Bike Forums - East Tennesse rider

well, here is my introduction. I'm not at all new to the forum. I have referenced threads for many bike projects over the past couple of years, but never registered till now. I ride mostly road bikes, although my passion for cycling started way before that. as a kid in the midwest i raced bmx. i was about 6 when i got my first bmx and was bunnyhopping all around my little town by 8 or 9. i raced some local bmx circuit events from 10-12 and started into freestyle in middle school. by high school i had gained enough skill street riding and dirt jumping to have a couple grommet sponsorships. this went on till about 17 when i literally thought i broke my neck backflipping dirt gaps and then the fear got me. if i got a descent amount of air, i'd sketch out and that was the end of my bmx sessions. i didnt touch a bike again until about 19. i had some car trouble and pulled the old ten speed out of the shed and booked across town. i had always thought of old steel 10 speeds as "grandpa bikes". something clicked this time though and i decided to get some "adult" bikes. i got a peugot ht mountain bike and a 91' cannondale touring bike. the atb cracked at the bb cause those bmx instincts kicked in and it scared the beegeeses out of me. i didnt replace my atb, just rode that c'dale everywhere. eventually i noticed that the tires in both of my cars actually went flat due to lack of driving, so i sold them and started my car-free lifestyle. i'm 25 now and ride roadies a lot. that cannondale is retired due to a nasty crash on a super steep descent that landed me in the hospital with several shattered bones and a collapsed lung. i've since healed and am stronger, wiser than before. i probably log a couple hundred miles a week total. more about my rides and cycling both urban and touring in east Tennessee to come, but there is a good intro for the forums. so , Hey y'all.http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3646/...92ea58d854.jpg