bladeswitcher

OK, here goes . . .

I'm a 49-year-old male who is two weeks away from the half century mark. I've loved bicycles all my life, but unfortunately haven't seemed to love bicycling nearly as much as the bikes themselves. I'm hoping to change that. With my blood pressure and weight both at unacceptable levels I need to get out there and start peddling -- and yes, I plan to do that in about an hour after it gets a bit warmer outside.

I worked at a neighborhood bicycle shop as a teenager (the long-closed "Bicycle Center" in University City, Missouri). I started as one of the kids who worked down in the basement, rebuilding wheels after school every day. Later I worked on the sales floor and wrote up repairs estimates. Spent a fair amount of time assembling bikes, too.

I've loved wrenching on bikes ever since. I was into singlespeeds and, occasionally, fixed gears long before it was cool. Currently, I own a Rivendell Atlantis and an old Schwinn bomber (with alloy rims, Nitto bars and stem and a Brooks saddle). I'm building up a singlespeed on a Raleigh International frame.

I grew up in St. Louis and used to ride there. I never was that into long rides though. 15 to 20 miles was about tops for me even when I was a kid. It wasn't so much that I couldn't do it, I just got bored. Years ago, I rode a few times on AYH-sponsored rides, but mostly was a solo rider. For the past 25 years, I've lived in Jefferson City, MO, a state capital city of about 40,000 people. Jeff City is what turned me off from cycling for a lot of years. It's just so dang hilly here! Consequently, I got fat and lazy. Again, time to change that.

My goal is to ride to work on a regular basis. It's only about 3 miles but there are a couple of huge hills on the route. I've done it a few times and it's not too bad, but I end up sweaty and there's no shower at work. The main problem is that I'm lazy, though.

I do have an alternative to the hilly course around here. The Katy Trail is right across the river -- 225 miles of dead flat former railroad track. I ride there from time to time, but it's kind of boring. A few years ago I had a fixed gear Peugeot and enjoyed doing the Katy Trail on that. Just start peddling and go!

Anyway, that's my story. Bottom line. I need to get off my butt and go ride. Heck, I think I'll go do that now.

Oh, one more thing: the name . . . I chose "Bladeswitcher" when I was active on a knife collector forum a few years ago and have used it ever since for lack of anything more original. It doesn't really mean anything. I'm also active on some gun boards with the same name.


ETA: rode for a little over an hour -- probably 10 miles or so. Stopped three times to rest briefly. Tried to stay on fairly level ground but that's impossible in this town. Pedaled every hill, though spent a lot of time in the granny gears. Good ride. I'm remembering why I like bikes.