From 8-Track Tapes to Banana Seat Bikes

This post is entirely Ali's, fault, because she inspired me. You see, she was kind enough to show us a pretty sweet picture of some 8-track tapes she saw at an auction. That got me thinking about the 8-track tapes I played with as a kid. It was kind of sad, really. The only two tapes I remember were Barry Manilow and Chicago - not exactly my cup of tea. Don't worry. I moved onto something more likable, like my brother's Queen record (yeah baby, vinyl!) with Another One Bites the Dust.

You're probably wondering what any of this rambling has to do with a banana seat bike. Well, nothing, really, except that this is a cycling blog and I had to tie it in somehow. ;-)

The 8-tracks, however disappointing the music, were a fond memory of my childhood. I would play with my parents' 8-track player and color, so crayons are also tied in with this memory. I had a lot of cool Crayola crayons - the big box - 64. I also had a Smurf coloring book, of which I can find no equal. I wonder what ever happened to that coloring book. Doh! I got away from the bike, again!

I had a pink, banana seat Huffy when I was a little girl. It was the bike that my dad taught me how to ride. It was my first bike without training wheels. I rode that bike all over town. My brother would hop on the back and we would head to the swings at a nearby school, or the Southside Market with the greatest candy selection, ever!

My pink, banana seat Huffy was also the first bike I would take off-road. We had some little trails around our neighborhood. There was a hill that we'd have to ride over - a little hump in the land a little higher than the bike - to get to the creek. We called this hill Snake Mountain. I'm sure the great, dangerous garter snake could be found there.

8-tracks, crayons, banana seat Huffys . . . I also had a Barbie Tonka Truck. That thing rocked.