1964 Schwinn Typhoon
This story reminds me of the time a friend’s father had gone out to play a round of golf and was asked if another player could join his group. He was a pretty buttoned down business guy and ended up playing 18 holes with Alice Cooper…
The other day I was doing some work for a regular customer and Nicholas, one the guys that does grounds keeping and other jobs around the business, stopped to take time and inspect my bicycle. My car, with all of my work tools, was attached to the bottom of it.
I don’t talk to this fellow often, other than to say hello, mostly because he isn’t very confident in his english and prefers to simply go about his work. But, when it comes to bicycles I learned, he is far less reluctant.
Now, this guy doesn’t really look like a typical cyclist (who does?), and as he was clearly interested in my bike, I asked if he rides. He beamed and said “yes, yes,”. His was stored in an adjacent room and he was off to get it so that he could show it to me.
Nicholas and his Schwinn Le Tour 12.2
It turns out that he is the very proud owner of a Schwinn Le Tour 12.2. This is a bike that I desperately wanted when I was new to road bikes (the first time, as a teenager). It seemed that the choices back then were Peugeot, Motobecane and Schwinn – that was it. It was a pretty safe bet that the French stuff was crap (don’t start – I’ve owned a French car and consider myself well versed and on solid footing regarding French junk)… The Le Tour was the bad ass Schwinn – my first bike was a red Schwinn Typhoon. So, I was a Schwinn guy.
The Le Tour is a cool old bike, and this one is in pretty nice shape. It has a lugged chromoly frame (that is chrome, in this case) and even has one of what must be an original gum wall tire.
Alice Cooper with 3 Wood
Anyway, it is always interesting and fun to find something in common with somebody new. Bicycles do that, and is another reason that bikes are cool. I’m not sure which one of us was Alice Cooper, though.
Car people, in particular, love the 24 Hours of Lemons and as I was forunate enough to do it once, I’m often asked questions about it. The 2007 edition of the 24 Hours of Lemons at Thunderhill was the first “race” out of retirement for me. I’ve described it as a Halloween party with cars, and that really is just about it. Cyclocross racers have got nothing for these clowns.