I spent 1980 to 1984 in high school and my brother and I explored the back dirt roads (and abandoned farm houses) on old yellow Schwinn Continental "tanks" That's where we discovered the freedom of the bicycle. I also developed some knee problems from running cross country in high school for 4 years. So, my freshman year of college my dad surprised me with a brand new Peugeot PSV10. Needless to say I put a ton of miles on that bike during my college years and into the early 1990's including several metric centuries and the 1985 Seattle to Portland ride - 192 miles in one day.

We were dumb then - no helmets and often no shirts when we were riding in school. I remember bombing down a hill when it was 80+ degrees at over 50 mph without a helmet on. That lasted until the day I decided to bounce my head off the road and took 8 stitches. Now my wife won't let me shave my head because she says the bump and scar would make me look geeky.

I don't ride as fast now or as far, but I think I enjoy the bike a whole lot more than I did back then, despite how much fun the PSV was to ride.