models. i may still get another Schwinn at some point, but for now, i grieve for Martha. People may think it's silly to grieve for a lost/fallen bicycle, but it does happen.
