My new bike is rad, but I still prefer my vintage 1991 Trek 970 ^. There’s just something great about it.
We knew when we moved here that we wanted to get some junker bikes to ride around on. Just something simple, nothing pretentious. It was surprisingly difficult finding something decent that wasn’t hundreds of dollars or completely rusted out. The local police auction was promising, but the bikes went fast and split decisions were made… That didn’t work out. Against every fiber of my being, I gave up my soul to the devil and registered a Facebook account to be able to access the marketplace. This led us to a late night drive into Fort Collins at the urging of a seller, and we bought a couple of bikes at deep discount out in front of a storage unit at midnight. It felt a little like a clandestine drug deal (but I did confirm the bikes were not reported as stolen). Now we have way nicer bikes than we ever planned for.
I’ve never liked cycling. When I want to move I prefer to RUN. Running has always felt so much more primal and satisfying. But something is different now. Cycling has this addictive quality that grabs at you. Your bike is an extension of you. You can put stuff on it. You can go places faster than you can walk, hike, or run. It’s fun to learn everything about this mechanical piece of equipment and how to take it apart, fix it, put it back together. I’m hooked.
We’ve spent years backpacking all over the Pacific Northwest. Now this new possibility of bikepacking has opened up. Instead of lugging all your gear on your back, you put it on your bike and ride places. Some people ride all over the US, others ride all over the world. I’m looking at the world through a new lens now, wondering what places I can see at 10 MPH from my bike.
We’ve got a lot of exploring to do before winter hits!
Also, food tastes better after a really hard ride.
