Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.mrz80
09-16-09, 09:53 AM
Ah, the obligatory introductory ramble: I'm a fortysomething Jesus freak who hacks networks for a living and plays the occasional guitar. I've been married for 20+ years and am afflicted with paternity (2 teenage girls - fear fear fear!).
I've been riding seriously or semiseriously since I was a kid and discovered that I could outrun any bigger kid trying to pick on me by hitting the big ring and hammering. My habit got up around 20 to 30 miles a day until the kids arrived, at which time I pretty much stopped riding. I've gotten back into it periodically, and am making a determined effort now to stay with it, as the wife is convinced I'm healthier when I ride. My younger daughter is getting into riding too and has essentially hijacked her mother's Terry road bike. The older girl outgrew her mountain bike , passed it down to her kid sister, and laid claim to the wife's RockHopper. Looks like if the wife wants to start riding again I'll have to pony up for some new bikes. :)
I've always worked on my own and my friends' bikes. My current road bike is a 15+ y/o Maruishi Tange #2 frameset I bought on consignment for a hundred bucks; my family pitched in and got me a complete Ultegra group for Christmas that year. I recently replaced the wheels and am now finally using the Ultegra hubs. A decade and a half later and my bike finally indexes! My shoes fell apart recently so I splurged on new road shoes and SPD-SL pedals, as nobody seems to sell good old Luddite slotted cleats any more. It's a decent ride, though I get bike envy when my 6-4 coworker with the 19lb titanium and DuraAce dream bike shows up at the office. :)
Next trick is to add some ham radio gear to the mountain bike and operate bicycle mobile on 20 meters! :)
I've been riding seriously or semiseriously since I was a kid and discovered that I could outrun any bigger kid trying to pick on me by hitting the big ring and hammering. My habit got up around 20 to 30 miles a day until the kids arrived, at which time I pretty much stopped riding. I've gotten back into it periodically, and am making a determined effort now to stay with it, as the wife is convinced I'm healthier when I ride. My younger daughter is getting into riding too and has essentially hijacked her mother's Terry road bike. The older girl outgrew her mountain bike , passed it down to her kid sister, and laid claim to the wife's RockHopper. Looks like if the wife wants to start riding again I'll have to pony up for some new bikes. :)
I've always worked on my own and my friends' bikes. My current road bike is a 15+ y/o Maruishi Tange #2 frameset I bought on consignment for a hundred bucks; my family pitched in and got me a complete Ultegra group for Christmas that year. I recently replaced the wheels and am now finally using the Ultegra hubs. A decade and a half later and my bike finally indexes! My shoes fell apart recently so I splurged on new road shoes and SPD-SL pedals, as nobody seems to sell good old Luddite slotted cleats any more. It's a decent ride, though I get bike envy when my 6-4 coworker with the 19lb titanium and DuraAce dream bike shows up at the office. :)
Next trick is to add some ham radio gear to the mountain bike and operate bicycle mobile on 20 meters! :)