Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to join the community. My name is David, and I live in West Texas where the temps are high and the hills aren't. Cycling found me at the perfect time in the form of an old beach cruiser on top of some free equipment from a friend. I had been considering finding a flight of stairs somewhere to climb in preparation for ski season, but I couldn't see myself driving somewhere to exercise.

I aired up the tires on the new to me Micargi cantilever, and rode four blocks. My lower back was set aflame, hips were in pain, and my knees threatened to go on strike. I still had to ride home. The next day was much better, and within a week, I was riding a three mile route every morning. Of course, I had to turn the front fork and fender around. Comfort increased dramatically after adjusting the seat and bars for my stature. Wondering if I really knew how to ride a bicycle, I picked up the finer points from our good friend, Sheldon Brown. More adjustments followed.

That's when economy materials began to show their age. I repacked the bottom bracket first. After about forty miles or so, it's back where I started. The front wheel bearings went south, so I swapped the front wheel from a Schwinn Mesa Runner mixte. Another ten miles or so, and the rear hub is dragging. I had ideas, but I didn't want to be without a bicycle for a day, so I stole my Dad's old bike, and consider myself quite fortunate for what I found.

I got hooked by a 1982 Schwinn Le Tour. I've since repacked everything short of the head set, replaced the seat, tires, and bar tape. The crank spindle and bearings came from the Mesa Runner, as they were like new, and the left hand cup has a 1" hex, so I have the proper wrench to fit. Really, I started riding it just to see if it would suffice as a backup, and instead it outright replaced the cruiser.

In the meantime, I had to have a backup, so the beach cruiser took the rear wheel from the Mesa runner, complete with derailleur and cable, with the shifter mounted under the seat. As I no longer had a coaster brake, I cut the posts from the mixte and positioned them on the rear of the Micargi, welding them in place. I now have a functional five speed beach cruiser which is exponentially more practical than before.

So it's getting late. I rode almost twenty miles yesterday circling my neighborhood. I think I might aim for ten this morning, up from the present six miles.

This is an extreme departure from who I was only a short time ago. I quit smoking after nineteen years in December, cold turkey. Taught myself to carve on the ski hill inside of three days by February, and now I'm considering the Tour De Ruidoso next month. A video of a gent hitting over fifty miles an hour on the first downhill told me I need to get my poop in a group if I plan on doing the same, so here I am.

Anyhow, enough about me. I have to get out there and ride!