![\"1985](\"https:\/\/panasonicbikemuseum.info\/newsite2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/1985PanasonicTeam.jpg\")
<\/a>My first 1985 Panasonic Team<\/p><\/div>\n
October of 1985. My 11th birthday was looming and I had hinted hard that I wanted a road bike. In fact, during my bike shop visits I had discovered a bike called the Panasonic Team that had really caught my eye. There was one on the show floor at a nearby Panasonic dealership, Lakeside Cyclery, in Clear Lake, Iowa that might as well have had my name on it. It was small too… maybe a 50cm frame. It looked… well, let\u2019s just say I had dreams about it!<\/p>\n
My birthday that year was pretty much the thing of dreams. I got the 1985 Panasonic Team that I had wanted oh-so-much. It fit me perfectly and in no time at all I had become a roadie. I rode it so much that I distinctly remember getting holes in the outer edges of the soles of my shoes where the pedals would dig in while riding. I\u2019ll bet a few of you reading this just had a flashback to that as well!
\nThe Team was awesome. I still loved BMX as well and had swapped my way up to a Redline frame and fork but my Panasonic Team was my favorite by a large margin. I rode it with a bunch of classmates on a 30 mile ride in what my middle school called \u201cmini-courses\u201d. In the summer of 1986 I rode the Tour of North Iowa with my father for another 35 miles. Quite a feat for him as he was on a Free Spirit brand cruiser that weighed at least two or three times more than a Buick.<\/p>\n
I rode the Team until 1988. I stepped out into the garage to get in the car with my parents to head to church and the Team was gone! The garage door had been left open the night before and that was all it took for Mr. Stickyfingers to come and take my wonderful little Team. I was crushed and more than a little pissed off. Bike thieves STILL suck.<\/p>\n
The Team was never found but it was a pretty good bet that it found it\u2019s way to RAGBRAI in \u201888 as lots of bikes would suddenly disappear before the RAGBRAI ride. (For those of you not familiar with it, it stands for the Register\u2019s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. The Register is the Des Moines Register newspaper. The ride has become an institution and rite of passage for many in the region.)<\/p>\n
Luckily, homeowner\u2019s insurance would help out a bit with my replacement for the Team. I had look at the \u201888 Schwinn Tempo with the cool tri-color Italian looking paint scheme and Shimano 105 but I had also looked at the cool Miami Vice looking \u201888 Panasonic DX-4000. I really wanted another Panasonic since my Team had been so much fun. There was even a super cool DX-5000 model but I didn\u2019t think I could ever afford it so I had pretty much settled on the 4000.<\/p>\n
Have you ever won the lottery? Well, when I got the insurance check for my stolen Team I came to the realization that my insurance money plus my savings would actually enable me to get a DX-5000. I still remember how exciting it was to realize that! It was literally ALL the money I had but I was an 8th grader heading into high school and all I wanted was that bike. I had also grown quite a bit and figured if I bought a frame just a bit larger I\u2019d grow into it.<\/p>\n
I bought the DX-5000 and did indeed grow into it. In fact, I rode it until the early 2000\u2019s when I built my dream Italian racing bike to replace it. The DX-5000 is still with me alongside a number of other interesting Panasonics and you can read more about it in another editorial I\u2019ve published on this site.<\/p>\n
Over the years I often thought about my old Team. I found a couple of old photos of it in an old shoe box that instantly took me back. I could remember exactly how it felt and even what it sounded like cruising along or shifting gears. I guess I still missed it. It was, after all, the catalyst for what was to come. It sparked my love for cycling and I guess you could say that the Team was even responsible for this web site.<\/p>\n