The Tale of Two Bicycles

I believe that it all started in 1975 when our oldest Son received an AMF Junior Coaster Bike from his Grandparents in Macon, Georgia for his third Birthday.  This Bike traveled with him to California and back to Macon before he outgrew it.  At that time we placed it in the attic to save for the future.

This past Summer I thought it would be a great idea to gift this AMF Junior Coaster Bike to our Grandson, our oldest Son's Child.  In early November I got a quote on a custom "John Deere Paint Job" from a local Auto Body Shop.  That would be quite expensive so I took the Bike to the same repairman we used when our Children were much younger at Capital Bike Shop.  Calvin has his own shop at their new location.  When I dropped the Bike off for Calvin to replace the worn out pedals and acquire new handlebar grips I was told that he would call me when he came in to work.  Calvin only works a few days each week.  So I waited and never received a call from Calvin.  Therefore I went on the world wide web and searched for an AMF Junior Coaster Bike.  I found one in Coopersburg, PA which is near Allentown.  I called the contact number and waited.  A few days later I called again.  This time I got a call back and I told the seller that I was interested in the Bike but I would like to know what the shipping charges would be.  The seller told me he would find out.

Then, Calvin called me and informed me that he could do the replacement parts and align the handlebar for a sum of cash which was not too high.  I told him to do the replacements and repairs.

So, I have one bike getting ready for the Christmas Gift for our Grandson.  No problem.  Then a few days later the Seller in Pennsylvania called and informed me that it would be $80.00 to ship the bike by either UPS or FedEx.  I asked if he could take it apart and put it in a smaller box and ship it United States Postal Service.  So on the Friday after Thanksgiving the seller called me and said it would take $20.00 to ship the bike to me in Macon.  I said, ship it.  I then sent him a postal money order for the sum of the bike plus the shipping charges.  It arrived seven days later.  It took me a few minutes to unwrap the parcel's contents and about fifteen minutes to rebuild the AMF Junior Coaster Bike. 

So I now had two Bikes for the Grandson.  I decided that he could share the second one with his older Sibling Sister.

The Two Bikes at our Home in Macon.
Appropriate bows on each.

The original bike with the new white pedals and the black
handlebar grips.

The bike from Pennsylvania with the original pedals
and grips.  The seat is slightly different.

All packed up for the Christmas Day Trip to deliver to the Grandchildren.

Our oldest Son unveiling the two bikes.

The Granddad, the daughter-in-law and our oldest Son
getting ready to surprise the Grand Young Ones.

My Bride captured the grandchildren as we
rounded the corner of the garage.

Modeling the bicycles.

The Pennsylvania Bike modeled by our Grand Son.

The Original bike modeled by our Grand Daughter.