My first road bike

My first road bike was a 1982 Schwinn Continental. It was what we used to call a ten-speed, and if I remember right that meant a 2X5. I remember picking the bike out at Wheeler's Schwinn on Wornall Road in Kansas City with my dad. If I close my eyes, I can still smell the bike shop. I can't imagine that it cost $100.

1982 Schwinn Continental - My first road bike.

I rode this bike all through high school and through part of college. The shifters were on the stem and it had cheater brake levers so you could break without going into the drops. God how I loved that bike. I would give just about anything to have it back.

1980 Schwinn Continental.

It was black with gold lettering, the same colors as the University of Missouri, where I suppose it ended up. I have no idea what happened to this bike. I don't remember selling it or giving it away. I can't imagine I abandoned it in the bike rack at Hudson Hall, but I might have. I just don't remember. A sad ending to a machine that served me so well. I probably bought this bike after seeing Breaking Away. I wonder how many bikes that movie sold?

In the late 1980s road bikes (10-speeds) were going out of favor. Everyone was buying mountain bikes and putting street tires on them. I was no exception. Dad and I headed back to Wheeler's and I picked out a gray Nishiki Colorado to take back to Columbia for my Junior and Senior years. I miss that bike too, but not like that Schwinn.