Growing up, Keith Pariani just never took to bicycles. Instead, he enjoyed riding mini-bikes and, later, motorcycles. In fact, as a teen, he competed in motorcycle races.
But bicycles simply weren’t his thing. That is, until a friend got him involved in cycling and he found himself riding in an Easter parade at Disneyland.
There was no going back. He developed an interest in vintage, 19th-century bicycles and began to collect them.
“One turned into two and two turned into eight and eight turned into 20,” he said. Today, the St. Augustine man owns about 50 antique bikes.
Many of them can be seen at a special exhibit at the Lightner Museum that runs until Sept. 30. “Ride On! Historic Bicycles from the Collection of Keith Pariani” celebrates the beauty, engineering and innovative designs found in bicycles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Pariani was on hand Feb. 2 for the exhibit’s opening to meet members of the public who marveled at his collection.
Pariani has ridden in several parades and celebrations, including the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the opening of EPCOT Center that same year. He rode in a Super Bowl parade in Tampa and in 1984 rode a bicycle across the United States.
In addition, he belongs to an international club for vintage bicycle enthusiasts, The Wheelmen.
The oldest bike he owns dates back to 1868, which was about seven years before people began to call these contraptions “bicycles.”
“It’s got a cast-iron eagle head on the front of it, which is very, very unusual for an American bike,” Pariani explained. “There are only two American bikes that had some type of animal motif. The Europeans did it quite a lot.”
One of Pariani’s bikes is an early form of what we today call the bicycle. It’s a velocipede, and it rides on iron “tires.” There’s little doubt as to why people called them “bone-shakers.”
Pariani prefers to ride one of his high-wheel bikes, a style that made its American debut in 1878. Careful observers will notice that some of these feature the larger wheel in the front while others place them in the back.
The bicycles on display all have antique headlamps on the front. When the bicycle was still a rarity, such lamps ensured that people could see them in the dark.
Pariani seeks out bicycles at auctions, on eBay and even at flea markets.
“I bought some tremendous bikes at a flea market here in Florida,” he said.
With so many people moving here from out of state, they bring their treasures with them — including vintage bikes. Eventually, they or members of their families decide to sell.
This is the 75th anniversary of the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, and “Ride On!” is only one of the exhibits in its yearlong celebration.
Also on display is “75 for 75: Lightner Museum Diamond Anniversary Exhibition,” which runs until Feb. 16, 2024, and features artwork and objects from the museum’s collection.
Founded in 1948 by Otto C. Lightner as the Lightner Museum of Hobbies, the museum has its origins in the hobby boom that swept America in the early 20th century. The museum exhibits countless objects in its collection, including lamps by Louis Comfort Tiffany, exquisite shells and geological specimens from the world over, porcelain produced at Sѐvres and Victorian mechanical musical instruments.
In addition, a new permanent exhibit opened on Feb. 2. “St. Augustine Through the Lens of William Henry Jackson” showcases large, high-definition photographs taken by Jackson in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Lightner Museum, located at 75 King St. in St. Augustine, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $17 for adults; $14 for seniors (65+), military and college students; $10 for youth ages 12-17; and free to children 11 and younger.
For further information, go to lightnermuseum.org.
