In all fairness, I guess my passion began with three wheels. Now let's talk about this picture. First, I was damn cute and was certainly dressed for a day on the road. If you don't want to wear white patent leather shoes, you got problems. That had to have been the upgraded model of big wheel because that set of "Michael Knight & Kit" handlebars are awesome. The only problem I have with this photo is that it looks as though no one had changed my diaper in about 5 hours because that thing looks a little swollen.
After a few years on the big wheel it was time to upgrade.
I'm guessing this photo was taken around 1979. I'm basing this not on my age, but on that sweet ass brown ride with the white top in the neighbors driveway. I can tell that I was really excited about this bike. But how could any 5-7 year old not be. Fire engine red, spoke wheels, fake stainless steel fenders, a kickstand and most importantly a banana seat. I don't know about you, but just saying banana seat makes me laugh. I can still remember riding this bike all day until the street lights came on and then rushing into the house hoping "C.H.i.P.s" was on tv. But this bike brought more than just joy. It brought about a passion for BMX racing. Somehow I yelled or cried enough that my parents agreed to let me give it a try. So we loaded the old banana seat into the family truckster and headed to the local track.
(Do yourself a favor and click on this picture to see it larger. It won't disappoint...)
Now if there were ever a picture that said "Let's give it a try before we commit financially", this is it. Let's break this one down. I have a white paper plate for a number plate. I think we may have gotten to the track and my parents didn't know a plate was necessary so they ran up to the Kroger and bought it and an ink pen. I have a football helmet on, a football helmet. My parents definitely were not thinking about my reputation when they forgot to take off the reflectors or maybe they thought the race would occur at night and they would act as a beacon signal if I went off the track. I'm in khakis and a rugby shirt, tucked in and buttoned all the way up. Could I breathe??? Was it not hot??? There are two things I do love about this photo. The first being the face I'm making, what is that. I had to be staring directly into the sun or trying to hold back a sneeze. The second being the fact that if they handed out a trophy for a two passenger BMX race, I was going to be the hands down winner. Remember, banana seat. I don't remember anything about the results of that race, but I knew I was hooked. My parents knew they would have to step up their game and they did.
Now I was ready to conquer the BMX world. True BMX bike, proper number plate and race helmet with visor. This ride was sweet, check out the yellow mag wheels. I'm 36 years old and I know that every boy that's around my age wanted mag wheels and I had them. This baby was 45 pounds of pure speed. The only confusing part is the outfit, it's always the outfit. Did I not own a pair of jeans and a t-shirt? My damn shirt is buttoned all the way to the top again. I think my mom may have even color coordinated my outfit to my bike for this photo. I owned this bike a long time. I continued to ride BMX and even won a few trophies. My parents still have those trophies, they cherish them. A lock of hair from my first haircut or my first report card, not so sure. But they still have the trophies. I'll admit, whenever I go to their house I run upstairs and sneak a peek of them. Still feels special. We moved to Florida around this time and my BMX career ended. The #92 came with me and I continued to ride it as much as possible. Then I got the best news ever, we were moving back to Memphis. We loaded up the U-Haul and made the 2 day drive from South Florida to Memphis. The details of that trip are a story for another time. (I still miss my blanket Mom). But as a welcome home gift, I got a new bike.
As you can see by the photo, the bike world had gone through a revolution in a short period of time. Mag wheels were now last week and colored rims were in style. The bike had front and rear brake levers and most importantly it had freewheel. Freewheel was the best, until you accidently flung it around and the teeth of your pedals caught you in the shin. You know it happened to you. I'm really glad to see that I was finally looking like a boy in this photo and not a child who was dressed to have his picture taken at Sears. Nut-hugging shorts, knee high tube socks and velcro shoes.(If you look close enough, you can see that they are Nike). I'm even giving my mom a thumbs up, how cool is that? The only weird thing about the photo is the position of the seat to my crotch area, kinda creepy. Makes me think I was unconsciously missing the banana seat.
I never got back into BMX, but I never gave up the love of my bikes. Even when I got my car I still had my Trek 8300 road bike and then by my junior year I added a mountain bike to the stable. Because I though it was hip, I took the mountain bike to college at the University of Arkansas. You won't believe this story, but it is true. I woke up the first morning of college classes, put my backpack on and pedaled to the Business building. I got there and locked my bike up ready to conquer my first college class. An hour later I walked out ready to ride back to the fraternity house and my bike was gone. The only thing that was left was the lock, still attached to the bike rack. I didn't even stop to inspect, I was so embarrassed I just walked past and went home. They never told us in orientation that if you wrapped the lock around the seat post all the stealer had to do was take the seat off, slide the lock over the tube, place the seat back on and ride away. Thanks UofA, really could have been helpful.
That brings us to the present. My passion is still alive for the bike and today I added a new one to the fleet. So without further ado, here they are.
This is my road bike. Trek Madone 5.2. This bike and I have logged a lot of miles. It's a great bike. I've done a lot of group rides and a few century rides on it. Plus it has the sweetest wheels, Zipp 404's. Way above my skill and pay level, but I love them.
Here is the new additon. The 2011 Orbea Alma H10. I picked it up today from Victory and it is beautiful. I went through my 30 minute fitting with Robert Taylor and I'm ready to roll. We have a perfect day tomorrow and this time I'm ready just to feel the wind through my hair.
Today was an off today, so no training.
This post is dedicated to my parents for keeping these photos and for always buying me bad ass bikes.
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