After years of road and track running my knees were promising to turn to permanent mush if I didn’t find some other sport. Biking had always appealed to me and since I lived in the middle of the largest State forest in Massachusetts I thought I would investigate mountain biking. I bought a plain vanilla, rigid fork mountain bike and started to ride. About 2000 miles later, I realized I was hooked and started to assemble gear for a lifetime of biking.

I buy most of my stuff from Tom Martin at Ordinary Cycles in Pittsfield MA. I bought my first bike from Tom because of the following: I was shopping for a plain vanilla model and I went to a couple of yuppie gear stores and asked to see something plain. I was immediately led to the $1000.00 plus models and the sales staff insisted that although I didn’t understand it now, this was the type of bike I would want in the future. Well maybe they were right but that wasn’t what I wanted then… Anyway, I walked into Tom’s shop and he was talking to some 12-year-old kid about chain care and didn’t seem to notice me for about 10 minutes. I thought to myself, "this is where I’m going to buy my bike." which is just what I did.

 It was a Raleigh M-40 that has since been upgraded with an RST shock, clipless pedals, better shifters, a suspension seat post- actually, there’s not much left of the original bike but the frame. My third season, I bought a Raleigh M-80 and started to upgrade that. The end result is that I have two very comfortable bikes that allow me to keep riding while one is being repaired and one is available if anyone wants to ride along.

I do most of my riding in the October Mountain State Forest . On a good week in the Summer I do 100 miles but most weeks I average around 55. I use a Polar heart rate monitor and any other computer feedback device I can get my hands on. I’m hooked on Azonic bike clothes and my most luxurious bike item is probably a pair of Lake MXZ300 winter riding boots, a very nice graduation present from my mother.

I love to talk to anyone about biking so let me know where you ride, what you ride on and what you think about it.