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Parade's Bike Riders to Recall Fun of Childhood

Posted on: Monday, 11 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

I remember watching parades when I was a child and, toward the end of the parade, there was always a large group of kids on bicycles - bikes they decorated with flags and streamers and, maybe, some playing cards woven between the spokes of the wheels.

Dan McDonald and Greg Minogue remember those days, too, and they have brought some of those memories to life with their creation of the Palatine Stingray Riders and their participation in Palatine's Fourth of July parade at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The two men met about five years ago when their sons, Kyle and Nick, were in Cub Scouts together. They discovered they both collect Schwinn Stingray bicycles. Between the two of them, they have about 60 bikes.

"Ask anyone who was a kid in the late '60s and early '70s what kind of bike they had or wanted. What bike was it they were popping wheelies on and jumping curbs with? Their answer would be a Schwinn Stingray with the banana seat and high-rise handlebars," said McDonald.

"Stingray bikes were introduced in 1963 to kids in an effort to imitate the souped-up motorcycles and hot-rod cars that the kids' older brothers were driving. Stingrays were sold between 1963 and 1979 during the muscle-car craze of Mustangs and GTOs," he added.

The pair focus on Schwinn Stingrays, but collect other makes and models as well. Most are not in museum-perfect condition. "We don't typically restore the bikes, preferring to remember they are kids' bikes that get ridden. ...To the Schwinn Stingray purist, it's very important to keep the bike as close to original as possible," McDonald explained. Sometimes they have to go to great lengths to achieve this since Schwinn changed the bike model lineup each year with new colors, seats, handlebars and options. Most components have date stamps that identify the month and year they were produced. Sometimes they have a long search for a particular part with the correct date-code for a certain bike.

While most of their bikes are classified as "riders," some of the more rare models of Stingray bikes that are in excellent condition can sell for more than $1,000. But, McDonald and Minogue aren't in it for the money.

"We enjoy these bikes because they bring back fun memories of our childhood," McDonald said. "Whether it was riding around with our friend, delivering newspapers or jumping curbs, the solid-built Schwinn Stingray was the bike to be seen riding. To this day, Greg and I still enjoy riding them around our neighborhood and each of our three kids also has several Stingrays."

Minogue and McDonald thought it would be fun to show off their bikes and ride them with their kids in Palatine's Fourth of July parade. This will be the fourth year the Palatine Stingray Riders will be in Palatine's parade. Between the two men, their children and friends, they usually have about 20 riders in the parade. McDonald said the kids love being in the parade and waving to their friends. Kyle McDonald, 11, said he likes riding in the parade "because it's cool to ride the kind of bike that Dad rode when he was a kid."

All of the bikes in the parade are from the '60s and early '70s with the exception of a couple of the new Stingray Chopper bikes. They usually decorate the bikes with some flags and streamers.

So, if you're at the parade, which starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, keep an eye out for the Palatine Stingray Riders. They might even pop a wheelie as they go by.

Source: Daily Herald; Arlington Heights, Ill.

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