Back in the day, when I was 10, getting a bike was a big deal. I don’t mean a bike like the purple Sea Princess bike with the banana seat, but a ten-speed. In fact, we didn’t even refer to these “adult” bikes as “bikes,” but just as ten-speeds. It was like the generic term for “bike” and everyone knew what you were talking about.

When I was of age to get a bike, the cool thing to do was get a pastel pink and light gray bike. It’s what just about every girl did. Not me, though. I had a crush on Tony up the street and he had a red ten-speed so I got one too.

By the time my sister’s were old / big enough to get adult bikes, it was no longer the in thing to get ten-speeds. They got mountain bikes. In fact, they used the phrase “mountain bike” the way we did “ten speed.”

What do kids ride now? Do they still ride mountain bikes? Am I so old that I am not even aware of the new bike mode of transportation?

Last week I was driving home and a man was riding his bike in down the street near where I work. He was riding one of those pastel pink and light gray ten-speeds that all the other girls coveted when I was younger. While riding he was smoking a blunt.

I have to say, the blunt kind of tainted my memory of ten-speeds.