My first job was at the corner gas station. I could completely strip and rebuild Chevy small-blocks before I graduated high school. I've tilted a few in Brock Yates' Cannonball Run Pub in nearby Wyoming, NY.

I could go on, but yeah, I was a car enthusiast.

It was traffic and parking that changed it all for me. As much as I liked my cars, riding the bus to work was cheaper and considerably less stressful.

Other life changes came along and in April of 1999, it just made sense to get rid of my last car.

I'm still a gearhead, and I work on the engine too. But the gears are from Shimano and Campagnolo, and the engine just keeps getting older... I still love the feel of fine machinery, and the way tires sing on the asphalt. Now, I'm closer to the machinery--actually attached to it rather than isolated within it, and I can hear the tires so much better.

And last time I was in Wyoming, NY, I rode my bike through it and didn't stop to see how ol' Brock was doing since being booted from Car and Driver.