Seventy years ago, this young woman was the proud owner of a bicycle radio. As she rode, she could listen to music, or perhaps a ball game.

The receiver was constructed according to plans in the very first issue of Popular Electronics, October 1954, and was a four-tube superheterodyne design. The project was somewhat involved, but the magazine promised that it was simple. Alignment was required, but according to the magazine, if you couldn’t locate a signal generator, a local radio technician or friendly radio amateur could do the job for you.

Of course, the magazine reminded that bike safety was important, and it cautioned readers not to get so engrossed in a radio program that they failed to watch traffic. The cabinet could be painted to match the bike, or personalized with some snappy decals.

Since the set was so easy to build, clubs could make them in an assembly line fashion so that members would have matching portables during jaunts together. In fact, once this girl started the fad, the magazine was willing to bet that other groups would be following in short order.