Took mine over Dead Man's Hill in Lindenhurst in 1975 and it went into one of those unplanned 360-degree slides putting me eyeball-to-headlight with a Dodge Dart. Oh man, I probably shit my Toughskins that day, but I loved that thing.
Had a Big Wheel that I would ride down our driveway endlessly. The thing is we lived in a duplex and the driveway was steep down to the back of the house where the garage was the first floor and the front door was technically the second story. Back behind the house was a small single story unit, and the whole area was filled with gravel. It made for the best landing, roaring down the slope, hard locking the hand break and spinning into the gravel. Endlessly I repeated the Sisyphean fun. Being an adult now, I would have absolutely lost my shit at the young punk that would have been ruining my weekend morning with all that noise.
We had a plain old tricycle, which wasn't much, but it was made out of metal and survived considerable abuse. We quickly outgrew its pedaling position and rode it like a scooter, standing on the rear shelf. Completely oblivious to our poverty, I despised the Big Wheel because I saw it as a hyped-up, reinvented tricycle which could be manufactured entirely from cheap blow-molded plastic.
Despite this hating, the Green Machine's 180+ skid sounds wicked.
We used tricycles in a similar way. One of our favorite things to do was ride them down hill as fast as we can. Lots of silly falls, but thrilling. And those things were near impossible to destroy.
I was a few years too old for a Big Wheel or a Green Machine. The best I got was a girls’ Stingray knockoff bike with a Mattel “VRROOM” sound machine on it!
I saw this Note and suddenly had a burning desire to know what type of awesome, Big Wheels-type plastic bike I had as a kid.
The reason I had to know is because I remember how amazing it felt to ride down the driveway and out into the cul-de-sac on it. Going fast, sliding sideways, and all set to the soundtrack of the crazy-loud rumbling of those plastic tires.
It gave me an enormous sense of confidence, control, and power that I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to recapture.
I remember it was goldish in color, had an eagle or hawk theme, and I loved it from the moment I first laid eyes on it.
It was beautiful.
With no further ado, here it is…
The Wild Eagle Super Hot Cycle!
(Note: There were pictures here. Substack, apparently, removed them)
Took mine over Dead Man's Hill in Lindenhurst in 1975 and it went into one of those unplanned 360-degree slides putting me eyeball-to-headlight with a Dodge Dart. Oh man, I probably shit my Toughskins that day, but I loved that thing.
My Mom was always afraid when I went out riding since you were completely invisible to cars when riding. Lucky I never had a close call like you did.
One of the great regrets of my life is having been too old for the Big Wheel when it came out. I wanted one so bad…
Had a Big Wheel that I would ride down our driveway endlessly. The thing is we lived in a duplex and the driveway was steep down to the back of the house where the garage was the first floor and the front door was technically the second story. Back behind the house was a small single story unit, and the whole area was filled with gravel. It made for the best landing, roaring down the slope, hard locking the hand break and spinning into the gravel. Endlessly I repeated the Sisyphean fun. Being an adult now, I would have absolutely lost my shit at the young punk that would have been ruining my weekend morning with all that noise.
We had a plain old tricycle, which wasn't much, but it was made out of metal and survived considerable abuse. We quickly outgrew its pedaling position and rode it like a scooter, standing on the rear shelf. Completely oblivious to our poverty, I despised the Big Wheel because I saw it as a hyped-up, reinvented tricycle which could be manufactured entirely from cheap blow-molded plastic.
Despite this hating, the Green Machine's 180+ skid sounds wicked.
We used tricycles in a similar way. One of our favorite things to do was ride them down hill as fast as we can. Lots of silly falls, but thrilling. And those things were near impossible to destroy.
I was a few years too old for a Big Wheel or a Green Machine. The best I got was a girls’ Stingray knockoff bike with a Mattel “VRROOM” sound machine on it!
Not a Green Machine, but still a very sweet ride.
I saw this Note and suddenly had a burning desire to know what type of awesome, Big Wheels-type plastic bike I had as a kid.
The reason I had to know is because I remember how amazing it felt to ride down the driveway and out into the cul-de-sac on it. Going fast, sliding sideways, and all set to the soundtrack of the crazy-loud rumbling of those plastic tires.
It gave me an enormous sense of confidence, control, and power that I’m not sure I’ve ever been able to recapture.
I remember it was goldish in color, had an eagle or hawk theme, and I loved it from the moment I first laid eyes on it.
It was beautiful.
With no further ado, here it is…
The Wild Eagle Super Hot Cycle!
(Note: There were pictures here. Substack, apparently, removed them)
Anyone remember one version called the Midnight rider? It had a picture on the flag with a man on a horse
I added a little section about the Midnight Rider for you.
I had the original. It was my favorite "big wheel."