Hi everyone!
Been lurking here since the end of Aug. and decided now was as good a time as any to jump in!
My name is Steve and have been living in the KCMO Metro area for over two years now. Before that I lived almost my entire 40 year existence in the SF East Bay area (Alameda, Emeryville, Walnut Creek).
Was into riding back in the early '80s when I worked part-time at an LBS called Orinda Spoke & Pedal. What a cool shop that was! We stocked Bridgestone, Ciocc, Guerciotti, Cinelli, and probably a couple others I don't remember. Nice ride to work from Walnut Creek to Orinda...
Fast-foward to present day...haven't been a bike in YEARS. But after watching the Tour de France this year, I got the bug to ride again. Only one problem: no bike
Over the last dozen or so years I've been supporting my other passion...guitars. I'm a little astounded at bike prices these days and my wife ain't exactly pleased that I may be developing (redeveloping) another expensive interest. For now, I'm not able to afford even a 'cheap' complete bike. I lust after older lugged steel Cioccs (chrome stays, sloped crown chrome forks), until I know better, that'll be my dream bike. To get my foot back in the door, or rather, my feet back on the pedals I'm looking to get an older used frame or two and slowly build them up. I recently made a couple of ebay buys, and time-wasters or not, I felt they were good deals. One is a recent Viner Competiton frame(sans fork) originally from GVH that I picked up on ebay for about $67.00 shipped. The other is a Centurion Ironman Master frame with a Kenesis EMS composite fork for about $74.00 shipped. These are two I figure i can get started with. Please let me know your suggestions for building up these two frames(of course I'm still looking to do it as inexpensively as possible)!
I guess I'm a tad long-wided here, but I'm so excited to be headed back into cycling and can't wait to be a more active member on this list!

Welcome to Bike Forums! I am originally from the Shawnee-Mission area.
Tom

Welcome, I live in Liberty and work in KCMO. What brought you to KC from the Bay Area? The riding out there is superb, though it is improving (slowly) in the KC area. I ride road and mountain bike quite a bit on some the local trails (which are much better than most people would ever guess). Good luck building up your bikes and when they are ready to ride I have some great suggestions for nice country road rides.

Thanks for the welcome guys. Couple of different reasons for moving out here; mostly, we(my wife and I) were interested in attending a school of minstry in the Grandview/South KC area. That, and we just needed a change from the crowds of the SF Bay Area. I was born and raised out there, so I was desiring to try another part of the country, however I do miss the West Coast(albeit not the crowds!). The riding was great...all the flats I wanted, all the hills I needed. I'm wondering how I'll fair on the hilly roads around here when I get back on the bike after almost twenty years. I look forward to your suggestions for good rides. I work for FedEx Express and run a route on Sat.'s that runs from 291 east out to Bates City. I run thru Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, and Bates City. I also cover some rural roads in the areas to the north and to the south of those towns, basically from Truman Rd down to Colbern. I see lots of roads that would seem to be good rides, but never having ridden them I'm not so sure. I'll let you know (and the rest of the list) when the bikes are ready. I'll be seeking suggestions for components, wheels, and such under a different forum subject soon.