What age were you when you got a 10-speed bike?

And why did we think they were cool? I loved my chopper bike. Metal flake orange, black banana seat with flames. I could pop amazing wheelies, hit that pedal brake and fishtail. You could give your friend “a pump” on the handlebars and roam the countryside all day long.

I threw it down in the yard for the last time when I was 10, circa 1972. My dad took me to the Schwinn shop and bought me lemon yellow 10-speed. Never liked it but had to use it.

Tiptoes to reach the pedals. Ass-above-elbows prone position, balanced on that stupidly small seat, trying not to get racked on the taint-bruiser bar. I grew up in flat flat Florida. I didn’t need gears, especially the one that made you frantically pedal like a spin class instructor only to barely stay moving. And the brakes…careful that you didn’t flip over the front.

It was so lightly used that I took it to college. I was delighted when it got stolen!