I remember my mom telling me about my grandpa Bob. He was a Jeep man. She told me that a lot of her memories of him were referenced in time by the Jeep grandpa Bob drove. Even if I own a jeep I will never be considered a Jeep man. I am a bike guy. From a pre-teen, my family will probably remember me by the particular bikes I own.
Huffy
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| The Huffy |
For a couple of years I rode my dad's old 10 speed. After a major crash caused by a broken brake lever that got caught in the spokes flipping me over, Santa gave me a Huffy mountain bike for Christmas. It was a perfect bike. It opened up a new world of exploration which I fully exploited.
Gary Fisher
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| The Gary Fisher on its second frame. |
By the time I was getting ready to start High School, the Huffy was on its last legs and needed to be replaced with a real bike from a bike shop. So the summer before my freshman year my dad hired me to do some work replacing lights and ceiling tiles at work. Over the course of the summer I was able to save nearly enough money to buy a Gary Fisher mountain bike.
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| The Gary Fisher on its third frame. |
Of all the bikes I have owned since, the Gary Fisher is still my favorite. Yes, I rode the bike hard and have replaced every single part on it including the frame twice, but it is still alive and well after more than 16 years.
Giant
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| My Giant full suspension trail bike. |
I remember the bike ride when I decided my Gary Fisher was no longer adequate. I had my sisters drop me off at the base of a trail head in Provo canyon. When I reached the top of a miles long climb, I started traversing the side of the mountain on some single track. For whatever reason I decided to give my Mom a call to test out my bluetooth. Riding along, I offered a dramatic narrative of the several thousand foot steeply slopped mountain side and the various obstacles along the trail. As cell phone reception began to wane I told my Mom I would call her back when I got home. At that point the ride got challenging as I defended the mountain. I was essentially riding down a trail that was more a rock strewn stream than a trail. In fact many sections were either covered in snow or washed clean by spring runoff. Three hours and a frantic mother later I decided I needed a more robust bike to handle mountain biking in Utah.
So when I went back to home for the summer I went to working saving for a bike, I mean college. I ended purchasing an really nice full suspension trail bike that was ready for whatever I threw at it. I sold it last year to clear up some space in the closet and to get some extra cash.
Cannondale
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| My dream bike broken into pieces. |
Later while still in college I purchased a Cannondale road bike and just fell in love with road biking. Initially I bought a basic road bike and later upgraded to a nicer more expensive one once I realized how much I liked road riding. The more expensive one was destroyed shortly after I purchased it when a car thought it would be a good idea to turn right in front of me. So I took the components off the nice bike and put them back on my other road frame. That is the bike I am still riding today.
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| My current ride. |
So today I ride the Cannondale frame from my first road bike and the components off my dream bike. Anyway it makes for a really nice bike if not what I had really dreamed up. I've had a ton of great adventures on this bike and most of all I love towing the kids along.
Biking with the Family
Although I love riding to be healthy, fast and to have adventures my favorite part of bicycling now is that it is a family affair. When Janet and I got engaged our first major purchase was a nice bike for Janet. I love being able to go out on rides with my girl. I love having been able to ride with her in the Rockies, Hawaii, Maine, Georgia, and Virginia. I look forward to more rides in Norway and who knows what countries other in the coming years.
Arguably my favorite part of bicycles has been getting my kids bikes. Last summer I took Maddie over to REI and helped her pick out a really cool green bike that she just loves because it sparkles. In the year since I got her the bike she has learned how to ride without training wheels. That was a proud day for me.
This summer I felt bad watching James try to keep up with Maddie while trying to ride a small trike so I went out and got James a Specialized bike from a local bike shop. When I brought the bike home Janet suggested I should wait until Christmas to give James the bike. The obvious answer was no, so the next morning I think I woke James us before I went to work so that I could show him his new bike. He was pretty excited and is getting pretty good at riding.
So I'm the bike guy who is working hard to make my family a bike family. I've always loved biking and as I get to share my passion with my family, my love for both the sport and my family grow.
