As of today I've been riding 49 years! I say that I ride for environmental and economic concerns, but I have always ridden for fun. After first learning it turned quickly into a passion for me that has continued thru my life. I think I was 12 when I first took to the roadway, but I remember a long ride on my 20" banana bike with someone clocking us going 40mph down a hill. The ride was probably less than 20 miles, but it is drilled into my memory. There were a group of us and dad organized and led us. I was always into the environment as well. At about the same time I was very agitated that they were tearing down the woods behind our house to build a parking lot. I have a distinct memory of huge piles of freshly cut or dug up trees burning. It was a travesty to me.

I remember walking thru the devastation and smelling the green-ness of the bark shaved trunks. It was carnage to me. I used to hike in those woods and discover so much beauty and quietness. I would play in the creek that became enclosed in a storm drain. It was a daily odyssey to me prior to the destruction. I discovered abandoned buildings and excavated ancient rubbish heaps.

So merging the two passions occurred naturally. The parking lot that was created thru the destruction was a by-product of society's craving for motor vehicle parking. The battle lines were drawn. I had encounters with the law early on as well. I would ride 12 miles to church often and had run-ins with police who told me I didn't belong on the street. I definitely lost respect for the law with each incident. I would register bikes and they would get stolen and never found. My first bikes were precious to me, but after a few are stolen they lose the personal meaning and attachment so many people have for these things.

Part of my ethos for riding had to do with fixing it myself. I could take care of the bike myself. I often got parts from bikes that were thrown away in the neighborhood. I became a scavenger, much to my mothers consternation. So early on I was a reuse, recycle, reduce person. I definitely didn't get new bikes because I didn't have the money. I still don't, though I have the money. I am much too particular to select a ready made bike and I am still cheap.