texascyclist

I never read the "what road bike do you have?" thread and I figure most of you don't either. I did today and read a great post. So, I though I would bring it out in the air for all to read. I believe that this is the best post I have have ever read. This person sums up why we get out and pedal. It is easy and fun to get into the parts that make you faster and forget the point of why we ride. You can find the original post at:https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...page=117&pp=25.


By "Just Ride Ten" in the "What road bike do you have?" thread:
I OWN A KENT GMC DENALI ROAD BIKE.

Im a 15 year old highschool student who has always enjoyed cycling, no matter what it was on. Recently a friend of mine got a road bike, a Lemond. I test rode it, I loved it! From the drop down handlebars to the awsome highspeeds I could reach, I just love it. It was then I feel in love with road bikes. So, I went home got on the computer and looked the bike up, I couldn't believe my eyes, the prices they were so high. I searched weeks and weeks and never found anything below 350$

Now, many of you are saying EBAY!! look at EBAY!! Well, first off my parents would never give me their credit card for a bike, no matter how cheap because we are on a sort of "tight budget". Second, even if I could have order it, the shipping was like 50-75$! I barley had enough to pay for the bike itself, plus the shipping no way I could afford that. Some of you say flea markets or yard sales. Well, in Staten Island, NY there are no real flea markets, believe me I looked. Also there is a yard sale like every year and there is never anyhting over 10 dollars at those things.

So, I was stuck, money was holding me back from the one thing I loved, the feeling of being free while your flying down the street on a bike. About a month later while at a LBS, looking and drooling over the Specialized, Treks, etc. I over heard someone talking about a Walmart bike for 150$ Could this be true, are my weeks and months in derpression over not having ANYTHING to ride really be over! I ran out of the store, nearly knocking over all of the bikes in the store. I looked like a kid running to Toys R Us. I got home and went to Walmart.com. I searched bikes and there it was the KENT GMC DENALI ROAD BIKE. Glissing on my screen like gold in a mine, 150$ my wait was over!

I ran upstairs and opened my wallet, 22.43$. Oh man another obstacle. I decided to get a job. I starting working at a local deli. I took public transportation to and from work and also school. There were many times I got up at 5:00 am when I did't have a moring class, hoped on the bus and opend the store for overtime pay. I was getting barley minium wage for pay. It took me about 3 and a half months to get the money. Why did it take me so long, well most of the time I did't have time to work either I had to go to school or I had to watch my little sister for my parents.

So, finally the day was here I went to walmart.com typed in KENT GMC DENALI and cliked order. The final cost was 181.43$ It took about a week to deliver and it came mostly assembled, I just had to put on the front wheel and attach the seat. I had it, right there in my house, a real road bike. I put on a pair of Nike basketball shoes, put on shorts and a tee-shirt and I set out. I left at 2:30pm and didn't arrive home till 8:15pm. I felt so alive, my behind was so sore, my legs so numb and tired I couldn't even feel them, I was dizzy and dehydrated because I hadn't drank anything but a Pepsi before the ride, but I was alive, for the first time in my life was really alive.

So, you can either read this whole article and decide that this was just a complete was of my time and keep your opinion on this bike, that is a big lump of crap. Or, you can read this a realize that while we are all caught up in the Treks and Specialized, and the thousand of dollars you spend on your bike, you really miss the point, you get a bike to ride to enjoy to get that free feeling. Your to obssed in the computers, carbon frames, shifters (twist shifters also) that you eventually lose that "free" feeling. So, whatever you say about me or my bike, I really dont care. I don't care what you call me, go ahead call me a Wally World shopper or the poor kid with the 40 lb bike named after a 10,000 pound gigantic SUV. But I promise you when I pass you on the street because you stoped after you hit a pothole and you computer stoped working or your newly bought racing tires poped, I will be smiling inside and out, because while you are wasting time worrying about your 150$ computer that may have been broken or your 750$ frame that may have bent, I will be living, I will be alive. And when I am about to pass I will stop and tell you "Hey man don't worry about all those gadgets and parts, get on the rode and just ride man, just ride.

minder357

I dont believe that was written by a 15-y.o., I'm thinking troll. . .

genec

Reminds me of my first real "10 speed." I thought it was like riding on glass... it was so smooth and wonderful...

Amazing... these days I can't quite decide what bling I think I want and what $2000 bike will have it...

And this kid hits home...

Ride on kid. Smile all the way. Good show.

VosBike

I loved it....til the bitter part

yes, its inspiring, true and awesome that this kid worked so hard to get out and ride hard on a Walmart bike...but that doesn't mean that people who spend 5k on thier bike are somehow worse

SoonerBullitt

If it was this kid has a bright future in creative writing.....Well done, well done..Now go ride that new bike of yours..

texascyclist

No doubt, but sometimes I think more about the bike than the ride on the bike.

55/Rad

I don't believe it was written by a 15 year old either. Whoever wrote it though, TRIED to remind us all of the core reason of why we ride. I find this lesson refreshing and one that should never be forgotten.

My response to that is this: JRT - you are 15. Come back 30 years from now and show me that the joy of flying down the block is still inside. If it is, I'm sure your cycling will have evolved to another plateau, and if it isn't, you certainly won't be here. Please, don't assume that those of us who've been around awhile can't find the rush.

It's what keeps us alive.

55/Rad

Eatadonut

I'd believe it was written by a 15-year old. I could post samples of my writing from that age that are equal to or better than that quality. Cynics.

I agree that the bitterness is unneeded.

Also, I'm glad that he loves the bike so much.

Doesn't mean it's not a POS that's most likely dangerous. I drove a minivan for years that had minimal braking, stalling issues (it was an automatic...), transmission problems, and steering...quirks. It was not safe, but man did I love that car, and it's what got me into really learning to drive.

Ineedhelp

Oh, I don't know about that. I remember getting my first pair of real sneakers and thinking I could out run the wind.

Troll or not, it's a great story.

As You Like It

When I was 12, I was riding a GIGANTIC Schwinn Continental to babysitting jobs to save up enough money to buy a 10-speed in my own size. By the time I was 13, I had saved up $109 (this was in 1990) and proudly purchased a Huffy 10-speed at K-mart.

Now here's what will blow your wigs off. I rode that bike through junior-high, highschool, and my first two years of college. I rode that damn bike for nearly 8 years before I completely wore it out. I had no idea that it wasn't any great shakes of a bike. In 1990, there was no Bike Forums to let me know what I could aspire to. As far as I was concerned, it was the best quality bike out there, and it was 100% mine. I don't know where I would have gotten a better bike back then, anyway. I lived out in rural western Nebraska. The nearest bike shop was probably something like 100 miles away. K-mart was only 35 miles away.

I'd have probably gone and bought another K-mart bike, if I hadn't nicked my husband's (then boyfriend's) Schwinn Moab mountain bike one Saturday when I wanted to go riding and my bike was just too shelled out to ride anymore. Getting on a decent, entry-level bike-shop bike, with indexed shifting and a snappy ChroMo frame was like going from driving a Pinto to a Mustang. I got more from each pedal stroke, I could shift gears with precision, and it was SO quiet! That's when I realized that if I waited and saved a little longer, I could have something more reliable and tougher than another K-mart Huffy.

But the accomplishment of saving for and buying your first bike--it's almost as good of a feeling as riding it. And riding a bike that fits you after years of riding an out-grown 20-incher and an oversized 1o-speed...that was a revelation, in and of itself.

Drayko

Hard time believing it too. What 10 year old would waste that much time writing that. And it looks too polished to be spur of the moment. Message is a good one and worth listening to though.

jtree

i've read posts much more eloquent than that from 15 year olds. some of the youngsters these days are really sharp and their writing is mature beyond their years.

baj32161

That very same post is in at least 2 threads...so, whether he is 15 ir not, he is sure proud of his writing and his bike. I mentioned to him in one of my replies to his post that he needs to ditch the attitude. If he is going to be antagonistic, he probably ought to be a better rider first. If it is all about the ride JR10...then ride and keep the attitude to yourself.

Ineedhelp

Actually, I remember all the posts on this forum cutting this Walmart bike down to ribbons with every kind of ridicule imaginable...

Yeah, so 200 buck's an awful lot of money when you're 15, and say you had finally saved for your very first road bike, and wanted to share your excitement with the elite members of the club you'd been admiring for so long, and thought maybe they'd now take you seriously enough to offer a little encouragement and maybe some mentoring...only to come here and listen to a bunch of snobs who think the term "entry level" requires spending a minimum of $700, and you get to read a whole slew of posts calling your brand new bike "a pile of crap".

To him, maybe $700 might as well be the moon.

I might react in a somewhat bitter manner also.

Upon reading his post again, no, don't think he's a troll because I think I remember his first post when he was looking for a road bike, because I was the one who recommended he might consider checking out garage sales. I see abandoned road bikes at them all the time, but I can see where the garage sales I go to in the weathly suburbs of Chicagoland might very well differ from those in Staten Island--and I have a car to drive around to mine in...

If he reads this: Hey! Pay no mind to the snobs and ride your bike in good health. If you did read those threads about the Denali? In mine, I took the position that I think it's a good way to start, and should help spark interest and enthusiasm in the sport of road biking again. A big thumbs up!

And oh yeah, if your riding's anywhere near as passionate as your writing, I see one hell of a racing future ahead for you!

Oh and gee, wasn't I the one who's been riding that 30+ year old rusted out old Schwinn that I got at a garage sale for $35, until about 2 months ago? Yeah, I think so.

dirtbikedude

Why? I my self love racing but when I race it is my adrenaline fueled ego that gets me out there. I find my passion for cycling is what drives me to ride the long and lonely centuries or XC rides on my mtb and help with trail maintenance. The race scene has a little to do with my passion and if the races disappeared I would still ride with the same passion.

As far as the poster being 15, the only reason I would question that is because this is the internet but as for the style of writing, yeah, it could be a 15 year old. It is hard to tell by my writing these days but I used to be one hell of a writer between the ages of 10 and 23.

There was a thread posted where someone asked, "Who is considered a real cyclist?" The post this kid wrote gave me the answer, anyone who rides a bicycle with the passion and enthusiasm, no matter what type of bike or gear used, this kid wrote about is a true cyclist.

DBD

WD_40

*Bursts into song*

I got my first real ten-speed
bought it at the five and dime
rode it 'till my ass cheeks bled
was the summer of '69

Me and some guys from school
Had a paceline and we tried real hard
Jimmy crashed and Jody got married
I shoulda known we'd never get far...

Oh well, I think I'll keep my day job.

acathi_cyclist

I wont speculate on whether or not a 15 year old actually wrote this, but I will say that when everyone was dogging this bike all I could think was how elitist our community is. Growing up I could never afford a road bike, and many people still cant, so how can I judge someone who would rather take a $150 bike from Walmart than nothing at all?
Not to mention all of the parents who do buy expensive bikes for their children when they will probably find their way to the attic after only a few months. I know that I went through some expensive fads growing up.

peterm5365

Elitist is an understatement. This forum occassionaly has the look of sales convention. Half of the threads are more about equipment and dream bikes than actually riding.

TheDTrain

You're an idiot. A 15 year old is a high school freshman or sophomore. You're saying a high school freshman or sophomore can't write anything that makes sense, uses precise vocabulary, and expresses a complete thought. I'm 16 and I can write papers 10x better than that the GMC kid.

TheKillerPenguin

lol, way to prove your point there.

TheDTrain

No, actually I just typed rather imformally on these forums because they're just forums. But for your information, I've gotten straight As in every subject from 7th grade up to now in 10th grade. And I'm bound for straight As again these year. I'll show you some of my papers if you want.

Chucklehead

same here. when i was a freshman in HS, my spelling and vocab skillz were way above average.

but man, was i alive. i was ALIVE!!

ViperZ

I remember my first road bike when I was 13. It was a "Sprinter" 10 speed. I remember the joys that bike brought me and the feeling of speed and advanced cycling with all those gears

It was a true gas pipe special, not even as nice as the Walmart Denali. Regardless if it was Pipe or not, nothing can take away the joys and memories I had with that ride

I actually still own it, but the bike is in a state of disassembly as I thought I would like to restore it one time, long ago.

ovoleg

a 15 year old did not write this.

In the beginning there is an error, ". It was then I feel in love with road bikes"

It is fell not feel.

But I really doubt that a 15 year old wrote this. If he/she did write it, then it was posted in a news article of some sort. No 15 year old is going to waste that much time writing a well composed article on something that they will not receive some kind of fame for. This was probably posted in his local paper or cycling magazine.

English is my second language so I do not have the excellent skills as some of you have when you were young. I could write something like that but it would take me quite some time and I would have to think out every setence and pass it to 20 people to proof read.

carlson5200

Whoever wrote this didn't take a lot of time in proof reading; there are many grammatical and usage mistakes. But who cares. This is just a forum to discuss cycling and I think this is an unnusually refreshing commentary on why we all get out there. Besides, forums are like salad bars; read what you want and pass on the rest. If something on here seems canned or a little too corny I can always hit the back button and read about a $500 pair of aerobars instead.