Remember when you could ride in a sitting up position on your bike, and not have to lean over and DOWN to reach the handle bars? Remember when the bicycle seat had soft springs that would soften the impact of bumps on the road and on your derriere? Remember when bikes had fenders that caught the water and mud on those rainy day outings? Remember when you could use a backward "crank" on your pedals and those old reliable "New Departure" brakes skidded you to an instant stop? Well I sure do. Not being a racing bike expert nor being interested in bicycle racing, I can't for the life of me understand why the modern, titanium, aluminum and other space age bikes are only manufactured for the guy or gal who is affluent enough to put mucho bucks down on the counter to buy a bone crunching "Raleigh" or "Schwinn." Fortunately, there is an oasis for those of us who recall those wonderful years of casual, comfortable, and easy-going bike rides. In fact, a few years ago my daughter and son in law bought me a bike much like the "Hawthorne" in the illustration above and I love it. It doesn't have all those gears and sprockets and other junk to break down. It's just a bare bones bike with reflectors and oversize balloon tires (instead of those tires that are the size of a garden hose,) and a very effective "New Departure" coaster brake. Add those "Texas Steer" handle bars we had on the bike of yesteryear instead of those "pretzel" type handle bars that you have to stretch forward and downward to reach, and you have a bike that fits the human body. Of course, this all assumes that you are a casual bike user.(I hand colored the graphic which was from an old black and white "Gazette" ad from Montgomery Ward in downtown Trenton, December, 1941. Both of my brothers had the fabled "Hawthorne" bicycle.)
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