This is a Regina bicycle chain from around the mid 80's. It came off a beautiful handmade bike made by some small builder that you and I have never heard of. I should have taken pictures of the bike but I didn't. I did take pictures of the chain and some of the components as they came off the bike. This chain, it has hollow pins except for a small grouping where the chain was designed to be broken for removal and installation. You can see a couple of those links at the top center of the image.
It's just a bike chain, yes. But the energy that went into making this idea a reality, the idea of hollow chain rivets, well, wow, that's really cool. And that it was made to last, made to be "owned" instead of "used," well that's priceless.
It's about time I went for a bike ride. Not commuting, not going from a to b, not simply pushing the pedals and making the bike go forward, but a real honest bike ride where you get to close your eyes sometimes, and hit curbs, and run through puddles with your feet in the air. It's about time.
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