In late Jr. High and early high school (1986-88) I worked in a popular bike shop during the heyday of freestyle bmx era (think Rad!), and I got a great at-cost deal on a new Shogun 10sp, which was my pride and joy, as well as saving up part-by-part for a really expensive freestyle bike, a Skyway Streetbeat with all the bells and whistles. Both bikes were WAY above my ability level but I HAD to have them. Eventually I got a little older and aged out of the bike scene as my friends got cars, and the girls followed. Fast forward 25 years, to an older, much fatter version of myself with bad back pain that I thought had ruined any chance of me being athletic again, and with my youngest child moving out for college, and having just gotten a job only 9 miles from home, via New England country roads. So in 2013 I decided one day, on a whim, to go to the shed and take out a dusty 10 yr old Schwinn road bike someone had given to me when they were moving, to see how it felt. To my surprise, my back felt great afterwards, and after commuting a few times to work, decided to get a new entry level hybrid worthy of a rack and panniers (still being used as my main commuter to this day). And then continued to ride 5-7 days a week, year round, even in the coldest of colds. Then came a gently used "real" Trek road bike, followed by 10,000 miles, and 70 lbs of weight loss, followed by another "really real" carbon Di2 endurance road bike and another 20,000 miles, including a 24 hour solo ride (325 miles), and then a move to Colorado and a full squish mtb that ceases to put a massive smile on my face, every time. Unfortunately followed by getting and beating Stage 4 Lung Cancer 12 months ago, but which hasn't stopped me from tallying 3,000 miles in 2020, so far!