I think the world would be better if we all rode bikes.

but not road bikes. I remember when i first saw my Rampar R1027 10 speed at the salvation army thrift store. I knew very little about bicycles, & hadn't had one since a spur of the moment purchase of a bmx bike when i was 19 or 20,which i sold to a friend within a year of acquiring it. But I was excited about having an old 10 speed to ride to work instead of driving. It didn't matter that it was 35ish pounds (which is pretty heavy for a road bike!), it didn't matter that i didn't know how to work on bikes or that i didn't have any friends to ride bikes with. I was going to start riding this bike to work. And that really sums up my transition to bicycle commuting(I'll babble on more at a later date I'm sure). I rode over 6000 miles last year and probably only did 20 recreational rides. I still have that bike, it's my commuter bike right now. The one that get's beaten up, rained on, and seen traveling up and down Virginia Beach Blvd almost daily. Through trial and error i eventually learned what i could fix and what i should let the bike shop fix on that bike & I developed a great relationship with the bike mechanic at a nearby bike shop in Virginia Beach who was always excited to work on my "old" bike. This was way before i understood that lugged steel bikes just aren't made anymore (except by custom builders and people like Rivendell) and way before i was riding between Norfolk and Virginia Beach. I definitely didn't know i was at a transitional period in life that would have as profound an influence on my life(/outlook on life) as much as me becoming vegan.

   So i really don't know how this blog is going to be structured as far as subject matter, it will certainly be a "cycling blog" but I'm not a competitive cyclist. I'm a bicycle commuter and an environmentalist, who really loves bicycles as vehicles and as vehicles for change and as art! Because there's few man made things in this world as beautiful as an elegantly lugged steel bicycle frame! So...... There will be rants, more rants, maybe some advice for novice bicycle mechanics and commuters and stuff.