It didn't take many years of wiping ash trays in a bowling alley to make me realize that it wasn't a great career. I followed my family and did a short apprenticeship at a music store and went into the family business repairing musical instruments. My instrument repairs put me through college, but just barely and I struggled with balancing money against grades, but managed a BS and an MS in science (as far from my family profession as I could get). Unfortunately, after 23 years of part-time teaching I had to admit I wasn't the popular flavor of the month for hiring and I eventually gave up teaching for my old profession. Fortunately, instrument servicing is quite pleasant, gives one lots of freedom and is as profitable as you make it, so I am still enjoying life, though not the one I had hoped for.

My first bike was a too-big "English racer" (actually a three speed light commuter bike). When that was stolen I got a typical beach-cruiser style "medium weight" bike that I pedaled everywhere for years, eventually stripping it down to bare essentials and using it off road. In high school my parents gave me a Taiwanese "10 speed" that I rode almost everywhere.

Years later I found an older 20 speed road bike and used it to quit running. That led to a small succession of better road bikes, though I still only ride aluminum frame mid-grade bikes with a minimum of carbon.