Cool Recreational Toys - Past, Present & Future

By: Paul Legge
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:26:23
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Being a baby boomer, it hasn't been that long ago at least in my mind, that I was a kid and I think back to all the things that we had in the lines of recreation and fun. Boy, I remember waiting for school to get over for the year so we could get into some summer time fun.

The first thing that comes to mind in the lines of early recreation was of course the bike. This for all practical purposes was really the only other form of transportation besides walking that we had as kids in order to get to where we wanted to go. Do you remember those days? Bikes back then were pretty simple with only one speed and the ole back peddle braking system. They did eventually come out with the 3 speed which was really exciting for us. Some even had the new handle bar brake levers. After that, about the only other real excitement was when they introduced the banana seat. That was cool as you could ride two people much easier and more comfortable. We also put the baseball cards on the frame with a clothes pin so that the spokes hit it and made noise. We thought that was awesome. Compare that to what's available now a days. I don't even know how many speeds they go up to anymore. Now you can get the BMX bikes, stunt bikes, speed bikes, mountain bikes and touring bikes with a wide variety of options.

The next thing that hit the scene back in my day was roller skates. They were made to fit on your shoes with a strap to hold the back on to your foot and a set of adjustable clamps that one would adjust with a special key to clamp to the front of the shoe. They also had a slot in the middle with a screw that could be loosened to slide the front and rear wheels apart to make the skates longer or shorter, depending on the shoe size. These incredibly enough worked quite well and we really got some use out of them. I also got some scuffed up knees, elbows and hands falling on the cement sidewalks. It was worth it though.

It wasn't too long after that when the first skate boards came about. Once we saw these, but we didn't have the money to buy one, it didn't take long to cure that desire ourselves. We simple took our old skates apart in the middle so we had the front wheels and back separated and grabbed an ole 2x4 laying around and attached the wheels to it with some nails or screws. Believe it or not, these homemade boards were loads of fun, but a little more dangerous than the skates themselves. No, we didn't have helmets back then and to this day I don't know how there weren't more serious head injuries, at least not in my neighborhood. Have you noticed how skateboarding has developed into quite a competitive sport? If you have ever seen the X-Games on TV, then you know that the things people do now a days with skateboards are amazing. They have all the special ramps and equipment which they use to really put on quite a show. You have probably heard the names Tony Hawk or Bob Bernstein at some point in time as they are two of the top competition skateboarders.

As a few years pasted, it didn't take long before these self powered forms of transportation were getting old. We wanted something that had it's own power. It was also around this time that some companies started producing go carts. Once we caught wind of this, everybody wanted to have one. The ones you could purchase came in two forms. Already assembled or in a kit that you had to put together. The kits were less costly and you could buy them with or without a motor, but it took the time and skill to assemble them. One of the kids down the block came tooling by one day in a go-cart as his grandpa had purchased a kit, assembled it and painted it for him. Oh yeah, we were jealous and knew we had to come up with something. My one good friend's dad had just bought a new lawn mower and he still had the old one in the garage. It was the ole reel type mower. It had a Briggs & Stratton 2-1/2 horse power engine with a horizontal shaft which was exactly what you needed for a go cart. We grabbed our hammers and some scrap pieces of 2x4 and plywood and put together a real simple frame.

The steering actually was nothing more than just a couple of 2x4's perpendicular to each other with a bolt through them and a rope attached to the ends of the one with the front tires mounted on it. You pulled the rope to make the front wheels turn right or left. Very simple indeed but it worked. We took the pulley system off the mower and used it as a way to engage and power one of the rear wheels. We used everything off that mower, tires, engine, gears and pulleys, belts, chain and sprockets. We managed to get a cart up and running. It didn't look as nice as the other neighbor kids but if was faster which made up for the looks. We ran this thing for a couple of good years and had a ball with it. With that being said, I have to admit that not too long ago I built a frame with steel tubing, found a motor, centrifugal clutch and everything else I needed and put together a pretty nice cart for my son.

So what happened next? The neighbor kid up the street got a mini bike from his dad. The go-cart was no longer cool. I had to have a mini bike. I even bought plans for one that you could build, supposedly easy. If you're interested, you can get the story and scoop on my mini bike adventure by simple visiting the website at the end of this article.

What about the recreational vehicles of now a days? The BIG thing that comes to mind is the invasion of the scooter. Sure they too originated from the past. The self-propelled two wheel foot scooter has been around for a while. But, for the newer generation, they have added electric and gas power to these babies. We bought an electric one for our son and I must say I wish I would of had this option when I was a kid. They are fun.

But as time goes on, so does ones desire to find something new. Another of todays big hits to come about is the 3 and 4 wheelers. There were a lot of accidents and injuries with the instability of the 3 wheelers and they have pretty much disappeared from the scene due to regulations and laws. The 4-wheeler, is still going strong and very popular. Yes, my son would like one of these too. I don't know as of this writing, if this is in his future or not, lol.

Who knows what the future holds in the lines of recreational toys, but with all the latest technology and growing electronic accomplishments, I'm sure they will be quite different from anything I have had in the past. What have you done or what are you currently doing in the lines of recreational toys and fun?

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