I abandoned cycling when my family and I moved to Toronto in the winter of 1991. I had tried for a month to adjust to riding in the winter season by taking exploratory rides around our new home. But after a crash on a road covered in black ice, that left my bike scarred and my knees bleeding, I limped back home and threw my bike into the basement.
I was angry and frustrated over more than just the crash. I blamed my father for ripping me away from my friends and my sport. I vowed never to ride again out of spite. I nearly kept that vow. It would be years before I rode again and it would take one man’s amazing story to trigger a return to what I loved.
In his best selling book: Its Not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life, Lance Armstrong relates the story about his trial with cancer and how he was able to comeback to begin a string of 7 Tour De France wins. When I read this book in 2004, nearly 13 years after I abandoned the bike, I was inspired by the read. It dawned on me that Lance had started cycling around the same time I did and he too had been inspired by Greg Lemond.
I was angry and frustrated over more than just the crash. I blamed my father for ripping me away from my friends and my sport. I vowed never to ride again out of spite. I nearly kept that vow. It would be years before I rode again and it would take one man’s amazing story to trigger a return to what I loved.
In his best selling book: Its Not About the Bike, My Journey Back to Life, Lance Armstrong relates the story about his trial with cancer and how he was able to comeback to begin a string of 7 Tour De France wins. When I read this book in 2004, nearly 13 years after I abandoned the bike, I was inspired by the read. It dawned on me that Lance had started cycling around the same time I did and he too had been inspired by Greg Lemond.
I began reconnecting to cycling by surfing through bicycle manufacturing websites. I was astounded by the advancements made in bicycle technology over the years by companies like Trek and Specialized. I was particularly fascinated by disc brake technology, which had been borrowed from motorcycles, and was mainly implemented on mountain bikes with great success. I began toying with the idea of returning to cycling.
Events began to move rapidly towards that end when I nearly totaled my Nissan Sentra by running into a light pole on another icy road. (Seems the crossroads in my life are slick.) Upon calling my insurance company, I was shocked to find out that my policy had been cancelled just 2 hours before the accident. (Later I would find out that this was due to a misunderstanding regarding underwriting.) The car could be fixed, but no Toronto based insurance company would sign me on. I resigned myself to taking public transportation.
The novelty of the using the TTC, considered by many to be one of the best public systems in the world, soon wore off and I began to think about my alternatives. When my co-worker Phillip Lindo and I randomly decided to visit a small bike store during our day off, I found my answer.
Stay tuned for Chapter 3.
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