Cycling History
Now to shift gears (ahem) to my original passion, bicycling. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as one can draw quite a few similarities between cycling and motoring in a British roadster… like wind in your face, being out there with Mother Nature, wire wheels… Just that for one of them it’s harder to shift into 14th!
Several people have asked how I got into cycling. Sometimes I joke that it began in 3rd grade, when I won the 1984 Lodi Unified School District Spelling Bee by spelling the word “bicycle” correctly. Actually, I suppose the love affair with man’s most efficient machine began when I was 14, when I picked up an old ten-speed for 5 bucks. At the time it had 2 flat tires, green paint with garish stickers, and in need of some serious work. But for yours truly, the visionary who always was picking up cheap junk, it was gold, as it was perhaps 10 pounds lighter and light-speeds faster than my old BMX-style bike that my folks got me when I was 6 years old (probably for $5 too). Continue reading »