INTRODUCTION EQUIPMENT RULES CRITICAL MASS

The Bicycle Section

Bicycles have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are or my first red and white tricycle and riding on the back of my mom’s green cruiser bicycle. My first bicycle was this little yellow and black motocross mini BMX type bicycle. I still remember quite clearly the exhilaration of riding that for the first time without training wheels.

My second bicycle was a blue banana bike that I inherited from my older brother. I didn’t have it long before it got stolen. My next bike was a department store brand BMX bike which I slapped a big metal newspaper carrier onto the front. Again, it was stolen. I rode a Raleigh Portage for a few years after that which was a big heavy steel early hybrid. I literally rode that Raleigh in to the ground. By the time I dumped it off at a bicycle-recycling place, the rear wheel wouldn’t even stay bolted on properly.

Cycling got a little more serious for my in ’94 when I put $600 down on a used Asama Hawk mountain bike. I rode that bike long and hard through all weather and terrain. It also introduced me to winter cycling. That bicycle even carried me on my first highway tour from Lethbridge to Calgary. The Asama was pretty much ready for retirement when it was stolen. No major regrets about that though. I get too attached to bicycles and am too stubborn to replace them.

I replaced the Asama with a black 1996, Gary Fisher Marlin from old George’s Cycle. It too was a good bicycle. I rode it even more than the Asama and eventually all the way from Edmonton to Red Deer with my good friend and riding buddy Dave. I still have a few parts from that bike but I junked the frame a few years ago when the seat post got seized up inside.

While I was still riding the Marlin, I picked up a 2001, Trek 7600fx Aluminum flat-bar road bike from United Cycle. I test rode it for a few blocks and was sold though I couldn’t really afford the bike at the time. It satisfied my hunger for speed that the Fisher couldn’t quite live up to. It’s seen many, many miles. During my August vacation on Vancouver Island, I put just over 500kms on it. Odometers are wonderful things on road bikes.

My most recent purchase was a 2006, Specialized Rock Hopper Sport. I bought it for winter mostly but it quickly reminded me how much I missed mountain biking. I’ll probably be going back and forth between my Trek and my Rock Hopper from now on. I’ve always wanted the ability to pick which bike I’d like to ride on a particular day.

Another bike that I should mention in the Trek 4300. I don’t ride one myself but I recently recommended the bike to two of my friends and most recently a woman’s model for my girlfriend. I think they’re awesome bikes and very similar to the Rock Hopper Sport. I only bought my Rock Hopper cause I’d never owned a specialized before and was curious.

INTRODUCTION EQUIPMENT RULES CRITICAL MASS