Longtime lurker here. I've been riding for about 20 years now, mostly road. I started riding as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, riding a mountain bike to classes. Shortly thereafter, I started working at REI part time (to pay for beer money), and I've been hooked ever since. Recently the challenge has been to balance family time with ride time, but there are thousands of us who can write about that.

Happy to be here.

Hi foggypeake--are you a wrench at REI?

Welcome to BikeForums, and don't hesitate to send me a PM if you have any questions .

East Hill
Forum Moderator

No, I was never a wrench, only a lowly sales puke for about three years. I started in clothing and then moved to the bike department. Once I graduated from UMD, I quit REI, but a few years later I worked at Performance (aka the Evil Empire). I lasted at Perf for about seven years part-time (again as a sales puke), but quit once my wife and I started having children.

You must have at least gotten some nice employee discounts!

East Hill

That was the real reason to work there. As Randall said in the classic movie Clerks: "This job would be great if it wasn't for the customers."

As a USPS employee, now working as a window clerk, I see that every so often. Still, the nice customers far outnumber the unhappy ones, and I still try to help the unhappy ones the best I can.

East Hill