I avoided C&V when I joined bikeforums in Jan 2009, because I thought it was all about esoteric materialism. Well, it's about that plus a lot more. I don't relate to the road forum whatsoever. The truth is, I don't do much weekend riding. Most of my riding is errands and commuting type stuff, so I don't need high end stuff. I'm a hobbyist bike mechanic who does some work on bikes and refurbishing as a side business. So C&V ends up being my favorite subforum. You guys are my friends now, and when I have something bike-related to say and it's not C&V related, I'll tell you anyway, because you guys are my friends.

I like saving money by using my brain. It's an engineering challenge. That's one thing that makes old bikes more fun. Plus I'm currently under-employed, so I have to save money. It doesn't stop my enjoyment of riding.

I recently test rode a carbon fiber racing bike. I'm training a woman for a triathlon, so I had to try her bike. The truth? It was fantastic. If I had $4,000 to spend on that kind of bike, I would love to do so. Then again, if I had that kind of money, I could get a truck load of old bikes and have more fun tinkering. And I'm not a competitive rider, so what's the point? This woman is very wealthy and is serious about sports, so she got the bike for her. I'm not very envious, though. She's childless and is the VP of a global company. She travels to Asia every month. Not the life I aspire to. More power to her, though.