My happiest childhood memories are from the seat of a bicycle. When I was 5 my birthday present was the shiniest cherry red bicycle any little girl could hope for, this bike was somethin'.

My mom and her best friend Jeff went scouting at the junkyards the fall before. That winter his garage was off-limits to me and since I wasn't expecting a surprise I didn't think twice about it. My birthday is August 8th. Hot summer in Wisconsin, running around in my snoopy swimsuit it came time to "open presents". I remember recieving my own softball bat, a new glove Jeff would later teach me how to break-in, a softball and then a pause...where's my mom? Just minutes later she wheeled a bright red, white banana seated beauty out our front door! Oh my, they had taken a few different bicycles, stripped them down and rebuilt them into one glorious beast. The only new parts were the white grips on the super tall bars and the banana seat. They had painted it red and clear-coated it to a hi-gloss finish. My mom finished it off painting a dancing snoopy on the chainguard with the words "Niki's Snooper"! She also painted Woodstock as the head badge. It was the sweetest ride on the block!