I am a father of six, grandfather of 14. My brother and I invented mountain biking when we rode our single speed Huffy bicycles in the hollows near our farm. That is the story I have told my children. I also rode my bike for transportation while in college. But like many people, I started a career and put the bicycle aside. Working and raising a family with six kids can be a financial challenge. When I was around forty years old, I thought I could save some money by selling the second car and riding a bicycle to work. So that is what I did. It didn’t take long until I became hooked. The children kept growing and I kept riding. I became an avid recreational cyclist. Eventually, I was not only riding to work every day and riding with local bike clubs but my bicycle became my major mode of transportation. Before retirement, I was a bicycle commuter for over 30 years. As of this writing I have logged almost 160,000 miles on my bikes.
And that idea to save money by riding a bike – well not so much. About the time the last child left the nest, I was exposed to a virus. Over the next few years I developed a full blown case of BAS(Bicycle Acquisition Syndrome.) If you asked how many bikes I own, I have to stop and think about it. I have everything from a Brompton folding bicycle to a DaVinci tandem bicycle. And because I am a really cool grandpa, I even ride a fixie around town with my man bag slung over my shoulder. A Gen Xer saw me one day on my fixie and said “Man, you have some street cred”. I was riding one day when someone came out of a building and saw me and offered me a job as a bike messenger.
Some people have even called me a bike snob but I disagree. You know how in the financial world you have the top one percenters and then there are the top tenth of a percenters? When it comes to bike snobbery, I am in the top tenth of a percent. What I mean by that, is that I have gone from riding in padded lycra and using clipless pedals on a light carbon bike and back to riding with flat pedals sans specialized bicycle clothing and loving a classic steel frame bicycle. Steel is real!! Some might say it is just an excuse because I am getting old and can’t keep from getting dropped on a group ride.
I have done a number of bicycle tours including supported and self-supported. These tours were 1-2 two weeks in duration. Riding coast to coast across the U.S. has been on my bucket list for years. Working for a living prevented me from taking the necessary time to make the journey. I have now retired and will attempt to make the trip. I just hope a 70 year old grandpa isn’t too old for this adventure. People have told me I am insane to do this but that I should still do it.
