As a newcomer to the list, I thought it would be neighborly to introduce myself before I throw myself into the fray.
My name is Jackie O'Sullivan, and I live in Cambridge, MA with my teenaged daughter and two cats. Among many other endeavors, I used to work as a mechanic and shop manager, back in the days when SIS was still a bad idea on some mechanical engineer's drawing board, no one wore helmets (amazing there are so many of us left!) and riders would smile and nod as they met. I was asked to leave my position as shop manager lo' these many years ago, in the wake of some serious differences in customer service philosophy (I worked for a *R*ambling *E*xercise *I*nfrastructure that shall remain nameless ;-), like when the customer complained that I wouldn't fleece him 50 bucks for a new derailleur when all he needed was a new 13t cog to replace the one he sharktoothed, and a new chain. "12.00 bucks while-u-wait..." He left the shop screaming. Yikes...
I just wasn't fun anymore.
After rambling around, I found myself in seminary. I received my Master's degree last month, and am back on my newly overhauled '81 McLean custom road bike after an embarassingly long sabbatical. I rode it to the Somerville Wheelworks today and turned heads (the bike, not me) and made Robert of myth and legend a very happy man when I bought some tubies.
I also own a '75 Grand Record set up as a fixed gear and a '87 Ponderosa ATB, which is actually a fairly pleasant ride for the breed. I like buiding wheels, working on bikes that I can fix, computers, collecting books, and racking up student debt in grad school.
I am surprised by the list volume, and have been enjoying the convivial banter that is reminicent of the time I spent in the back rooms of shops, where I was the ONLY woman these guys had ever seen change a tire, let alone build a wheel. I worked with some great, very crazy mechanics from whom I learned a lot (including the value of a large ball pean hammer and 12" punch), and who always treated me like one of the guys and not some oddity.
Glad to be aboard,
Jackie