My parents were thrifty people and I desperately wanted a bike. I was tired of riding behind Charlie, and he didn’t go where I wanted to go. When I was about 8, my parents traded Charlie’s bike with the neighbors for a full-size girl’s bike. The bike was taken to a bike shop for a full make over. It was stripped down, greased up and repainted. The end result was a shiny blue (my favorite color) girl’s adult size bicycle which I loved. It was delivered under the tree on Christmas morning.
However, did you catch a full-size adult bike in that description? In the beginning, it was difficult for me to ride because it was so big. Our garage had a wooden box built across the back about two feet high. I would position the pedals and bike, stand on the box , then jump on the bike and pedal like a bat out of hell yelling “Get out of the Way” to anyone in sight as I exited the garage. I was instructed on how to use the brakes.
Eventually, I succumbed to the lure of the Western Flyer. I saved my money and bought a green Western Flyer and am sure that we gave the blue bike away.