My name is Jim, I like bikes. Riding, fixing, looking at… all things bikes.
Like most kids I had a bike growing up. The ones I remember most were just the cheap bmx bikes from probably Kmart at the time. My dad was very frugal, so I never had the expensive bikes, I remember always wanting a Mongoose or a Redline. I don’t remember much specific about my bmx bikes other than they were pretty heavy, never seemed to break, and had lots of pads. Think I had two of these as I know one was stolen from our garage one night. I guess that was a good life lesson, after that I remember having the bike lock wrapped around my seat post for any-time I left it in a public place. Eventually I inherited my sisters green Schwinn ten speed bike which was a boy’s model. Not sure if my dad planned-ahead and knew I’d never ride a girl’s bike or if they just got a great deal. This bike was fine, but don’t remember riding it all that much. I still have fond memories of all the Schwinn ten speeds with the handlebars up so the brake levers were upside down. Such a funny thing, but it was quite popular. Eventually my older friends started driving and bikes were no longer used.
The mountain bike craze was starting when I was in college and lucky enough there were some areas for trail riding here so I bought a Schwinn Clear Creek mountain bike. Loved that bike. Eventually I liked riding so much I upgraded to a Schwinn 9 Five .6. While a better bike, I don’t know I ever enjoyed it any more than the clear creek. After I got a job the mountain biking mostly stopped and eventually from working an office job, I developed a bad back. I was sure any serious riding was done so I sold my Schwinn and bought my Trek Navigator 1.0 comfort bike. A real nice reliable bike. Has been used on many family rides.
Eventually I figured out the cause of my back problems and was looking for a good source of exercise. I landed on road cycling and bought a Nishiki Maricopa at Dick’s, and have just been riding more and more ever since. Now I have a fleet of bikes for lots of different riding, and I haven’t spent all that much on them. I may have even cured my kidney stones. Hoping this site will help others enjoy biking as much as I do.
