Greetings from Greater Houston Metro
07-29-21, 01:27 PM
#1
Greetings from Greater Houston Metro
So not new to cycling but returning from a prolonged absence (this seems to be a common theme here). So a little about me and my cycling past and present:
I started riding seriously in the late 90's when we lived in San Diego County. I joined and rode with San Diego Bicycle Club. Met a lot of great people and had a great time. But the reason I took it up is because I was looking for a competitive outlet so the bike was a means to an end - racing. It became like a second job as I estimate I spent anywhere from 30hrs or more a week on it and things related to it. But I loved it. I was in my mid to late 30's and starting as a Cat5 was a challenge because my fellow noob contemporaries were in their early 20's. But I was very competitive and did well. Never won a race but several podium finishes and rode some fun races - Death Valley to Mt. Whitney (what it was called at the time), Devil's Punchbowl (hottest race I ever did) and some great solo rides including an 85 miler in Oregon over to the coast where we spread my mother in laws ashes. That was a cathartic ride I still think about all the time. I was in the best shape of my life and although I didn't take it for granted I just looked at it as something I had to be if I wanted to be competitive racing.
But - as I always say if you ride the bike you're gonna crash the bike occasionally and I had a couple including one that eventually drove me from the sport. It happened during a loosely organized crit/interval training ride that was done out on Fiesta Island in San Diego on Wednesday nights (maybe they still do it, IDK) and sent me to the hospital and I'm frankly lucky I wasn't paralyzed. So I gradually withdrew from SDBC and once I stopped racing the reason for riding left with it. So I stopped.
In the last couple of years I started running in the morning to lose some weight (150 racing weight/200 couch potato weight - and I'm 5' 10") but have a surgically repaired knee from a service related accident and the constant pounding was starting to take its toll. About 2 months ago I ran 4 miles in the morning and walked 18 holes in the afternoon and when I came home and sat down I almost couldn't get up again. I knew right then and there I was never gonna run again. But I had gradually gotten my weight back down to around 182 lbs and didn't want to back up.
So I bought a bike. From Craigslist. It's a Trek something or other full carbon that was a Project One that once I looked it up am having a hard time understanding why anyone would order THAT bike through that program. But anyway it fits (the sale was brokered by the owner through a LBS a guy runs out of his garage that's one of the nicer independent shops I've seen - I knew instantly I wanted him to be my bike guy) and its serving its purpose. The bike is still a means to an end but the end now is fitness, not competition.
It didn't take long to feel like I picked up where I left off - I'm back up quickly to 40 miles every morning through my neighborhood on what amounts to a 2 mile closed loop. Boring but its producing results. Weight already down to 175 on my way to my intermediate goal of 165. Will reassess at that point but not sure I'd want to go any lower.
Already having a "new" bike built. Found a 2008 Felt Z25 that is in awesome shape for its vintage. Whoever bought it didn't ride it much. Almost no chips in the clearcoat and no carbon damage at all. Putting a new 105 group on it, Ritchey saddle/seatpost & bar (I'm a big Ritchey fan), Cane Creek headset, Vision wheels. Its gonna be a mileage machine. Pretty stoked. The pandemic has clearly hit the cycling supply chain as hard as anything else but I thinks its kinda fun to piece things together yourself. Wasn't that hard actually.
Anyway I lurk a lot for now but will post from time to time. Thanks to the one person who may read this.
I started riding seriously in the late 90's when we lived in San Diego County. I joined and rode with San Diego Bicycle Club. Met a lot of great people and had a great time. But the reason I took it up is because I was looking for a competitive outlet so the bike was a means to an end - racing. It became like a second job as I estimate I spent anywhere from 30hrs or more a week on it and things related to it. But I loved it. I was in my mid to late 30's and starting as a Cat5 was a challenge because my fellow noob contemporaries were in their early 20's. But I was very competitive and did well. Never won a race but several podium finishes and rode some fun races - Death Valley to Mt. Whitney (what it was called at the time), Devil's Punchbowl (hottest race I ever did) and some great solo rides including an 85 miler in Oregon over to the coast where we spread my mother in laws ashes. That was a cathartic ride I still think about all the time. I was in the best shape of my life and although I didn't take it for granted I just looked at it as something I had to be if I wanted to be competitive racing.
But - as I always say if you ride the bike you're gonna crash the bike occasionally and I had a couple including one that eventually drove me from the sport. It happened during a loosely organized crit/interval training ride that was done out on Fiesta Island in San Diego on Wednesday nights (maybe they still do it, IDK) and sent me to the hospital and I'm frankly lucky I wasn't paralyzed. So I gradually withdrew from SDBC and once I stopped racing the reason for riding left with it. So I stopped.
In the last couple of years I started running in the morning to lose some weight (150 racing weight/200 couch potato weight - and I'm 5' 10") but have a surgically repaired knee from a service related accident and the constant pounding was starting to take its toll. About 2 months ago I ran 4 miles in the morning and walked 18 holes in the afternoon and when I came home and sat down I almost couldn't get up again. I knew right then and there I was never gonna run again. But I had gradually gotten my weight back down to around 182 lbs and didn't want to back up.
So I bought a bike. From Craigslist. It's a Trek something or other full carbon that was a Project One that once I looked it up am having a hard time understanding why anyone would order THAT bike through that program. But anyway it fits (the sale was brokered by the owner through a LBS a guy runs out of his garage that's one of the nicer independent shops I've seen - I knew instantly I wanted him to be my bike guy) and its serving its purpose. The bike is still a means to an end but the end now is fitness, not competition.
It didn't take long to feel like I picked up where I left off - I'm back up quickly to 40 miles every morning through my neighborhood on what amounts to a 2 mile closed loop. Boring but its producing results. Weight already down to 175 on my way to my intermediate goal of 165. Will reassess at that point but not sure I'd want to go any lower.
Already having a "new" bike built. Found a 2008 Felt Z25 that is in awesome shape for its vintage. Whoever bought it didn't ride it much. Almost no chips in the clearcoat and no carbon damage at all. Putting a new 105 group on it, Ritchey saddle/seatpost & bar (I'm a big Ritchey fan), Cane Creek headset, Vision wheels. Its gonna be a mileage machine. Pretty stoked. The pandemic has clearly hit the cycling supply chain as hard as anything else but I thinks its kinda fun to piece things together yourself. Wasn't that hard actually.
Anyway I lurk a lot for now but will post from time to time. Thanks to the one person who may read this.
07-29-21, 02:46 PM
#2
Senior Member
Welcome from a Houston area biker. I never raced. I'm a recreational biker but with plenty of time to ride each day since I retired. My wife passed away almost 2 years ago so biking helps me work through the loss.
How long have you been in the Houston area?
If you want to see what is going on in Texas bicycling check the website in my signature.
How long have you been in the Houston area?
If you want to see what is going on in Texas bicycling check the website in my signature.
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