I have tons of pics on my gt back in the late 80s and early 90s. Jumping and doing all kinds of junk.
I started on something my dad bought and repainted and cleaned up nicely in Hawaii, 80 or 81. Had to leave it when we moved back to the continental USA. Rode all over kaneohe marine corps air base on that thing.
Next was a something like a huffy or Schwin, 83-87ish. Rode all over Austin Texas on that, back when Austin was not so crowded and a kid could be out all over the place alone.
Then came a Royce union in metallic blue with oval tubes in 88-89. Corona and riverside California.
A diamond back viper in black in later half of 89- early 90 that was stolen. Riverside ca.
A redline in chrome, 90, riverside ca. Stolen
A gt performer in black, 90, riverside ca. Stolen
A dyno pit bike in chrome, 90, riverside ca. Traded for a gt pro series with no gt stamp on the top tube back end. A buddy knew someone who worked or raced for gt and got the old practice bikes for free.
The gt stayed until 94 when it was stolen in Corpus Christi tx.
Then a 24 or 26" inch redline while I was fort benning. Rode it all over post. Sold it when I got out because I couldn't fit it in my karmann ghia when I was heading home.
2004ish. Some neighborhood kids come up and tell me there are two cool bikes at the good will. I played soccer with them and my kids on the street a lot because their dad was gone a lot. They couldn't afford a bike so I told them if they found any cool bikes at the goodwill, I would get them for them. They were always telling me of bikes but they were cheapies, till today. The oldest boy had a mountain bike but his brother still needed a bike. We walk over and it's two GTs someone just dropped off. The bikes still have the number plates an padding on them so someone used to bmx race with them and either got hurt or quit. 5 and 10 bucks for them. I snapped them up. One was a newer style really light weight aluminum frame and the other was just like my old pro series that had gotten stolen. The younger brother took the aluminum on and I took the pro series. My boys, those boys, and I rode all over the neighborhood till we moved to where we live now.
About 5 years ago, someone stole that pro series. I was hot. I vowed to find it and called on every person I knew. I checked all the local bike chop shops and made sure they knew if I heard or found it at their place, I beating some ass and then turning them all in for bike theft. I had this specialized hybrid by then too, bought it on Craigslist for 80 bucks. My boys and I rode each week and hit every bike chop shop in this part of town to reinforce the promise. It never showed up at any of them. Then one day, I am at the supermarket and walk into the vestibule while waiting for the wife and lo and behold, my GT is sitting there, unlocked and spray painted red. Badly spray painted red. I go and verify its mine and send my oldest to call my uncle, he is the manager of the store. He asks how I know it's mine and I explains the front forks are slightly tweaked and you have to sit on it and look straight down the bars and neck to see it. (He is a cyclist too, road bikes). He checks it out and calls security and the cops and we wait by the coke machine like we are just visiting but are actually waiting for someone to jump on it. Some guy, about 20, who is really in rough shape walks out and grabs it and starts rolling it out and my uncle and the security guard grab him and the bike. He immediately starts with I didn't steal it, I found it in a ditch on some street and tries to get away but he is not going anywhere. The cops show up and we explain about the bike being mine and being stolen 6 months prior and they ask for proof that its mine so we go through the fork story again and the cop sits on it and looks and hands the bike over.
They ask what I want to do with the guy and I said to let him go. I knew where he said he found it and knew where he lived and was going to verify his story on my own and beat him if he was lying. It turned out some jr high kids had started their own little bike theft ring on the street he said so I went and broke that shizznit up turned them all in to their parents but that saved that dudes butt. I was going to stomp his butt into next month if he was lying and he knew it, he was scared to death. He moved to another section of town after that.
I live Ina very old section of town that lots of people call the hood. We do have some less then desirable people on some of the streets around here but in general, it's a good old small poor neighborhood. The people are just trying to make ends meet and the kids are just trying to live life without being hassled by rich kids. I moved here because my parents bought this house while I was a senior in high school and I loved it.
Lets see, we already covered I bought the hybrid while GT less so the last bike I bought this past July was the road bike. Well, I actually also bought a weirdly framed dyno for my youngest son about 3 years ago and he rides the wheels off that heavy tank all the time. He does our 10-12 mile rides on it when it's just him and I and our water bottles out in the sun.