One of the earliest cars that I remember my family owning was the Nash Rambler. And, of course, we all absolutely adored the song "Beep Beep" when it came out in 1958. I wonder if that guy ever got his car out of second gear? It was a nice car though a bit small for a growing family. It was a bit crowded when we were all riding in it at the same time.
We lived out in the country, about 10 miles from the largest town (Warsaw) and nearest movie theatre. All of us (Mom, Dad, and 4 kids) would drive into Warsaw every Saturday to get groceries and once in a great while we would be treated to a movie. The Saturday Matinee at the Lake Theatre was a special event. We'd get a big bag of popcorn and a large pop to share. On this particular day it was "101 Dalmatians" that was showing, the original animated version, so it would have been 1961. Don't know why but that has stuck with me through the years. It is really irrelevant to the story. Anyway, the movie was over and we left the theatre. It was early evening and the street lights had just come on, shedding an eerie green light over everything which changed colors so they didn't look like they usually did. We were all excited and talking about the movie as we piled into our car. Dad put the key in the ignition and turned it, but nothing happened. The car wouldn't start. It was then that we started noticing that something wasn't quite right. We had gotten into the wrong car! We quickly got out and strolled down the block a little ways where we found our car, right where we had left it.
When my brother got out of the Navy in the spring of 1968, he bought a Chevrolet Corvair convertible. I don't remember the details but one day, for some reason, he wanted to go into North Webster, probably to hang out with some friends, and didn't want to leave his car in town. So he wanted me to take him in. Mom was at work so his was the only car available since I didn't have my own car at that time. Problem was, the Corvair was a stick shift, and I had only driven cars with an automatic transmission. No problem, he said, he'd teach me! And so he drove the car to the field out back of the house, I slid into the driver's seat and we chugged and jerked our way around that field until I could smoothly get the car out of one gear and into the next. And that is how I learned to drive a car with a manual transmission.
The first new car that I owned, and subsequently fell in love with, was an American Motors Hornet Hatchback. I spent the year 1973 in Iceland, at the Keflavik Naval Air Station, and one of the "perks" that I took advantage of at the end of my tour of duty was a discount on the purchase of a new car. I remember spending hours going over the various brochures that were provided. Sure, I wanted a car that looked nice, performed well, was dependable, etc. But most of all I wanted something that I could travel well with. Something that would even allow me to sleep in the car, if necessary. Billed as "a sports car with room to travel in" the AMC Hornet Hatchback seemed to fit my needs and also happened to fall within my budget!
The car was delivered to a dealership in Elkhart where I picked it up while I was on leave in January 1974. It was metallic blue, and beautiful. Over the next three years that car, dubbed "Old Blue," and I criss-crossed the United States several times. From northern Indiana to Florida, then to California, then to Rochester, New York, back to Indiana, back to California, and various places in-between. I just couldn't bear to part with the car in 1977 when I was transferred to Japan so it was put in storage for two years. The car was paid for. It had a lot of miles put on it but had been taken care of quite well and was in good shape. I figured it would be cheaper to pay for storage than to have to buy a new car when I returned.
A friend stationed at Point Mugu retrieved the car from storage and prepared it for my return. When I picked up the car in May 1979 it was as good as new, better even, since I didn't have car payments to make! That summer was, without a doubt, the best summer of my life and a journey I'll always remember. After a quick trip to San Diego to visit friends I headed north, along the coast highway, taking plenty of time before finally reaching friends in the Seattle, Washington area. To say that I took advantage of the fold-down back seats for sleeping would be an understatement. I lived in "Old Blue" that summer. Eventually, I made my way back to Indiana in time to start the fall semester at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
Old Blue got me through school and held up well for a few more years. But during the winter of 1984 the heater quit working, which meant the windows couldn't be defrosted. And with winters in northern Indiana being what they are, I really needed a heater and defroster. When I took it in to get it checked out I was told that it would cost more to repair than the car was worth. So, it was with great sadness that I traded in Old Blue and purchased my next car. When the dealer looked at the odometer and saw that it said a bit over 80,000 miles he was impressed. "Wow, a ten year old car with only 80,000+ miles, and in great shape." For a moment the thought went through my mind, maybe I shouldn't tell him the actual mileage. But then, honesty, or perhaps some thoughts of bragging rights, came over me and he was astounded when I told him it actually had 180,000+ miles. Needless to say, the trade-in value plummeted, and I got next to nothing for Old Blue. Nothing except a lot of very good memories. And those are priceless.
I tend to hang on to cars until the very end. I'm on my third vehicle since Old Blue, a Chevy Cavalier, also a hatchback style, but without a name, that I've had for eight years now and it's getting close to 140,000 miles. It too has been a good, faithful car but the miles that have been put on it haven't been nearly as much fun as those with Old Blue.
Somewhere in my boxes of pictures I would like to think that I have a photo of Old Blue, but I haven't found it yet, and a picture isn't really needed for me to remember. But this picture shows what she looked like.
While trying to locate a picture on the 'net I discovered that in the 1974 movie "The Man with the Golden Gun" James Bond drove a red AMC Hornet hatchback special coupe. And, if you are a collector, for $39.99 you can actually purchase a 1/43 scale die cast model of the car. Cool, yes, but not really something that I want. The memories are sufficient.
Expansive views of Cook Inlet were not to be seen since much of the trail that I walked was tree lined on both sides. It was just nice to be outside with no rain! Anchorage has an extensive park and trail system (120 miles of trails) as well as many other attractions and activities, but I was being lazy and didn't do much of anything.
If you own a pair of capri pants that are comfortable to cycle in, but you don't like the way the bottoms flutter in the breeze or get caught in the drivetrain, then here is a quick and dirty way to turn them into cycling knickers:
You will need a long elastic band, which can be purchased at a shop that sells sewing supplies. Alternatively, you can use narrow hairbands, as shown above (these come in a pack of 10 that costs around $2).
Check the hemming at the bottoms of the pant legs. Sometimes the manufacturer will leave an opening in the hemming, at the outer seam. If not, carefully create an opening. Don't cut into the actual fabric; just undo a small portion of the outer seam through which to thread the elastic. This was a quick and whimsical project, andI do not have a step-by-step photo documentation. But I hope these after-the-fact pictures adequately demonstrate what is involved.
Once you have threaded the elastic through the hemming, simply tie it on the side so that it is snug, but not constricting. You can then choose to either hide the knot inside the seam and sew it back up, or leave the knot exposed. The benefit of the latter is that you can keep converting the pants back and forth between normal capris and cycling knickers.
Aside from staying clear of the drivetrain, an additional benefit to these knickers is that you can continue to wear them in colder weather. Simply add long socks, and the elasticised bottoms will protect your legs from the wind. Cape Cod has greeted us with temperatures in the 50° F range, and it looks like I will be living in these for the next 2 weeks!
Pot of Geraniums. Columbia City, Indiana. September 11, ...Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.
Will on pitch one...waiting for the money to come.
Even once I had the rest of my winter attirefigured out, the article of clothing that gave me the most trouble was gloves. I've probably gone through half a dozen pairs since I began cycling, and nothing worked quite the way I wanted it to. The big puffy gloves made it difficult to move my fingers and interferedwith shifting and braking, even if the design was supposedly cycling-specific. Also, I do photography work outdoors in the winter, and operating a camera with those is out of the question. Thermally-lined leather gloves can be just as warm while allowing for more mobility, but the leather gets stretched out and worn when used repeatedly on a bike. Wool gloves are hit and miss as far as warmth and some can be quite slippery on the handlebars. My salvation finally came in the form of these charcoal gray wool gloves by DeFeet which I bought on a whim at a local bike shop. They may not look like much, but I love them.
The DeFeet Duraglove is very densely knit, and warmer than any other thin wool gloves I've worn thus far. Once the temperature drops into the low 20s and I spend more than an hour outside I do begin to feel a chill in the finger tips, but above that they keep my hands perfectly warm (for comparison, I have a pair of stretchy-fleecy cross-country ski gloves rated for 20s temps that in reality give out in the low 30s). Aside from the warmth, the DeFeet gloves are form-fitting and stretchy, making it easy to operate both city bike and roadbike levers. And I can press all of my camera controls without removing them. They are not beautiful, but not horrendous looking either. They cost under $20. And the underside is covered with these silicone grippy things that ensure a firm hold on handlebars and camera equipment.
The Co-Habitant is also pleased with his Ibex Knitty Gritty gloves that are similarly designed. He has a pair of both the full fingered and the fingerless versions and he uses both, depending on the temperature, for cycling and photography. The wool on these is softer and a bit chunkier than the wool of the DeFeet gloves, but the idea is the same: stretchy wool for ease of movement, with silicone grips on the underside for a firm hold. The grippy bits here are in the form of little Ibex logos, which I find very cute.
Unfortunately the Ibex Knitty-Gritty gloves do not work for me, because even the smallest size is too big for my hands (beware, these run large), so I cannot compare them to myDeFeetgloves directly.The prices are about the same. To my eye the Ibexgloves are more attractive, but of course this says nothing about performance. The cuff on the Ibex is a tad longer, but on both gloves the length is sufficient.The softer Ibex wool is nice, but I am suspicious that the looser knit might translate into less warmth. Also, I have noticed a bit of pilling on the Co-Habitant's full-fingered gloves after a season's use, whereas the wool on my DeFeet gloves seems less prone to this.
Sadly, I did experience wear and tear with my DeFeet gloves: After 300+ miles of use on the bike, I wore a hole in the tip of the right index finger. While this is apparently a common problem to have with wool gloves, in my case I have to underscore that (1) I'd been wearing these on a roadbike and constantly pressing the ergo lever with my right hand, and (2) I have long fingernails, which no doubt contributed to this. Had I used them solely for transportation cycling on an upright bike, they probably would have been fine. In any case, I've now mended the hole (there is a special way to do this without destroying the articulated fingertip) and will see how long that lasts. If need be, I am willing to keep mending them and to buy a new pair every now and again, because as far as functionality and warmth go these gloves really work for me. I love the dense stretchy wool and the grippy underside; the versatility this style affords has made it my favourite winter cycling glove thus far.
On the campus of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute, Indiana
