History 1

Summer 2002-'03

I'm often asked how I got into cycling. It started near the end of my senior year of high school when my parents sold my car. It wasn't really mine to being with, but it was so awful ('90 Plymouth Voyager Minivan) that no one else in my family wanted to drive it. My sister, who had just gotten her license, refused to drive it because it made her feel "unsafe", with understandable reason.

I turned to my mountain bike as my independent mode of transportation.
My first bike: C-dale Super-V 1000The bike itself was an eyesore, just like the old van: a blue & silver '94(?) Cannondale Super-V 1000. The frame was build for a headshock, but I pressed reducer cups into the head tube to allow me to use a gold RockShox Judy XC. Yeah, I know, that saddle looks painful. Enough about that old mountain bike, I didn't end up riding it much longer.

When I got to school in the fall I was inundated, as every college freshman is, with potential activities. One thing I chose to pursue was the WashU Cycle Club. The organization was much different in '02. The leading members were outgoing seniors and very enthusiasic about cycling. My weekend recreational rides were becoming longer and the mountain bike was becoming more of a problem. Coincidentally, one of the senior mountain bikers had Cannondale CAAD 3 road bike that he was willing to loan out. The upgrade to a road bike was a true upgrade.

After about a month and a half of riding the borrowed bike I decided that it was time to get a bike of my own. I did quite a lot of shopping around for the right company, frame material, geometry, but, as I didn't really know what going on, every bike felt pretty much the same. I settled on a CAAD 7 R2000 from Big Shark, mostly because the owner gave me a smoking-good deal (for some kid off the street).

The seasons progressed into and through winter as I logged rides as long as four hours. One of the Cycle Club kids was from Macon, Georgia (host town of the Tour of Georgia). Macon became our spring break destination in '03. Not long after our return from spring break, the team went to the first road races of the season. All I remember about them is that they were in Ohio and that the second day was in Huston Woods (State?) Park. I won the Cat 5 race on Saturday and the 4/5 race on Sunday. It was exhiliating. I got a 4th place and then another 1st in subsequent races. In May finals hit, my college freshman year ended, and I started working. Summer 2003 next.