My relationship with bikes did not get off to a good start. Middle school, I just turned 10 years old and was gifted a brand-new ten-speed bike! Three days later it was gone. Rumor was the bully down the street stole it, repainted it and sold it to a neighborhood kid. Every time he rode past my house I had to wonder, was it mine?
On to high school and I graduated to motorcycles. I was playing school sports year-round, I just didn’t have the extra time to find a bike, plus I was driving as a sophomore.
1984, I am driving a 1970 Mach 1, what could go wrong?! Michigan’s infamous potholes. The damage was so bad that if you didn’t firmly hold the steering with both hands, it would instantly veer off the road and into a ditch, and that was after welding the frame together! It sat in my driveway with a for sale sign when a skinny biker stopped to inquire. Of course I tell him of the frame damage but he basically says “no problem,” and doesn’t even both to take it for a test drive. Instead, he offers me his bike as a trade, a Fuji S10.
I kept the Fuji for ten years or so, it gave me that feeling of being free. I would come home after work and ride it all evening until I couldn’t see anymore. I used it in a couple of 150 mile charity events before finally gifting it to a friend.
I wanted to change it up, so I purchased an entry level Schwinn mountain bike, nothing fancy, no suspension but big knobby tires. It was green and yellow and a lot of fun. Many years riding the trails at Mackinac Island, Hartwick Pines, Wilderness State Park and many others. Oddly enough, my first over the handlebars event occurred on this bike after the Kal-Haven ride, in the parking lot. Surprisingly, this bike too was a victim of theft, or almost one. Caught in the act, the would-be thief left the bike, albeit badly damaged. I left it at the curb a few days later for someone to pick up and rebuild for their own use.
The Kal-Haven event introduced me to the Rails To Trails Conservancy. I found other similar type trails, not quite technical enough for a true mountain bike, but also not a trail for a true road bike, so I purchased a Trek 7500. Faster than the Schwinn, I could ride this on the rails to trails and around town with ease, in fact, I still have the Trek today, although I mostly only use it on a trainer now.
In 2013 I purchased a Marion Pioneer Trail. What a great bike! It’s a hard tail, 29 inch wheels. I felt fast on it and it handled every trail I tried it on. I even rode it on my first Iceman event in 2019 and still own it today!
And now, its 2021, and honestly, I was planning to ride the Marin again this year. Made a few upgrades, but it all changed with one email with the subject of “Iceman Grand Prize Winner.” COVID 19 may have canceled the race last year, but I was the winner of the raffle, a brand new Trek Top Fuel! So this year, its full suspension!
What are you riding?