Here’s a scene that isn’t exactly very commonplace: a bunch of kids touring the neighborhood in a quadracycle. Well, it is Eugene, one of the most bicycle-friendliest cities in the country. So this is just a modern update of the following picture:
image via farmcollector.com
Seeing both of these pictures does me good. They are a great reminder that spring is nearly here and the fun one can have outside is limited only by their imagination.
The second picture reminds me of a story a co-worker told me. It seems his grandfather had an Olds convertible stripped of its body for some reason. He said that at 12 years old he would fire it up and drive all over his granddad’s property, scaring himself (and others) any time he got its 455 above idle speed.
U.S. of A, U.S. of A, U.S !!
Nice charming scene and one that makes me appreciate the nice things in life especially as I look for work near a nice place to live. Eugene is on my list for sure. Never had a Quadracycle or a running vehicle to play with when young, but did have a bicycle, plastic tractor with pedals, various wagons, some large wooden spools from NYSEG, & a dead Chevy C-10. Even had a refrigerator that had the magnetic strips removed so I would not get stuck inside.
In New York kids under about 15 have to wear helmets on a bicycle and either the parents could not afford them or did not bother buying them which leads to this problem. Someone that is annoyed at you reports you to the Department of Social Services and/or police.
If you’re looking for places that are “sort of like Eugene”, add Spokane to the list. We don’t have the hippie flavor, but we do have a strong neighborhood culture and a relative lack of NY busybody-ness. Hard winters, three beautiful seasons when you can play outside almost every day.
Oooh! A VW Vanagon and a Craftsman Bungalow! Maybe I should convince the parental units to move to Eugene.
Technically that’s a Eurovan.
That would be VW Transporter or Caravelle 4 for you chaps.
Nice maroon VW Eurovan Weekender !! I like the blue ones even better. Too bad the U.S. doesn’t get those any more.
and, someone has to say it, that’s home’s quite a bit bigger than a bungalow. Tho’ it does seem to be in the Craftsman style. Maybe we can call it a double bungalow?
+1
I believe it is called an ultimate bungalow.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_bungalow
Thanks for posting that link! I also liked the bit of trivia that the house you chose for the picture is the one that was depicted as Doc Brown’s house in “Back to the Future”.
Wait, it is? Cool!
Have I accidentally created CC’s version of the “white and gold/blue and black” dress question? Whoops.
You just know it’s either Eugene, Berkeley, or Boulder by seeing the Birkenstocks on the one kid. I still have mine and they just get better with age…
Oh, spring has finally hit! Started this morning with 20+ miles on my late-60’s Magneet touring bicycle, first ride of the year with my usual Sunday morning ride compatriot. Then Maggie and I got the Harley out for the first time today, lots of bar hopping, lots of fast riding. Goodbye winter, and ‘eff you!
Can anybody recognize the motor in the second picture? Do not have a clue, and its driving me crazy.
Syke, is that really you? Or did someone hijack your CC account? Or are you just kidding? 🙂
It’s a Ford Model T engine. sitting in a Ford Model T chassis.
I’ve been reconnoitering my local bike paths, which are rather extensive in my part of GR; they are finally snow free! My 29er can deal with a lot of rough stuff, but 6+” of snow is not one of them.
Now, I have to get the tires aired up a little bit and make some tracks!
That quadracycle is ok but I really like the house in the background, most interesting design. I wonder if it was built that way or if the garage wing was added later. And, does that wing in the back go the the entire length of the house? Just curious.
I’ve sussed it .. the 2-story section to the right is the original portion, (except for that non-original front door — not good), the left garage is a modern two story addition (note that it isn’t the same height either in the eaves or roof-peak). Can’t tell how much, if any of that rear wing is addition. Again, it’s height is different from both of the wings we see head-on, so perhaps it is a third period of construction.
Uh oh, hope it’s not one of the houses Paul’s been working on all these years.
(I also like the barn(s) in the ‘T’ picture. A crank is on the front. Did those kids crank it up themselves each time they went for a joy-ride? Maybe the chassis was in conversion to the family plow when the picture was taken, and this was just a for-fun pic?
Are you sure any of it is original? I’ve been seeing a whole lot of neo-Craftsman designs in new construction. Though the porch columns are a very interesting design, and probably more complex than you’d find on a new one, plus the differing height of the two sections.
It’s fortunate when a bike friendly city/town happens to have mild climate all year round. In Ferndale, Mi ( almost the only bike friendly city in Motor City. It’s even rare in whole Michigan ) But I once spotted a kinda 12,13ish boy riding a bike in a winter storm with thick snow all around. Typical boys! Never know how they ( we ) are going to scare everyone around. ( he reminds me of a friend back in junior high doing the same thing ) or probably the winter storm even can’t stop the love of bikes for guys in Ferndale.
It’s a velocipede! You can rent them near my parents place in Hervey Bay for a spin before whale watching. In the nearby town of Maryborough there is a least one young guy with a modern penny farthing bike as well.
Yesterday , while standing in my garage, I heard , what could only be a Harley Davidson ,somewhere in the neighborhood ? That got me motivated. We still have lots of snow melt going on. Huge salt laden puddles. Seemed like a good day to take the cover off the Mustang, and put i a trickle charge, on the battery.
Even by Canadian standards, this winter has been nasty.
Saturday was one of the first really nice days here – nice enough for a little driveway car maintenance. One of the Miata’s nine (yes, nine) coolant hoses had started weeping, but it has now been replaced. I have the other eight on hand, but it was such a nice day that I was unwilling to commit to another 4.5 hours of blood and cursing (so say the forums, anyway.) So, we stuck with the easy one that was actually leaking, then found some errands to run with the top down. A very nice day!
That quadricycle thing is awesome, wish we had those when I was a kid. I didn’t even know such a thing existed…
…and I really with we had stripped Model Ts to ride around a farm when I was a kid!!
That’s very nice ~ I only ever see those bikes near Touristy places as rentals , having kids just out cruising on one seems right to me .
The ‘T’ Model Ford Doodlebug was once an American Farm staple , few are left sad to say .
For some reason , many 1920’s Nash automobiles were cut down this way too , lots were also converted into APU’s for running well pumps , generators and operating long belt driven threshers and silo filling rigs .
-Nate