My name is John Gibson (aka Big Bad John). I live in the Jackson, MS metro area and have just returned to cycling after a 21 year hiatus. I used to ride/race on a Ross Paragon, followed by a Ross custom (Jim Redcay) shop bike when I lived in Oklahoma. I just ordered a new Sun EZ Sport recumbent and will pick it up later today. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! Ultimately, I'm hoping to get in an average of 20 miles per day during the week and a bit more on the weekend by using the bike for fitness riding, touring, and commuting. Just wanted to say 'Hello!' and that it's GREAT to be back! BBJ

Hi John, and welcome back to the sport! I think you'll be amazed at the changes that have happened in the sport over the last 20 years or so.

Your user name makes me smile. When I was in England for a semester abroad in 1991, I was kidnapped by a rugby team and forced to go on a pub crawl with them (not that I put up much resistance, for a number of reasons). To make a long story short, most of the team got kicked out of a pub by a bartender named Big Bad John. However, after some smooth talking by the rugby club's captain, Big Bad John ended up treating the rest of us to a round of beers on the house. That captain probably has a career in politics or selling cars right now...

Any way, welcome back, have fun, and enjoy the recumbent!

small world i used to mountain bike in jackson mississippi i used to race at forrest hill in south jackson and also i used to ride at little colorado of lakeland Dr. just slightly outside of Jackson.

happy posting and happy riding

my names Daniel

Thanks for the welcome guys!

Higher Ground: You're right. When I started back, I began looking at DF racing bikes and found out that NOTHING was the same. When I'd talk to the young folks at the bike shops mentioning names like ROSS, Bayliss, Torpado, Guerciotti, etc. they looked at me like I was speaking Martian, French or Greek. By the same token, I was completely lost on the things they were telling me too. Nothing is the same, different components, tubing, wheels, etc. To be truthful, I was a bit saddened by the demise of some very talented frame builders who could braze up something magical. I was absolutely shocked that 20 years ago I was a veritable expert in bikes and their related technology, but now am just a Fat Old Geezer (FOG).

So I got a recumbent. I really like it. It's weird looking, different from what most folks ride, comfortable (good for what's left of my joints - ex-collegiate wrestler), and is just plain fun. I feel like a grade school kid from 35 years back ridin' on my brand new Schwinn Stingray (remember those Lemon Peelers, Pea Pickers, Orange Crates, etc.? Those were COOL, Baby!). If you ever get to Jackson, give me a holler. We'll go to Fenian's Irish Pub and you can have a cup 'o the ale with another Big Bad John...and I'll pay.

Daniel: Don't know how long it's been since you've been in Jackson, but Lakeland Drive is now fully commercially developed from I-55 past the turnoff to the Airport. With the new Nissan plant near Canton, the metro is growing north up I-55 and HWY 51 from north Jackson to Canton. Soon, it will be all one metro area with no 'countryside' areas in between like it used to be. The development and growth here is phenomenol. I'm looking to ride around the north end of the reservoir near Goshen Springs campground and boat launch. The other 'country' roads are overcrowded with traffic.

Thanks again fellas for the warm welcome. BBJ

yeh its been 4 years i left in 2001 i should have figured it would have become more developed it was right almost diagonally across from a high school but i forget the name of it, but little colorado was pretty far down i used to work off of lakeland and it was a ways down , but the way they build down there who knows it could possibly be gone.

i since have moved to the blue ridge mountains of virginia so im kind of in mountain bikers paradise for the east coast

Thanks for the invite John!

I can relate to where you're coming from. If I remember correctly, weren't Redcay's and Ross bikes built in Allentown, PA? I first got in to cycling in 1983 when I was 14, so even though they were local builders, there was no way I would have been able to afford one on the $3.35 / hour that I was making at the time!

It's funny though, that I bought my most recent road bike in 2000. When I was looking through this year's Velo News Buyer's Guide, I was struck by how much things have already changed over the past 5 years. Carbon and aluminum seem to have surpassed ti and steel as the frame materials of choice for the majority of consumers. However, I was riding this past weekend with someone who I used to go to elementary school with. He actually built his own frame out of SLX tubing and Henry James lugs. It was mostly yellow with contrasting red lugs and black pin striping... pretty sweet! So, fear not... there are other dinosaurs among us too!

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Ross Paragons and Redcay Signature bikes
The signature line began with Tom Kellog (of spectrum cycles)in 1978.When Tom left in 1983, Jim Redcay took over but apparently lasted less than 2 years.
The Ross family were damned hard to work for.
As far as I know..the Paragons were manufactured only from april of 1984 thru the end of 1985.
In researching the 1982 signature and the 1985 paragon I'm restoring another myth was debunked.
Supposedly Tom Kellogs 'team' built the paragons (obviously a farce as Kellog was gone by 83)while Kellog himself built the Signature series.
Jeff (forget his last name..he teamed up with Kellog in 1985)'D' had a hand in building the paragons but was more an overseer of the apprentices silbrazing these bikes togeather.
After 1985 Ross (like Schwinn would 6 years later)turned to having the signature series (290s 292s 294s)built in japan. The lower two S's had shimano while the 294 had campy equipment.
Jim Schubert relayed that: Under the epa cleanup fund the once mighty Ross plant north of allentown was sold for $500.00)and demolished.