idea.

Owens stopped in front of a clutch of tank bikes and cruisers with fatty boy seats and began to reminisce aloud.

"All you needed was a screwdriver and a pair of pliers to fix it," he said. "We used to switch the handlebars. Put straws in the spokes."

Marshay's gaze was drawn to a bright orange chopper in the front window.

"That's old school," her father whistled approvingly.

Not far away, James Frey, 49, was sizing up a Sting-Ray. He wore a neck brace and said he had come in for practical transportation. But the first bike he ever bought was a Sting-Ray with a stick shift and a sissy bar on the back, just like the one he was looking at. He was 11, maybe 12.

"I guess it was extra specialbecause I paid for half," he explained. His parents, as part of the deal, paid for the other half.

Few people can reunite with their first love. But your first cool bike? There it was.

Frey grew pensive. Janis sauntered past. Seemingly reading his customer's mind, he cheerfully asked the question of the moment: "Do you listen to your inner adult, or your inner child?"

Simpler Times is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday at 3212 West 25th St., south of Clark Avenue; 216-925-2008