OK, My conscience which is my Brother Reese keeps bugging me for the story of Pop's Simplex so here we go:
Back in 1965 Dad found this 1959 Simplex in Magnolia and talked the guy into selling it to him for
a Browning Rifle Scope. Dad had grew up riding these bikes so he brought it home. He would ride it around
our block all the time which we always wanted to ride too, so there were 4 boys so when Dad went to ride
our youngest brother got to sit in front of dad and the other three of us had to sit on that hard rack in the back.
No suspension,
makes my back side hurt just thinking of it.
Anyway after we got older we would take the bike out on our own. We did not have new brake shoes for it,
so when you wanted to stop you just pushed the brake pedal down a ways before you wanted to stop.
With saying that I was riding one day right after Christmas and one of our friend Steve just got a brand new
bicycle and I was coming down the street topped out, when Steve pulls out in front of me and... well I could not
stop so I hit that brand new bike broadside. Well the bike and I ended up in the ditch and Steve ended up on the
side of the road and his brand new bike looked like a big U. To this day I still owe him a bike.
Few years later I was getting ready to go ride the bike on the bayou trails and my cousin Ted sat me on the back bars
and he had the nice seat. We went to the trails and rode some and when we were coming back there was a big
hill I had to help oush the bike up, when at the top he took off down the other side and left me. There was a hairpin turn
maybe 30 yards ahead which he did not make. He ended up in the bottom of the revine, the crash bars saved his legs
because he was flat up agaisted the side of the revine. We pulled the bike out to find he had bent the front forks, he
rode if home and I had to walk. Pop had a spare frame and Ted fixed the bike, after that the bike ended up sitting in the garage
for the next 30 years till I heard about Wayne McHaffey and I restored the bike.
So that's pretty much the story of Pop's Bike, I will put some other pics after I scan them in.
OK now my conscience can go away.. Right Brother!!!!!!
