Bike Forums - Late intro...

Yeah, I know, intros are probably supposed to be first before other posts, but here it is...

55 yrs old From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Did a whole lot of BMX'ing and then on to road riding back in the day, even some racing. That came to an end in the late 80's when a drunk driver decided I'd look better as a speed bump than a road user... Which took about a decade to fully recover from. At which point I discovered the evolution of the mountain bike and was hooked. Many, many miles on mountain bikes, often dragging one or two of my kids in a trailer behind me. Typically for full day (or more rides). Gradually, life, work, and all the other mundane things crept into my time to ride. Culminating with a break-in where they kicked in the door and took all think cycling as well as all my tools, and being graced with the sudden appearance of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. So endeth the cycling life, although I did manage to keep skibobbing (much less strenuous).

Fast forward another decade and a bit, and "here, have a heart attack" Not just a little one, but a drop-on-the-floor-at-work-with-no-pulse deal. Why stop there? Let's have 3 more while they get this thing sorted out, then a fifth when the camera running through the artery discovers the clot causing the problem by wedging up against it and once again stopping all blood flow to half my heart.

Anyway, physio went very well, with them being impressed with my recovery. Cardiologist tells me that it's nothing physical that's likely to give me the last and final hit, it's stress. So I figured it was time to become a single parent by eliminating the single most stressful portion of my life, and getting back into doing things I love. So hello, used full suspension mountain bike. Someway, somehow, that's managed to spawn into a couple of beach cruisers, a hardtail MTB, a vintage 5-speed, a vintage road bike, a vintage rigid MTB.... Someway, somehow, that one used bike has turned into a small fleet of nine, two of them new.

I have no goals except have fun and stay alive. Really, I never had any goals back in the day, either. I never tried to get fast, I never tried to go far. But I did. Because I was having fun just doing what I was doing. I don't care if I never go "fast" again. I don't care if I never "go far" again, just as long as I can get out and ride. So far, ~100kms have been my longest rides, typically do 50+km rides at least once a week with a couple of other broken old farts spring/summer/fall when weather permits. Raynaud's keeps me from doing a whole lot of winter riding, but with the right gear and the occasional break in the weather, I'm getting some in.

It's all about the fun of riding to me.