Evolution of a Cyclist

I've cycled a lot at various points in my life, but I took a good 10 year hiatus. You may never forget how to ride a bike, but you can definitely lose some skills after a long hiatus. I started off slowly, riding just for fun -- bar hopping and getting some sunshine and a little exercise. I bought a cheap used cruiser for myself and my gf, and that kept us pretty happy for the first season.

For the second season I had every intention of doing some light mountain biking to explore the hills around my local ski resort and find good places to do light backcountry skiing (light as in just one step up from cross country -- more on that later). To that end, I bought a mountain bike.

Being a dedicated urbanite I just couldn't get the gumption to load up he bikes and drive for an hour to go cycling when the weather was perfect and I could just cycle in the city right out my front door. As a result the mountain biking never really took off. Instead, I got some Big Apples for my mountain bike and rode the bike trails and roads.

During my third season I got interested in road bikes, specifically classic steel from the 70's and 80's. I bought and 1981 Trek 710 frame and built it up using old and new parts.

These days I cycle during the day for commuting, the evenings for fun and exercise, and on the weekends I do longer more interesting rides (40-100 miles) and last year I did a short overnighter on the weekend. This year I plan on doing more. I have no interest in racing or wearing spandex. I'm a Fred, a bit of a retrogrouch, and fan of practical steel frame bikes.