Cyclone Coaster

the story begins here

Living in Southern California is the perfect place to ride and collect vintage bicycles - we found this out by simply riding our vintage balloon bicycles along the strand - swap meets - marathons - parades - car shows - wherever & whenever we could meet up for a vintage bicycle ride on any given weekend - while doing just that we found there are quite a few vintage bicycle collectors that live right here in the area that enjoyed riding as well - In 2006 Bernard & Frank met while buying - trading & selling to one another @ various local swapmeets & other events & publications such as the "Recycler" & "Craigslist" here in SoCal - As Bernard & I did this we became friends & would meet up to exchange items we had & bring a bicycle to ride once we did meet up which always seemed to stir up a lot of interest by the local community who all loved the bicycles & would share their stories of what they had growing up or of a bicycle just like one we were riding Seeing all the local interest Bernard & Frank thought it would be a fun to have a vintage bicycle ride & So we needed a name for the ride & a starting point - Well this was the beginning of what is now the CYCLONE COASTER Vintage Bicycle ride which focucses on riding GREAT AMERICAN BICYCLES - manufactured in the Pre-War & Post-War era of America - bearing names such as - Colson - Columbia - Dayton - Elgin - Firestone - Harley Davidson - Hawthorne - Hiawatha - Huffman - Indian - Iver Johnson - J C Higgins - Manton & Smith - Mead - Mercury - Monark - Pierce - Roadmaster - Rollfast - Schwinn - Shelby - Western Flyer - just to name a few - made right here in the good old USA The "CYCLONE" in our name CYCLONE COASTER pays tribute to the Pike waterfront amusement park which was the home of the World famous CYCLONE RACER wooden roller coaster which was down on the pier in Long Beach, California, many, many years ago until it's demise in the late 1960's - The CYCLONE RACER had a sister roller coaster simply called the CYCLONE is located on Coney Island is still in operation as it was recently renovated as part of the famous Jersy Shore area - The "COASTER" in our name is referring to the single speed coaster brake on the vintage bicycles we ride We collect bicycles from different eras and every bicycle we ride is one we own - If you are interested in purchasing a vintage bicycle - have a budget in mind & Come out to any CYCLONE COASTER Sunday ride & see the bicycles Ridden not Hidden - or - maybe find a picture that best represents what you are looking for - keep in mind usually the more deluxe or complete a vintage bicycle is ( it has a horn tank, fenders, light, rear rack, etc. ) the more expensive it is many a time & some manufactures are just more desired by collectors for many reasons which may drive the price up or down & also condition is everything a lot of times & it may also be very difficult to find it as a complete bicycle - Simply talk to guys & gals that make it out to the CYCLONE COASTER rides & maybe that ridder can direct you in the right direction - there might even be something close amongst our network of CYCLONE COASTER riders We find ourselves riding with our CYCLONE COASTER family just about anything built in the 1930's - 1940's - to 1950's - from the clean originals - the old rusty rider - the custom boardwalk runner - to the top-notch restored bicycles & anything in between - Vintage even pulls in the classic "80's beach cruisers" these days along with many cool old 26" BMX cruisers from the 80's as well - These bicycles too are now over 40 plus years old - crazy to think - the makers include Basset - Cook Bros - DG - GT - Hutch - Powerlite - SE - S&S & many more who started the BMX craze back then As with any hobby it seems the more you know - the more questions you have - well the CYCLONE COASTER family of riders is no different & we also noticed as we share knowledge with one another @ any event - ride or chance encounter - that there is a lot of diversity to riding and collecting vintage bicycles - a lot of times because the bicycles themselves have had a rough life - mostly from being passed down from one person to the next or just sitting forgotten in a barn or a shed somewhere - most of the time losing some of their original parts and former glory along the way - also that everyone has their own take - which is how it should be - after all it is an extension of who you are and what you are about Some of the best information I gained with the CYCLONE COASTER family over the years - great memories with family that I will charish the fun networking with great people who we all met because of our similar hobby & passion for vintage bicycles at these events as well as riding in & around the Southern California area I was trying to find a catch phrase that says it all ... Well I came up with RIDDEN not HIDDEN - which sums up what I like to do in the vintage bicycle hobby See you @ the next CYCLONE COASTER Vintage Bicycle ride on the first Sunday of every month - Frank

Ridden ..... not Hidden

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