Man, you just wrote my biography.

My 1996 REI Novarra 3x7 still works perfectly well, after crossing the continent a couple of times and more commuting and day trip miles than I can count. I just salvaged another "new" middle chain ring from the non-profit shop I volunteer at. Frame and shifters are original and I'll be really upset when one of those fails. I've never paid more than $50 for a salvaged wheel, with cassette. I wouldn't hesitate to ride anywhere with it, tomorrow.

When cyclists meet up and praise each others' rides, nobody says anything to me. "Steel is real, baby," I silently say to myself.

I tried clipless pedals and shoes for a decade or so, but it turns out my days are better with platform pedals and straps and trail runners. I'm a scrawny, weathered sixty years old and I know Lycra is not my friend. MTB fashion is more my style, or maybe the other way around.

First tour was 1000 miles around Lake Michigan from home in Chicago (1975). I packed my high school gym duffel on top of an old spring-loaded book rack on a borrowed Schwinn Continental and wore cut-off jeans. That ride set the tone for my touring life.

PS: Friends call me retrogrouch.