It's Already Starting-- The Timeline of My Bike Purchase

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

...

Quoted message said:

So, I have a new bike, and you'd think I'd ride straight home, right?

I would hope not!

Quoted message said:

Sure.... but I thought I should check out a bike maintenance manual from the library... 1 miles
down the bike path, and 2 blocks over to the library. And the kids would need a video to watch
while I read, right?.... off to the video rental store...

I turned what by all rights should have been a 4 minute ride straight home into an hour of riding
around town, picking up stuff, visiting with friends, and then going home... I'd guess I took a 4
mile "not-so-shortcut" home.

It's already starting.....

LOL! And it just gets worse!

Quoted message said:

(postscript: I look out my front window today after reading the Ballantine bike book... and see 2
road bikes at a garage sale across the street.... $30 later, I have two parts bikes that I can use
to have fun/learn during rebuilding.)

Sounds like you're off to a real good start...

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:54:53 -0400, <[email hidden]>, "William Blum"

Quoted message said:

So... I went and got my bike yesterday. First bike I've had in .... 12 years.

/szip

Quoted message said:

It's already starting.....

(postscript: I look out my front window today after reading the Ballantine bike book... and see 2
road bikes at a garage sale across the street.... $30 later, I have two parts bikes that I can use
to have fun/learn during rebuilding.)

Oh my!
--
zk

Congradulations on the new bike! At first i thought you had the new "baby" stolen - and am glad that
was not the case! I hope all your friends were suitably impressed!

Take care Liz

Hey! Look what "William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote :

Quoted message said:

So... I went and got my bike yesterday. First bike I've had in .... 12 years.

Quoted message said:

(postscript: I look out my front window today after reading the Ballantine bike book... and see 2
road bikes at a garage sale across the street.... $30 later, I have two parts bikes that I can use
to have fun/learn during rebuilding.)

William Blum said:

"MisNomer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Congradulations on the new bike! At first i thought you had the new "baby" stolen - and am glad
that was not the case! I hope all your friends were suitably impressed!

Most of my 'hardcore' cycling coworkers thought my purchase was "good enough for now"... and then,
they find out I got a Fuji frame to build into my 'beater' for $15.

-bill

Just make sure it's the right size for you before you comitt yourself 😉
--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Watch out.... its addicting almost! Cool are you going to take a class or work from a book?

take care Liz

Hey! Look what "William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote :

Quoted message said:

"MisNomer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Congradulations on the new bike! At first i thought you had the new

"baby"

Quoted message said:

stolen - and am glad that was not the case! I hope all your friends were suitably impressed!

Most of my 'hardcore' cycling coworkers thought my purchase was "good enough for now"... and then,
they find out I got a Fuji frame to build into my 'beater' for $15.

-bill

William Blum said:

and then going home... I'd guess I took a 4 mile "not-so-shortcut" home.

Couldn't resist, eh?

Quoted message said:

It's already starting.....

(postscript: I look out my front window today after reading the bike book... and see 2 road bikes
at a garage sale across the street.... $30 later, I have two parts bikes that I can use to have
fun/learn during rebuilding.)

The proper subject line for this message should have been: Re: It's Already Starting-- The Timeline
of My Bike Obsession

Welcome to our world! <G>

--
Rick Onanian

"MisNomer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Watch out.... its addicting almost! Cool are you going to take a class or

work

Quoted message said:

from a book?

I'm going to work from a book.... I don't have the time to take a non-degree related class
right now.

(BS Physics expected May 2004, and if all goes well, MS Electrical Engineering Dec 2005.)

I have most 'normal' tools, and a budget to accquire bike-specific tools as needed.

-bill

"Rick Onanian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The proper subject line for this message should have been: Re: It's Already Starting-- The
Timeline of My Bike Obsession

Welcome to our world! <G>

--
Rick Onanian

You want to know when my bike obsession started?

In 5th grade (1984), we spent a week in school on things Indiana is famous for... and they made us
watch 'Breaking Away.'

I always knew what I wanted--- but I also knew early on that my parents were clueless.....

I was always given dept. store bikes (with the exception of me having saved $350 to go to the bike
shop in 10th grade, and my stepfather stealing the cash out of my room, and coming home with a
12-speed from the sporting goods store in the mall.)... and I *always* tried to keep them running as
long as I could.

I've always enjoyed the act of riding a bike.... but the few times I bought the bike myself, it was
even more fun to ride.

The first 'decent' bike I bought myself was about a month after the aforementioned stepfather left
us. $20 at a garage sale. I didn't know much about bike manufacturers at the time--- but I had the
presence of mind to realize that 'Campagnolo' on the derailleur was all I needed to justify the $20.
( For the record, it was a Fuji frame, and was later stolen while I was at Purdue. )

Second 'decent' bike? Nishiki frame, campy group, $30 at a police auction. ( And the serial number
was intact!) Lasted me about a year... then it was stolen.

Prior to my recent purchase (Giant Cypress ST), the last bike I had was the Huffy MTB I was given as
a gift from my grandmother after second bike was stolen... since I was not moving back home ('kicked
out of house', tuition checks stopped coming), I needed something to get to/from work. The Huffy was
the most uncomfortable thing I've ever ridden. I gave it to my sister's boyfriend after a year...

So, it was a nine-year gap between bikes....

As Lance as my witness, I'll never go bike-less again.

On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:19:38 -0400, William Blum <[email hidden]> wrote:

<Most of William's bike history, snipped>

My bike history:
1. Little kid, don't remember
2. Ten or fifteen speed, 20" wheels, coaster brake + hand brakes
3. Don't remember
4. Huffy with black plastic cover on crankset -- turned out to be very common at the time, and I was
called a poseur for it
5. Royce Union hybrid that must have weighed 50 pounds, had 27" knobby tires I couldn't replace, and
was generally worthless.
6. Real bikes, as described below...

Quoted message said:

I was always given dept. store bikes (with the exception of me having saved $350 to go to the
bike shop in 10th grade, and my stepfather stealing the cash out of my room, and coming home with
a 12-speed from the sporting goods store in the mall.)... and I *always* tried to keep them
running as

Why do children and young adults insist on trusting family members? Family members are the least
trustworthy for that sort of issue, because they share your living space and feel it's okay to
invade your space and use your stuff.

I've never had a problem, although by the time I was 14 I was securing my stuff as much as possible
(some of it needed to be secure so that nobody knew I had it, if you catch my drift 😉. I don't have
a scumbag family; but whenever I couldn't find something, I never blamed anybody else, and never had
that argument as a result.

I've witnessed other families who "trust" eachother more, and their relationships seem to
suffer for it.

Quoted message said:

So, it was a nine-year gap between bikes....

I had a smaller gap, though I didn't understand dept store quality vs. LBS quality until I was
7. I think I was 15 or 16 when I destroyed the fork on my Royce Union, which had 27" knobbies that I
couldn't find a replacement for, so it just seemed so futile to buy a bike when I was going to be
driving so soon.

Then, I must have been 18 when the bug to ride bit me, and I studied hard and bought a GT Outpost
mountain bike. Years went by, and last year I bought a nice road bike, and have since rescued a
few ten-speeds and a couple older, but good, road bikes from people's garbage. They're in no worse
condition than what you find at a yard sale, and are discounted by 100% of what you'd pay at a
yard sale...

So now I have a big collection of bikes that I don't ride, will repair and sell...at a yard sale. 😉

Quoted message said:

As Lance as my witness, I'll never go bike-less again.

Amen to that, brutha! <G>

--
Rick Onanian

I am sure that if you had any problems these gals and guys here or in rec.bicycles.tech would
help you. I find there are things i could do to make the bike(s) better but would sooner be
riding than fixing.

Wow if I have a math problem will you help me? ;^)

take care Liz who wants a "bike mechanic certificate"

Hey! Look what "William Blum" <[email hidden]> wrote :

Quoted message said:

I'm going to work from a book.... I don't have the time to take a non-degree related class
right now.

(BS Physics expected May 2004, and if all goes well, MS Electrical Engineering Dec 2005.)

I have most 'normal' tools, and a budget to accquire bike-specific tools as needed.

-bill