We didn't have a lot of money when I was a kid. I was always on borrowed or hand me down bikes. They were mostly for transportation and delivering newspapers. In the 80's in Europe I bought a bike to tool around the neighborhood and ended up using it again as transportation when the motor blew in my car. Fast forward to the late 90's, going through a divorce, just getting back from Korea, Im trying to get the money together for a decent car to get around Ft Bliss, I bough a mountain bike even though it was mostly on road riding I was doing. Kept the mountain bike through the 2000's and rode it occasionally just for fun. 2 years ago the wife wanted to do a triathlon and I wanted a lighter bike to ride with her on. Hence a new touring/road bike. She didn't compete in the tri but I was hooked. I did 3 bike events, 2 of them metric centuries and 2500 miles in the saddle as I turned into a bike commuter. This year I had a goal of 3000 miles. I didn't make that as the weather didn't cooperate.