“One of the most important days of my life was when I learned to ride a bicycle.”
The day is already hot. The breeze has disappeared. I sat outside under the umbrella, the coolest spot on the deck, to drink my coffee and read the papers. This morning, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I only had one cup of coffee, a sure indicator of the heat.
In the heat of summer, when we were kids, the boys never wore shorts around where I lived. Little ones did, the ones whose mothers dressed them, but older boys, those around nine or ten, wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of shorts. My brother wore dungarees every day. He did wear a short sleeve jersey, a Beaver Cleaver type of jersey, but that was his sole concession to the heat of summer. Black high tops were his sneakers of choice. Girls were different. We wore shorts and sleeveless blouses. Our sneakers were white and no higher than our ankles. They were worn with socks, usually white socks. Clam diggers were popular for a while. That’s what we called them. In the 50’s, they were called pedal pushers, and, in the 60’s, Laura Petrie brought them back as Capri pants.
It never occurred to me that the name pedal pushers was literal. They were pants wore higher than the chains of bikes so the pants legs wouldn’t get caught. I wish I knew that back then. I didn’t have a chain guard on my bike. It had disappeared or fallen off. Many times my pant leg bottom would get caught and eaten by the chain. Getting it loose was a process and it took forever. I’d have to try and figure how to get off the bike with one leg caught without the bike falling, the best place to sit down and how to untangle my pants while one leg was immovable. I usually freed myself, but my hands and pant leg were always covered in grease. I usually wiped my hands on the back of my pants and left strange looking prints.
When I was much older and riding to work became quite common, I used to see guys bicycling with their pant leg folded up and held there by a rubber band. It looked a little silly, but I never laughed. I knew exactly why they did it. They had all grown up with greasy right pants legs.
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July 5, 2010 at 10:41 am
“Capri Pants”? I never heard of them called that but pendal pushers and clam diggers, yes! My wife has a pair on right now.
July 5, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Z&Me,
I remember them from the 60’s. Laura made quite a stir as they were a tiny bit tight.
July 5, 2010 at 11:47 am
I wore pedal pushers or dungarees. Shorts left too much skin exposed to bugs, thorns, poison ivy and impacts with asphalt caused by running or catching my roller skates on cracks.
I still remember the moment I learned to ride a two-wheel bike without training wheels. I was five and my friend from down the street, Jacky, was patiently trying to get me to pull the bike away from the curb but I wouldn’t. The curb was my safety line but it also made me fall over a lot because I kept hitting it. Eventually, he was able to rid me of that crutch and I glided away on my bike flush with victory over gravity.
July 5, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Caryn,
Mostly I wore dungarees or even slacks, but I do remember wearing brand new clamdiggers to the eighth grade pre-graduation outing. Ski pants became popular for a while, the ones with the stirrups.
My mother taught me to ride a bike. I remember when I got mine and she got on it and rode for a while. I was totally amazed as I didn’t know my mother could ride a bike. She would hold the back and run with me. When she let go and I knew it was me, I felt like I was flying.
July 5, 2010 at 1:31 pm
For some reason I thought the pants were called beachcombers. Maybe that was because they were part of the costume of choice for couples attending the annual Beachcombers Ball held somewhere in Buffalo, NY in the early 1960s. It always seemed to be on a damp and coldish night, but the theme held the promise of Spring. The idea was for couples to wear matching outfits often topped by “boat neck” shirts. Wow, that sure takes me back.
July 5, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Bill,
I went to see what I could find about beachcombers. They are real pants but are regular length. They got their name when the pant legs were rolled up for walks along the shore.
July 5, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I know of no name on clothes but tshirt and jeans 🙂 But I too often got cought in that chain. Later on I used to put my pants under the sock while biking, most of us did I think. Looked very odd but worked great.
I always wore shorts and I think all did during summers, even grownups.
It´s much cooler today and I feel life comming back in to my body. The night was terrible however. The whole cottage was so warm it was impossible to sleep most of the night.
Have a great day now!
Christer.
July 5, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Christer,
Pants here come in all different varieties as do kinds of shirts.
You’re right, the socks over the pants do look a bit odd.
I hope your nights cool down as well!
July 5, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Bike clips ? nah – rubber bands were quite sufficient…sort of
Did you Steeleye Span show up ? It is really clean sound 🙂
July 5, 2010 at 8:57 pm
My Dear Hedley,
Bike clips came along later, but I always used a rubber band.
I did but haven’t yet listened. I started too but got interrupted too many times. It’s on my list for the deck, the perfect spot for listening.
July 6, 2010 at 9:11 am
And a rubber band it was for me on my newspaper route. The fashion of flaired jeans certainly contributed to the pant leg being stuck in the cogs and chain.
I cannot tell you how many things I hit while trying to read a paper and bike to the next house at the same time. I guess today that would be banned along with texting