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07-02-08, 07:28 AM
Introduction time!
My name is Chris, I'm 23. I live in Ypsilanti, MI. I was never really into cycling until roughly a year or so ago. My girlfriend's dad is really into it, he has a Specialized Sequoia Elite, and has been building Fixed Gear bikes for his family members.
He had bought Sara (aforementioned significant other) a Bike back in 2006, for her birthday. She took it home. 48 hours later, it was stolen. So that night I went to Treefort Bikes here in ypsi and bought the same model that she had gotten from her dad. Since her Dad bought it here, and was friends with the guys who run the shop, I got a decent deal, and was able to get it fitted to her height and so on, so that she could ride it right away.
I didn't have a Bike, d'oh. I didn't buy one that year cause I was somewhat broke from buying her a bike, and I had loaned her some money earlier to make rent because her roommate screwed her.
In 2007 I decided it was time for me to get a bike. I bought the Masculine version of her bike, a 2007 Giant Sedona DX. It was OK. it got me around town, and we did some medium/short rides on it. I decided I liked it and wanted to commute to work via Cycle. However. I was a bit out of shape (despite being a rail[125lbs], I just didn't have the leg strength or Cardio endurance). So the Giant was hard to commute on. It's a bit heavy, and it has wider, knobbier tires. It's a recreation bike for like park paths and stuff. Not exactly meant for commuting.
To be honest, it wouldn't have been so bad except that Ypsilanti Borders the Huron River. The South Side of Ann Arbor, where I work, is directly away from the River. So it's at a higher altitude then Ypsi. It's not an undo-able ride of death, but it's a lot of hills, and getting to work is more uphill then downhill. Which is unfortunate, because it's hard to motivate yourself to do the hardest work early in the morning.
Next year, I started to Take Kung Fu training. The teacher was given the title of "Master" from a Shaolin Master who has direct lines to a former Abbot of the original Shaolin Temple, before it was destroyed. It is very rare to have a teacher that will teach original Shaolin Kung Fu to students who are not chinese. The good news is, its a lot of strength and conditioning training along with the martial aspect of it, so my legs got significantly stronger in a relatively short amount of time.
At this point I had only made a couple cycle commutes to work. My car breaks had needed to get fixed for a long time. So long, that I probably need to repair the Rotors and the calipers... :o So it's not a "cheap" repair. So I had thought to myself.. I can use my next paycheck to fix my car... OR I can spend it on a better bike for commuting and just not use my car for a while.
So I went and Bought a new Bike. I bought a Rocky Mountain RC30 from Tree Fort Bikes, and a few things for commuting (Tool, Spare tube, pump waterbottle holder), and was satisfied. This bike weighs about 24 Lbs with everything on it, including a full water bottle. It has larger wheel diameter, and thinner tires then the Giant, and is generally a faster, light bike. Which is really nice for the hilly terrain.
I've commuted every day since I bought the bike, except two days when I woke up too late to make it on time via Cycle. I've considered buying the little computer that tells your speed, avg speed, distance, and so on. It would be nice to know my average speed. I tried figuring it out. On the way to work, I average between 13 and 15 MPH, and on the way home, I average 17 to 19 MPH. So my Average is probably 16 or so MPH. Which is kind of Slow. But the terrain is hilly.
It's been a nice start to my cycling life. And hopefully I can stick with it and Only use my car for long trips. As it is now, I only drive it to lake eerie so that I can go sailing. However, with some more time, I might be able to make that a nice bicycle ride. Its about 75 miles or so round Trip.
Other than Cycling, I like Kung Fu, Sailing, guitar, Internet spaceships, and Chess.
My name is Chris, I'm 23. I live in Ypsilanti, MI. I was never really into cycling until roughly a year or so ago. My girlfriend's dad is really into it, he has a Specialized Sequoia Elite, and has been building Fixed Gear bikes for his family members.
He had bought Sara (aforementioned significant other) a Bike back in 2006, for her birthday. She took it home. 48 hours later, it was stolen. So that night I went to Treefort Bikes here in ypsi and bought the same model that she had gotten from her dad. Since her Dad bought it here, and was friends with the guys who run the shop, I got a decent deal, and was able to get it fitted to her height and so on, so that she could ride it right away.
I didn't have a Bike, d'oh. I didn't buy one that year cause I was somewhat broke from buying her a bike, and I had loaned her some money earlier to make rent because her roommate screwed her.
In 2007 I decided it was time for me to get a bike. I bought the Masculine version of her bike, a 2007 Giant Sedona DX. It was OK. it got me around town, and we did some medium/short rides on it. I decided I liked it and wanted to commute to work via Cycle. However. I was a bit out of shape (despite being a rail[125lbs], I just didn't have the leg strength or Cardio endurance). So the Giant was hard to commute on. It's a bit heavy, and it has wider, knobbier tires. It's a recreation bike for like park paths and stuff. Not exactly meant for commuting.
To be honest, it wouldn't have been so bad except that Ypsilanti Borders the Huron River. The South Side of Ann Arbor, where I work, is directly away from the River. So it's at a higher altitude then Ypsi. It's not an undo-able ride of death, but it's a lot of hills, and getting to work is more uphill then downhill. Which is unfortunate, because it's hard to motivate yourself to do the hardest work early in the morning.
Next year, I started to Take Kung Fu training. The teacher was given the title of "Master" from a Shaolin Master who has direct lines to a former Abbot of the original Shaolin Temple, before it was destroyed. It is very rare to have a teacher that will teach original Shaolin Kung Fu to students who are not chinese. The good news is, its a lot of strength and conditioning training along with the martial aspect of it, so my legs got significantly stronger in a relatively short amount of time.
At this point I had only made a couple cycle commutes to work. My car breaks had needed to get fixed for a long time. So long, that I probably need to repair the Rotors and the calipers... :o So it's not a "cheap" repair. So I had thought to myself.. I can use my next paycheck to fix my car... OR I can spend it on a better bike for commuting and just not use my car for a while.
So I went and Bought a new Bike. I bought a Rocky Mountain RC30 from Tree Fort Bikes, and a few things for commuting (Tool, Spare tube, pump waterbottle holder), and was satisfied. This bike weighs about 24 Lbs with everything on it, including a full water bottle. It has larger wheel diameter, and thinner tires then the Giant, and is generally a faster, light bike. Which is really nice for the hilly terrain.
I've commuted every day since I bought the bike, except two days when I woke up too late to make it on time via Cycle. I've considered buying the little computer that tells your speed, avg speed, distance, and so on. It would be nice to know my average speed. I tried figuring it out. On the way to work, I average between 13 and 15 MPH, and on the way home, I average 17 to 19 MPH. So my Average is probably 16 or so MPH. Which is kind of Slow. But the terrain is hilly.
It's been a nice start to my cycling life. And hopefully I can stick with it and Only use my car for long trips. As it is now, I only drive it to lake eerie so that I can go sailing. However, with some more time, I might be able to make that a nice bicycle ride. Its about 75 miles or so round Trip.
Other than Cycling, I like Kung Fu, Sailing, guitar, Internet spaceships, and Chess.