I guess I have always liked bikes. One of my earliest memories is of getting a trike for Christmas. I was really mad when my parents made me go to church that day! I didn't want to get off. I even ate our Christmas brunch while seated on my trike at the dining table.

When I was a bit older I "borrowed" my next door neighbor's bike to learn to ride. I worked as a paper boy and saved up enough money to buy a 3-speed Hercules at the base PX. I rode or walked to school during in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. In high school and college I didn't ride at all.

My wife and I started riding with our best friends in the late '80s. We had gotten involved in skiing but when a chair lift broke down in 5 deg F. weather with the wind blowing and the chair suspended over a ravine, my wife thought we should try a sport that wasn't quite so cold! I've pretty much been riding since. Before starting a family, we did a few tours in New England and some in England, Germany, and France. When the kids were small -- between '87 and '97 -- I didn't ride all that much, although I never completely stopped. When I came out to California I found that there were lots of great roads to ride in the Bay Area all year 'round and I could ride right from my house. After 15 years my wife has returned to cycling and has rediscovered how much she enjoys it.

Now that I am currently unemployed I am riding a whole lot more. and

SteveE