Word: bike
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...pedals twelve miles to work and back every day. "I can do more vigorous exercise without things beginning to hurt." Unlike the hunchback racers of old, this year's hottest models are more comfortable and more durable than earlier ones. "It's really hard for a good bike to break down these days," says Chuck McCullagh, publisher and editor of Bicycling magazine. "People can go out and get fit and not have to worry about the damn thing...
...fastest selling model is the mountain bike, with upright handlebars, a roomy seat and tires like a truck's. "We can't seem to make enough of them," says John Mariotti, president of Huffy Bicycles, the country's largest manufacturer, "or charge high enough prices." Costs range from $150 to $3,000, the latter for a custom-made model. Today 5 million Americans ride mountain bikes, compared with 200,000 in 1983, and the BFA expects the total to climb 70% in 1988. Despite the name, more than two-thirds are used by cyclists bent on surviving the local potholes...
...Mount Snow Mountain Bike School in Vermont teaches cyclists how to negotiate the loose gravel, mud surfaces and obstacles of mountain paths, as well as offering lessons in map reading and bike maintenance. "I thought I was just going for a bike ride on back roads in New England," says Connecticut Insurance Consultant Karen Daly, 29. "They teach you how to jump logs, and we rode through a ski trail with grass up to your waist, wildflowers...
Bikewear has even become trendy for nonbikers. "You're starting to see biking clothing on MTV and rock stars," says Huffy's David Goubeaux. Waist- slung bike bags are standard city-street chic, while the shorts have become so popular that some manufacturers are making them without the padding, for everyday wear. "Bicycle shorts are now avant-garde fashion," says Bruce Burgess, owner of Bicycle Holidays in Vermont. "Who cares if you've ever seen a bike?" Still to come: Gucci panniers, kidskin biking gloves, designer training wheels...
...heady days of the C.O.D., winning his own term on the town-meeting committee, then changing party, competing for the votes of his parents (who had to change their registration to Republican when Stelian was on that ticket), trying to sabotage a campaign by his brother. In 1973 his bike was hit by a runaway driver; he lingered in the hospital for four months before dying, a partly shameful mystery to his family...