So I've been spending a fair bit of time on www.bikeforums.net and deriving pleasure from reading posts and looking of pictures of folks who just like bikes. Some of those folks have blogs or websites where they post pictures of their collections. I've found this inspiring to the point of starting my own blog. I don't have pictures of all of them, but I make it a habit now to take pictures, often before and after, since my favorite pastime lately is getting them, tearing them down, and building them back up prettier and running nicely. Ok... buckle up, here goes. This will be neither comprehensive, nor chronological.
I should address where and with whom I got started. I was lucky enough to live in Missoula, MT for three years. A friend told me about MIST (Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation - www.strans.org) which is a non-profit organization. One of MIST's arms is called Free Cycles which is a community bike shop where one could, at that time, show up and build a bike for free. I went and did so, being unemployed at the time, and built up a Specialized Hard Rock from about '91 or '92. It served me well for my time commuting to and from campus year round. Great bike. It started the saga and the addiction that continues to this day. I don't think I have any pictures of that bike, sadly, but I learned a lot with that one. I put myself together a little shop in my garage, bought a cheap tool set, and off I went.
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