Mybike-jameshodson

How I Came To Enjoy Cycling
My first mount was a tricycle with a boot. These seem to have been a popular starter steed among u.r.c readers. My "best friend", Tony King, had a Noddy-style car with working headlights; I was jealous. I then progressed to a Triang bike with stabilisers - I think mine was blue. IIRC, the bike came with a separate crossbar, which could be fitted at some later date when the rider became more confident. I'd say this bar was not necessarily a required structural component but was there to boost a little boy's ego - it did mine. Next was another fixed-wheel bike, which I think was converted to a three speed after a while, courtesy of Sturmey Archer. First kid on the block :-) My next ride was a Tomahawk, although I really wanted a Chopper. My mother told me you had to be eight years old to have one of those. Liar!!!

Well, tempus slowly fugitted and eventually I was presented with a Chopper, Mark 2 - not the type I wanted - for a birthday or Christmas present. I'd wanted the older model where one can rake to handlebars backwards to make for easier wheelies. Soon after I got the Chopper I decided that "racing bikes" were the think for me. But no! Apparently you had to be ten to have one of those. More lies! Less than two years later I informed my mother that it was imperative that I had a racing bike. I might have used different phrasing. (Excuse me whilst I stamp my foot on the floor.) The following birthday, or Christmas I woke up to find a beautiful 5 speed Raleigh at the foot of my bed. (How DO parents do that sneaking around stuff?) This machine once again put my to the top of the list, but not for long. Other kids were getting 10-speed. Damn! So, the red Raleigh had a second chain wheel attached and I was readmitted to the club. Sometime between the first Chopper and the Raleigh I got a second Chopper, a Mark 1 this time. Yahoo! Wheelie and "who can get the longest jump" time. This second Chopped was responsible for a fair few injuries, including broken arms and chipped teeth. I'd say Chopped was an appropriate name. The final steed I bought before I started driving was a Puch 12 - yes, 12 - gear racing bike. It was one of those with next to useless brake levers near the "tops". The bike was in a matt black as was the Dog's Bollocks, then known as the Bee's Knees. I lent this particular bike to a girlfriend's brother for a few months. The immaculate contraption was returned to me in a sorry state and was consigned to the trash. The above were childhood and teenage bikes. I, of course, wanted to drive a car as soon as I was 17. I took my first test on a Monday morning a few days after my 17th birthday. It was the examiner's first day at the job. He failed me. Bastard! Nevertheless, I retook the test two or three weeks later. The examiner was the same person. He passed me. Marvellous chap from a long line of legitimate people - that's what I say! I owned a Suzuki A100 for a short time in my early twenties. Considering I paid more for my helmet than I did for the motorcycle - I use the word "motorcycle" in its loosest sense - I was quite surprised it lasted as long as it did. The A100 went the same way as the matt-black Puch. Not much happened on the cycling front until roughly nine years ago, when I was in my late twenties, when I bought myself a Trek 970 rigid MTB, which I adored. This bike was stolen after about one year and the insurance wouldn't pay out as a two sided pub bench was not considered to be "an immovable object". A few days later I replaced the Trek with a new Univega Alpina 500 or maybe 505; I can't recall. Sod's law: I found out who'd nicked my Trek, so I asked a local "heavy" to arrange for its return. Being the proud owner of two rather similar bikes, I offloaded the Trek to a mate who was emigrating to Spain. He wasn't any relation to the "heavy", BTW, he just fancied a change of scene. As far as I know, the Trek is still running well and providing transport in those warmer climes. A few years later my Univega was stolen from outside a supermarket. Unfortunately, the majority of the staff at the shop are not built for speed so, although they spotted the theft, were unable to stop it. This brings me nearly up to the present. My first meeting with u.r.c was at the time my Univega was nicked. I posted a "have you seen this bike" request. I didn't hold out much hope of ever seeing the bike again so I went out and bough another Trek: a rigid 4300, which I still have. Following Myra's excellent advice on her web site regarding "roadifying" an MTB, I removed the knobblies and replaced them with 1.25" slicks. Thank you, Myra. The Trek 4300 now looks a bit tatty but it makes for a good trundle around town machine. Following my first Trek's theft I swore I'd never buy another MTB. I said exactly the same after my Univega's loss. So much for the promises I make to myself. However, six weeks to two months ago, I finally bought myself a road bike. My new toy, an Orbea Larrau, is the absolute bottom of their range and at a little under £400 is about half the sum I had intended to spend when I seriously considered getting a road bike back at the start of this year. Having just pooh-poohed the bike, I greatly enjoy riding a more appropriate machine for the road. I just wish I'd done as I'd promised myself a few years ago and bought a road bike then. I began by saying "This jolted my memory a little." Well, my memory was certainly jolted, and by more than a little! James Hodson