ehcoplex 

Returning to ‘serious’ cycling after a few decades of little more than occasional utility riding on 3-speed beaters. I was really into long-distance and loaded touring in high-school and college, but following a European tour (where my beloved Cannondale ST600 was stolen..) I moved to NYC and after a few run-ins with cars and regularly finding parts gone from my bike, or the whole bike gone (340 sq/ft, 5th floor walk-up, so my bike(s) had to live on the street…) I pretty much gave up. Now in rural upstate NY I’m back to it. Bought a cheap, vintage 90s Cannondale T900, as much out of nostalgia for the ST600 I took to Europe as anything else. Mostly just daily 20-30 or so mile rides right now, doing battle with the hills of the Catskills (& often white-knuckling it on the crappy, shoulder-less country roads with all the oversize, inattentive drivers in their oversize vehicles that make a sport of how close they can get as they pass by someone on a bike…..), but looking forward to doing some light touring and maybe getting into some Randonneuring in the future. I don’t know how I lived without cycling for as long as I did and it feels great to be doing it again- and its really amazing how much has changed equipment-wise and in the sport in general since I was last actively paying attention!