My incentive for riding was avoiding police and being "safe" getting home drunk. I got the riding bug from one of my very best friends (Starla) who was a bike messenger. She encouraged me and me being a massage therapist, offered massage in exchange for bike parts. Within two weeks I was rolling on a piece of crap aluminum Diamond Back road bike that didn't really fit me. I rode that bike the last four plus years until my Masi (that I bought from Starla who opted for her Davidson instead) magically came together a couple months ago. That old Diamond Back came in very handy when I got into trouble with the law in February 2004 and I lost my license for a bit. I am young (26) and still learning my lessons. I have been better the last 16 months though (clean and sober now) and stopped cussing out cops (I was an honery drunk). Now my Masi is at Elliott Bay Bicycles ("the Hospital") needing some MAJOR work after being hit by a van last week. I am now bikeless and depressed. I sold my project Peugeot so I could buy dog food and am now looking for something cheap to get me through until the insurance battle is over. I digress...sorry for the bit of venting. Just bored here hoping to not get fat from inactivity.
I look forward to other's stories of how they got into biking!
Kendra "Bikeless In Seattle" Coatney Washington State
On 9/6/05, Oldtrikerider@aol.com <Oldtrikerider@aol.com> wrote:
> Hi, Phil. I, too, found myself in trouble with the state (Colorado) mot
or
> vehicle Department. So I purchased my first ten-speed, a Schwinn Varsit
y and
> began to ride to work. Four months and 30 pounds later I bought a Gitan
e
> Tour de France, the first of two TdF's. Since I am reluctant to replace
what
> already works, I gradually found myself owning a few old, I mean vintage
, bikes.
> How many others on the CR list were encouraged to opt for alternative
> transportation, i.e., the bicycle?
>
> Paul Patzkowsky
> Longmont, Colorado