The Obsession

I get home from a long day at the office and plop myself on the couch. My wife is sitting in her chair crocheting. She glanes over at me. " You havent ridden for awhile. Are you not training anymore?" she asks. I scratch my head. "No, not with (so in so) plan. Im plannin on the (whats so ma-call it) plan for weight loss". She stops making her scarf, lays it on her lap and looks at ma again. "Well, dont you think anytime on the bike is better than no tiome at all?" She is right. I hop up, go change into my shorts and run out to the garage.

While riding, Im thinking of my savings account, the bike I have my eye on, and if I will make it thru this 2013 on this "clunker". But then I change my last thought. This isnt a clunker. It has been the tool inwhich the spark of reimagination has taken place. It's the step. It's the assistant. It's what I am...for now. This bike has taken me to a level I never thought would be possible. I have accomplished so much on this bike, I have a bond with this bike. I know this bike's quirks. I can tell when something isnt right and when something is about to happen. It's and extension of me.

When did this all start? Back in high school, in the early to mid '80's, I went to a local bike shop, or LBS to get knew grips for the home built bike I was riding. It was a Murray 10spd that I received as a present. Like always, though, I customized it. Painted it from baby blue to a deep red, almost a maroon. I hand painted some gold graphics in it using Testors model paint. I thought it was cool. The rear wheel was an old Columbia 3-speed wheel from my dad's bike. The gear selector was a center hub mounted one thet was pulled outward to move to gears 2 and 3. Since that cable was broken, it was stuck in 3rd. The hardest gear. I had no way of changing it.

Anyway, back to the bike shop. While I was there, the salesman was nice and asked if I wanted to join one of their club rides, which was 15 miles. I said sure, and while I was there, I got a pair of bike shorts(real leather chamois mind you) and a pair of RoadGear crocheted gloves. I felt like I was almost a pro now. All i needed was an open road.

Road riding was going to be a success to me. I rode BMX in elementary school where Bob Haro, PK Ripper, RedLine and all were the stars and bikes. The only problem was, I was araid of crashing. And I crashed alot. And to be able to do all the cool stuff, table tops, etc, you need a light bike, like a Mongoose. Yeah, Mongoose was a premire bike then too. Only available at your LBS for a ton of money! That wasnt happening. I failed miserably, I thought.

Now, or back then, I was used to riding on the street. I didnt have a car. I rode everywhere. To my girlfriends house, almost everyday, which was 6 miles rouond trip. I even rode in the snow. On my Murray. One gear.

Fast forward 4 years. Bike: Fuji Pulsar roadbike. Very nice. The bike wasnt ridden as much as I would like to have ridden it. What, with me being an "adult" and all. Out of high school, trying to decide what I want to do in life. Dating, marriage, you know, life. I ended up selling the Fuji for a lot less than what I paid for it. I didnt know what I had. I was still wet behind the ears.

I briefly got back into bike riding back in the early part of my dispatching career, after '95. A fellow coworker was a  big cyclist and introduced me to Lance Armstrong and RAGBRAI. She had done RAGBRAI once before, and was getting me psyched as well to get back into riding. I didnt take it seriously.

Then, on a sunny summer afternoon in 2009, towards the end of a day hitting the local garage sales, I happened across a Trek 7000 mountain bike. Seeing the label, I knew it was a good brand. Why, I really dont remember, but now that I think back, that was the brand Lance rode. I had $20 in my pocket, I asked the owner how much, he said $30. I pulled my hand out, and showed him the money. He smiled and took it. I loaded the bike, and home I went.

After a couple of years of figureing out what a Presta Valve was, and what it wasnt, I finally decided to get the bike running the way I wanted to. I rode the bike during the Le Tour Challenge from MapMyRide with the mountia tires, and realized that they were creating alot of drag. So I took the mountian bike tires off, got some new road tires, and away I went. The rest, as they say, is history.

Now, you may say this isnt really an obsession. I am only obsessed with the things. I can honestly say, as a kid who couldnt run very fast, who was afraid to play football, who kept backing out of the batters box and was ridiculed because of my weight, this is the only thing, ONLY thing, I can succeed at that is remotely physical. And since hills killed me when I was a kid (because I wasnt properly shown how to tackle a hill), I plan on making them a joyous part of my cycling hobby.

Bring it!