Gordo Grande

Hi folks,

I'm new here. I'm a life-long cyclist, ever since I got my old Ross "English Racer" type 3-speed in about 1963. I rode that a lot before I got my driver's license, and rode a track bike a little in my early twenties, but really became a serious cyclist in my early thirties. That's when I bought about 1/2 dozen bikes and rode 5,000 miles a year. At my best, I could ride a century in about 5 1/2 hours and a double-century in about 15 hours. I did a lot of touring and commuting back in the day.

My license plate is "MRBCYCL," if that tells you anything. :-)

Anyway, then life got in the way. Marriage, kids, home ownership, a couple of corporate take-overs, some serious illness. Now, I'm nearing retirement, my kids are grown, I've gained about 70 lbs, and I need to get back into shape. The doctor says I'll croak if I don't lose the weight, so that's all the excuse I need to return to my old cycling addictions. I never really did stop riding, but my mileage was more like 500 miles a year instead of 5,000 miles a year.

I've spent much of the last few monthes fixing up my old stable of trusty steeds. I have about ten bikes, and the guys at the bike shops usually have a good laugh because I don't own anything newer than 25 years old. I'll be popping in here a lot as I need advice on getting the old bikes to look and ride like new again.

My screen name is "Gordo Grande," which means "big, fat guy" in Spanish. Maybe I should change it to "MrBcycl." What do you think?

Ross