LittleBigMan

Notice how Raymond describes himself in relation to his family?

Pete Clark, 41 years of age (not "old"), wife Toni and four children: Rob (22), Amanda (18), Jared (16) and Angela (5). We live in beautiful Atlanta, Georgia, USA. in a "satellite" city called Stone Mountain, where there exists the
largest piece of granite above ground in the world--a really neat place. We are also not far from the Appalachian Mountains to the north, but that's a bit of a drive.

I work in the computer industry and volunteer as a teacher. I am glad I've gotten to know so many of you on these forums, it's really been great! Thanks for putting up with my rants. I still am so amazed I've met so
many nice people from all over the place. Even this morning I got a personal message from Buddy Hayden, all the way from Melbourne, Australia. Joe, do realize how cool this thingy is? First, there was paper; then, the printing press; then came Bell Telephone and now, there's BikeForums! Blows me away, mate!

I think I re-entered cycling as an adult at about 37 years of age. I am so grateful I rediscovered cycling. It has become an important part of my life. I always rode as a kid and I guess that's what led me back to it. It is so much fun to get on my bike after work and start cruising home down tree-lined streets, with complete confidence that the 15 mile trip will be very do-able. Makes me feel a little independent, a little more powerful or something.
I like being different cycling instead of driving, it makes me think, "See, all you folks in your cars, there IS a better way!" I know the answer to this, but I almost wonder, "Why isn't everyone cycling instead of driving?" Driving is
so filthy (to our surroundings). I want to show as many people as possible (including myself) that cycling is a better alternative to driving, anywhere you want to go. The only prerequisite is to get oneself in shape enough to
be a really good engine. I find that idea exciting.

And again, I am amazed at how BikeForums has so quickly introduced me to so many friends, as far away as Canada, Europe or Australia. We should really think about what we have, here.

Pete

aerobat

OK, I guess it's my turn.

Dave Stacey from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I'm 53 years, 5'7", 154 lbs.

I'm single but committed to my SO, and 20 month old grandaughter. We took her for her first two bike trailer rides this past weekend and she loved it! A budding BikeForum member!

I'm an Air Traffic Controller by profession, and work part time as a flying instructor and pilot flight tester.

I've been biking since I was a kid, and pretty well always had a bike, but have become more serious about it in the last 6 or 7 years. I ride a Giant Innova hybrid as my commuter, but have a Trek MTB for the trails, and this year started riding a Cannondale road bike for faster rides. I love them all, but the Giant is a really sweet bike.

I'm blessed with being able to work at something I really like doing, and with guys at work who are all for the most part interested in fitness and a few specifically cycling, so it's a great atmosphere.

Unfortunately, I don't have any bike shots.

Steele-Bike

Hi there,

I am Nate Steele, 28 yrs old and live in the great little college town of Iowa City, IA. I work as a computer operator for a standardized test scoring company. I have a live-in girlfriend, no kids, 2 dogs, 2 parakeets, 4 goldfish and large collection of house plants and bonsai's.

The first bike I owned was a Schwinn Stingray, red and yellow...I wish I still had that bike. I now ride a Mongoose NX7-1, that I have recently upgraded with a Rockshox SID XC. I also currently have 1.5" slicks on the bike. In the spirit of SUV's, I like to think of my bike as an "Urban Assault Cycle". I mainly ride for transportation, but love every minute of it. I more or less bike year around, even though I am amazed at the extensive list of excuses I seem to have. Fortunately (or maybe not) this town has a great bus system, and since I work at 7am it is awfully tempting to walk across the street to the bus stop instead of getting on the bike. It is only a 4 mile ride to work, but two miles of it are on a hill-ridden busy rural highway, so it always seems further than it is.

I also love going to the local mountain bike trail, which is 20 miles away. It always seems like a long ride on mountain bike, but it's said to be the best trails in Iowa, so I guess I can't complain.

OK, that's all.

UncaStuart

Specs:
Doug Stuart
6'2" 190 lbs (likes beer too much to be a "weight weenie")
53 years

Story:
I live on the San Francisco Peninsula, which affords great cycling opportunities both for recreation and commuting. Recently I've been doing more of the recreational version than the commuting version, having been laid off back in November from my job as Director of Creative Development at a telecommunications software company. Bad timing as the dot-coms all started tanking six weeks later!

I am married to Samantha, a conflict resolution specialist and mediator, who, for four or five thousand miles a year is the stoker on our tandem. Except in those years like 1996 when she lived in Azerbaijan and Armenia for six months working with groups there on citizen diplomacy projects (thank goodness for email and chat!). We've been married coming up 15 years, and I am stepfather to her four grown children, and known as "Granpa Duck" to the three grandkids, with two more on the way in June and July.

My first full size bike was a black Raleigh three-speed in the late 50s, which my dad took into the paint shop at the car dealership where he worked and had it painted a nice Corvette burgundy (my older brother's bike got red-orange). But I really didn't get into serious riding until much, much later . . . like 35 years.

I started commuting eight years ago on a hybrid, and after upgrading to an inexpensive touring bike in 1997, decided to branch off into recreational road riding in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west (the mountains refered to in my town's name of "Mountain View"). I joined a club in 1998, started adding centuries to the mix and have managed to do 27 to date (14 on the tandem), and will probabaly do three a month through September. Sam & I did the California AIDS Ride last year on the tandem, and are repeating this year. Even though I am out of work, I commute with her on the tandem to her office and then take the train home, returning in the evening to pedal back with her.

Our motto on the tandem (as I have mentioned in one post here) is "We may be slow, but we're . . . slow." We haven't done a double century yet (let alone PBP like some tandeming friends have!), but are thinking about it and the necessary saddle time. We have done the local "Mount Hamilton Challenge," which is 130 miles and 9000 feet. That took us almost 11 hours at 12.3 mph, so we're trying to extrapolate the butt pain equivalent for a 6000-foot double!

Two years ago I got an unexpected bonus at work, so part of that went to my "weekend sportster," a carbon-fiber Trek. As a result the entryway of our condo is rather cramped, with the Trek joining the tandem, the touring bike, and my wife's Terry.

Picture:
Here's two shots stuck together, the Trek with operator, and Sam and me on the tandem.

UncaStuart

Or maybe here?

aerobat

I had the problem with uploading the picture, so I'll try it again. This is my favourite cross training activity, cross country skiing, the last time out this year.

Dirtgrinder

I'm new here but I just love the place. I'm 43, 185lbs. married for about 10yrs. Two girls Lauren and Emily. Started mountain biking about two years ago to get in better shape and lost 35 lbs. What a great sport! I work for Bell & Howell (22yrs) as a technician. I wore my bike shorts under my pants to work last week so I could go straight to the trails. Am I hooked or what?
Sorry about the pic but it's the only one of me on the computer. It's after my first endo. (Notice the right shoulder) I did a better one last week. Much more colorful. You'd think I'd learn. Glad to meet everybody.
Dirtgrinder - aka Bob Hagan

Cheryl

Hi kids,

I'm Cheryl Conklin, 39, from beautiful New Jersey just north of Princeton.

I have been riding for 3 years, wrestled into it by my SO Howard. I love mtb, roading is taking some getting used to. I have a Cannondale M300 and a Lemond Tourmalet.

I am a Municipal Clerk for the town I live in as well as assistant to the Administrator and CFO of a nearby town. Both are very diverse and fun. I love dealing with the public because it makes me realize how sane I really am..

I have an 18 year old son who drives me bananas and the best guy a girl could have who lets me have whatever I want as long as I ride 50-75 miles a week with him. Fair trade??

I'm enjoying this site, great job, Joe!!

HogWild

Howdy!

My name is Carl. I'm 46 yrs old and living in San Angelo, a oasis of about 90,000 in the vast desolation of west Texas. My wife and I both work for Angelo State University, where she teaches nursing and I'm a Technology Services Analyst in the IT department. As if I wasn't busy enough already, I started working on a graduate degree in Communication this semester.

At various times in the past I've been an avid cyclist, but had embraced the sins of gluttony and sloth for the last 10 years or so. About a month ago I failed my cholesterol test and after sitting through the standard heart disease lecture and humbly accepting the pamphlets and a prescription for expensive drugs that I might have to take for the rest of my life, we decided that we need to make some lifestyle changes (I use the term "we" loosely - I get only token input into family health issues. My wife's a nurse, after all).

So I stand before you a changed man. I got a Giant Cypress, she got a Specialized Crossroads, and we're riding all over town. I started commuting on the bike last week, and try to get 10+ miles a day, 20+ miles on weekends. I quit eating so much Mexican food (except on Tuesdays, which is fajita day at Chilango's).

My 6'3" frame is down to 240 lbs and still dropping (it would drop faster were it not for Chilango's). I remember now why I loved pedalling so much. I go back to the doctor this Thursday and I think I have a pretty good shot at talking her out of renewing the prescription.
Finals are Monday.

Any questions?

c~

Ranger Jake

Howdy Folks,

Been away for the last two weeks doing that "job" thing, so here goes...

Name: Jake
Age: 28 (in about 26 days from this posting)
Height: 5' 10.5"
Weight: 10W30

Originally born in Mt. Clemans MI, my folks moved to Sunny Arizona when I was three. As I grew, so did my love for bicycles. When i was 15, I received a Schwinn Traveler that i rode into oblivion in a matter of a year. Rode actively for two years until a bike-car incident nearly ended my life (wear your helmet, y'all!). I joined the U.S. Army and was made into a military policeman which I remained for five years. My last stop was Heidelberg Germany where I met my (unbeknownst to her) future wife. After the army was over, I worked for about a year back in AZ until I got married and moved to Karlsruhe Germany, where I currently reside.

Been riding ever since I left the military (although I did a rotation on the Ft. Campbell bicycle patrol) and recently ditched my ancient Trek 8000 for a shiny-new custom made from the local shop. Nothing makes life grand like riding a two-day old bike in the first real sunny weather in months on a 4 day weekend with my new-to-cycling bride. My wife just recently graduated from "grandma's old beast" to a real mountain bike with gears and everything, so despite complaints of sore "contact surfaces" she seems to be really stoked.

Sorry, no picture right now, but hopefully one of the new ride in the next few days.

TLN

Obviously a newbie to this forum as you can see by me label. Im 33 years old 6', 195lbs. getting engaged this summer and just bought a house so I guess that means that I am a grown up responsible adult.....well maybe only just. I grew up in the midwest but moved to Washington State after I graduated college and have been out here for about 10 years now. I quit working in the rat race a few months ago and decided to be self-employed as a mechanical engineer / AutoCAD specialist. I wish I could say that this manuever gives me more time to ride, hopefully it will in the future, but it doesnt right now since I am spending a lot of time trying to pick up new clients.

Ive been riding since I was 2. My first ride was this grand apple-red tricycle..did they have apple-red back then?...maybe it was just red barn paint, anyway it was great! My first and last accident, well a major one anyways, left me sliding from pavement to gravel and into a mailbox post....all on my face. So my good hearted, mother (did I mention that she is German) set me out in the sun while dousing my with isopropyl and scrubbing sand and rocks out of the right side of my face with some sort of scouring pad. Well apparently she knew what she was doing since I only have a 3 mm scar in one place. As far as the bike went, it was a mess. I went from road biking to mt biking....raced for a little while....then went back into road. I just seem to like it a whole lot more.

bikerjoe

Howdy all,
Age 29, male, married, no kids, Chemical Engineer with a environmental consulting firm.

Commuting again for the past two weeks straight. Last year, I got a Jeep Wrangler and spent my sunny days riding around with the top down. My bike feels even better. I forgot that.

I started riding as a kid like most and started commuting and road riding in 1992 with a new Trek 2000. Brutal. I bought it too large. I had no concept of adjustment other than the seat. I rode with my new cycling friends until my hands tingled and back burned. After about a year of that, I wised up and replaced components to make it fit better. Now I could do longer rides including centuries and started really enjoying it.

Now I've sold the Trek and have a Bridgestone MB-4 for trails and ride a Schwinn road bike that I found abandoned in the basement of the apartment where I lived. The Schwinn is a lugged steel, 27"wheeled, friction shiftn' comfort commuter. It had "World Class" badging but I don't know if that was the model or what.

mike

Hi. My name is Mike Stone, known on BikeForums.com unimposingly as simply “Mike”. 6’1” 204 lbs. People often ask me, “Are you the REAL Mike Stone?!” The answer is always the same, “Yes, I am THE Mike Stone”.

My home is in the snowy mid-western part of the GREAT North American continent which, I have been told, is owned by the United States of America. An important section of our great continent was named Canada and has been given to King Racso for his enjoyment.

As Pete Clark would say, my tongue is 40 years old, but my teeth are even younger. I have been fortunate enough to enjoy jam packing each moment with wonderful adventures and have spent most of my life traveling the world and meeting fantastic friends that God himself must have chosen specifically for me. I know that a lot of guys on this forum have good spouses, but sorry cats, my wife is the best. She encourages my spirit and is the mother of our two wonderful boys.

As for my career, I am the Asia Sales Manager for a USA manufacturing company. This career provides me with a steady stream of opportunities to travel to all parts of the world; naturally bicycling or at least checking out the bike scene wherever I go.

The reason I bike is because I love it. Bikeforums.com is one of the few places where people understand the meaning of that sentence without needing any other explanation. My passion for ecological conservation compels me to rescue old bikes, get them back to good working order, and give them to people who will ride them for function. My garage now has 52 bicycles hanging like bats and lined up like stallions waiting to stir the wind. For this reason, the newest bike I ride is from 1976 (thanks Kevin), but I put on a lot more miles than most people with newer bikes. Even the tires are used/old because it is shameful waste of materials and land to send a useable tire to the landfill. As you can imagine, my passion is part curse; I keep up with other riders, but only with greater effort.

I bicycle commute every single day. It is not easy to bicycle here because in the winter the weather can dive to –20 F or lower for weeks at a time. Attached is a photo of me leaving for my bicycle commute on a –40 F (= -40 C) day.

My hobbies include the shared obsession with BikeForums.com as well as lifelong interests in martial arts, history, culture, travel, and the enjoyment of good people.

fubar5

My name is Matt Brown, I was born in Baten Rouge Louisiana. My dad is a officer in the Air Force so we have to move every three years, sooo I have never live somewhere longer than three years I'm 5'10, I struggle to wiegh 140, have blue eyes, and brown hair. I got my first bike for my fifth birthday, it was a 16 in Huffy, red.I had my first accident the same year, I hit one of those parking stones and flew off my bike, the result was a broken jaw. I had to walk around for three days with my jaw hanging wide open before my mom took me to th Dr, she tells me now that I used to cry about everything so she didn't think I was that hurt.My second bike my dad got from a garage sale and we rebuilt it. I didn't have any crashes on that bike, and eventually my sister backed the car over it. My first MTB and ten speed came when I was nine. I had a paper route for a year or so and the money was burning a hole in my pocket, and when I saw the bike, I was in love.That bike lasted until I was 14, and then I started using my dads bike.
Now I am using my sisters Univega and saving up for one of two bikes, a Moab 3 or a Giant OCR 3.
I just got a job working as an assistant in a optometry clinic, and I plan on going to Clemson university and majoring in physics, minoring in music, and doing AFROTC. Thats me guys!!! Here's a picture of me standing in front of an F-16!

fubar5

Darn , the image didn't work, let see if it works this time.

aerobat

Now that's basic transportation!!!
:thumbup:

Chris L

OK then, here goes:

Chris Lewthwaite. Height: almost 6ft (I think), Weight: 61kg Currently living on the Gold Coast in South Queensland, Australia. 24 years old, about to finish university (end of this year). Mr Spanky, hill climbing fanatic. Other interests are my coin collection, my fanantical devotion to Manchester United, and I don't have time for much else.

Chris

Mookie

Hi all,

I'm Kevin from Calgary Canada. Just turned 37, married and started MTB in 1985. Before that, I rode everywhere since I was 8 years old. However, the last 8-9 years I haven't been riding that much due to a neck injury from a crash I had back in the late 80's. I just started to ride again last year regularly since my neck rarely gives me any problems now. I commute to work everyday and on weekends ride in the Rockies in and around the Banff area where it's always a grueling climb to the top of the Mountains, but the downhills are extremely worth it!

Cheers,

Mookie

tourman

Good Evening.
I'm newer to this computer stuff than I am to cycling.I'm 46 and have been cycling on and off like most of us since i was a young lad.My wife and I had Sears ten speed road bikes when the girls were young before bike helmets were the rage.We road with the little ones in those behind the seat mounts. Since no bike helmets were made for them we used hockey helmets. What else would you expect from a canadian.Then there was while where no serious riding took place time constraints and other excuses. I had a Norco MTB for a few years and then 3 yrs ago bought a KHS hybrid well that got the feeling back. Last spring I bought a Cannondale R1000 and really got out there and rode. A few years ago 5kms on the Norco would be tough.Now on days 50 kms feels short.
This all come about 12 years ago when I quit my high stress management job and started driving tour bus, hence the monicker tourman.In this job I get a lot of downtime when the group is at an attraction and I bring my bike and can knock of a few kms during work and get paid. What a deal! Last week I was able to ride in Virginia Beach the week before New York City.This July doing a 23 day Western Canada and USA tour. I really look forward to riding in different parts of North America.
The company I drive for is great with the best looking coaches on the contintent.See for yourself at www.BigBlueCoach.com
Life is good!!

Ranger Jake

Servus!

Sorry Badger, the pic didn't come out .

P.S. How is the weather in my old home State?

dirtsqueezer

6' 0", 180 lbs hailing from Boise, Idaho a 35 year old married engineer, Ladies and Gentleman please welcome Dirtsqueezer.

Always been a semi-regular commuter. Got involved with organized rides (League of American Wheelman) while living in Corvallis, Oregon. Later jumped into club racing (mountain and road) in Fairbanks, Alaska. Nowadays, I spend my saddle time commuting about 3 days per week from March to December, catch some club rides, and ride MTB's with a loose group of friends. We are spending more time on the Tandem, getting ready for the Northwest Tandem Rally in Pendelton.

Fortunately, the spousal unit is a big riding fan, so we egg each other on with spending time and money on the bikes. When we are not on bikes, it is backpacking, skiing, and being the humble manservant to our 3 dogs.

Joe Gardner

Dirtsqueezer, sounds like the good life, and welcome to the forums.

Cambronne

Serge here. I'm a 47 year old french national, living and working in the US since 1995. I've been back home for as long as ten months, but I like it here, I have room to breathe. I've considered becoming an american, but my french citizenship is as much a part of me as are my heart and lungs. Cocorico.

I go to the gym for muscle tone, but I bike for more esoteric reasons... as biking is not exactly a cerebral activity, I have plenty of handlebar time to just think about things. Or to learn... I learned english mainly from listening to language cassettes while commuting... hours and hours of vocabulary and verb drills! (Funny thing, the mind - When I use or hear certain english verbs, I can picture where on my parisian commutes I was when I first learned them.)

I have since learned spanish in the same way, and I am presently working on italian. Why? Well, I certainly have the time to learn them. Plus, ANYTHING beats american commercial radio... no offense!

I'm quite fit for an old guy, 1.76m, 66kg, and I can still recall what it was like to be fast!

I was born and grew up in Paris, first in the IVeme, then we moved to the XVeme... Blvd. de Grenelle... Dupleix... when I was still quite young. I grew up on two wheels, all over town and in the surrounding countryside. "Critical Traffic" ŕ la NYC or Boston is a concept with which I am familiar.

I worked for EDF for many years, as an electrical engineer involved in Telecommunications, when an opportunity to swap jobs with an american telecom engineer came up... and I took it. The position was supposed to be temporary, but neither of us... nor our respective employers... seems to be pushing for our returns.

My present office is 3.0 miles from my house, but I leave for work nearly two hours early, turn the WRONG way, and make a nice 20 mile "dawn patrol" out of it. Ditto for the evening ride home. Back in France, I was logging
1 100 and 1 200 km (700 - 725 miles) months, and I thought that was good. Well, here in the outskirts of Atlanta, GA, I've regularly posted 900+ mile months! I've seen no need to buy a car... If I can make it to work, I have access to a "pool" company car.

I'm single, with no children, but I do have an american girlfriend. She doesn't ride, but she does drive a Corvette... which has merits. My current écurie holds:

Trek 1220 road bike... lights, rack.
Trek 7900 hybrid... mudguards, lights, rack. (My "rainbike)

1996 Yamaha YZF600 motorbike... fills the need for speed.

Back home, I (hopefully still) have:

Campy equipped Peugeot road bike, early 1970s.
Specialized Crossroads Elite hybrid... mudguards, lights, rack, suspension fork.

1991 Honda Pan European 1100 motorbike.
1972 Lamborghini Miura SV... hasn't pumped a piston in anger since early 1980s, but I hold a 50% share.

My best english expressions so far:

"Thank you for NOT running me over and squashing me like a bug."

"Oppor-knockity tunes only once."

"I'm not rich, I'm just practising for when I will be."

Nitter

Andrew here. I am a fed who bikes all 2. 5 miles to catch a commuter train into Washington DC. I live in Greenbelt, a government town that still has fond memories of Eleanor Roosevelt. The neatest part of living here in suburban DC is I'm right next to the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). I can get on my bike, and in five minutes ride by a herd of cows grazing on a field, and feel like I'm back in the Dairy state. I'm single. 43, and got back into riding about 8 years ago. I try to do a number of metric centuries each year, and finish up with the Seagull Century in the Fall. Maybe next year I'll become a randonneur and do some brevets.

dirtsqueezer

Hey fellah, what you do on your time is your own business

Ooops, did a web search: https://www.bgcycling.org/BRM/English/
My mistake.