When I was a kid (born in '67) all the kids rode bikes. We rode them to elementary school everyday. Remember when all the kids would be playing outside after school and on weekends? Those days are gone. My first "real" bike was some kind of muscle bike with a shifter. Then I got a new yellow '77 Schwinn Scrambler. My and my buds had trails and jumps in the woods before anyone ever heard of mountain biking. We would jump over each other. Then I got a bad azz '79 Mongoose with motomags. Modded it out with a Tuf Neck, JT Racing plate and pads and a bunch of stickers. I was addicted to it. My parents almost bought me some kind of junior road bike during that time but never did. After I got my drivers license I only cared about hot rods an drag racing. Then in '87 my rich uncle had gotten into road cycling and let me ride one of his PX-10's around White Rock Lake in Dallas. Then he gave me the bike. That day I became a roadie and have been one ever since. Can't say anyone mentored me into C&V.