Michele Munz’ story about the Schwinnfest at the St. Louis Bike Fed’s annual swap meet Sunday brought a smile to ol’ 10 Speed.

10 Speed is just like the cat in the story … well, except for the part about shopping eBay, buying 100 Schwinns snd spending $8,000 for one — Mrs. 10 Speed wouldn’t go for any of that! Be that as it may, my first bike was a non-Sting-Ray stingray, a purple 3-speed with the chopper handlebars and banana seat.

The happenin’ cats in my hometown had extenders installed on the forks for the renegade chopper look, but I don’t think my non-stingray would have handled that stress. The frame broke below the head tube, and the neighborhood auto mechanic, Mr. Linss, was kind enough to weld the bike back together. (Mr. Linss saved the day many times at the Luecking household.)

Still wanting the cool Schwinn, I painted my bike fire-engine red after Mr. Linss’ repair job and was happy as a clam, riding wheelies and jumping curbs with pride and confidence — the former because of my Schwinn-esque paint job and the latter because I knew Mr. Linss repair job would hold up.

The story and my experience reminded me of the Seinfeld “toys” episode, in which Jerry talks about getting Army Pete instead of G.I. Joe.

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For more information about the Bike Fed, visit their website. Also, if you have an old two-wheeler collecting cobwebs, a group in St. Louis might be interested in taking it off your hands — St. Louis Bicycle Works.

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