Gradual sickness in PDX...
 

It started simply about 2 years ago. My girlfriend wanted to take bike rides on the riverfront. I didn't have a bike, so I sprang for a "comfort" bike. Fun. I bet I could commute to school with this...

Then I saw a bike that drove me crazy. It was...clean. No derailer. No brakes! How does it stop? Coming from a shortlived BMX background I thought it must have a freewheel. I did a search online somehow knowing to use the term "fixed-gear"...

Found the fixed-gear gallery. Then Sheldon Brown. Then the forums (been lurking for way too long). It was done. I wanted to replace my car with a fixed-gear!

Fell in love with frames. Then frame builders, especially Richard Sachs. Could he make me a fixed-gear? I e-mailed him and he told me that wasn't his thing. He told me to try Vanilla. Little did I know that Portland virtually has a law that if you're interested in a bike, you at least have to consider a Vanilla. I was soon on the one-year waiting list...

What to do until then. I pieced together a nice Cannondale(aluminum, I know, I know) track bike with the help of ebay and the Veloshop, a LBS. Rode it for a year and lurved it.

As it stands today, I'm days away from my Vanilla being complete, I have my Cannondale frame on ebay (see the Buy-Sell-Trade forum) to help pay, and I have no regrets spending money on a bike I plan to have, enjoy, and most importantly RIDE, for the rest of my life.

Nice to meet everyone officially,

Danny