David's Bicycling Page

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Bicycling is one of my hobbies that I truly enjoying.  I have enjoying bicycling for ten years.   I don't do races.  I mostly do long distances riding and touring.  I joined Florida Freewheelers in May 91.  I started slow with short distances.  After couple months, I build up the distances and endurances. I have put many miles on my bikes.  The first bike, I used when I first started riding with Florida Freewheelers was Schwinn Continental.  Which was a heavy 10-speed clunker.  Hey, I was able stay in shape with it.  I graduated from UCF in December 1991.  I received a Trek 1400 as a graduation gift.  It was 14-speed.  I updated to 21-speed when I moved to Columbia, SC, when I started do some rides in the Appalachians and the foot hills.  I am still currently using it as my main road bike.  It was a big change from Schwinn Continental.  The Trek 1400 had clipless pedals and index shifting.    I felt awkward at first.  It took some getting use to it.  Index shifting was a big step up from friction shifting.  I am sure my next new bicycle will be a big change from my current Trek 1400.  Now, they have gear shifters in the brakes levers.  Also the rear gears are up to 9-speed.

In those ten years, I have ridden 25,000 miles.  Where have I gone riding at?  Mostly, in the Southeast.  I have done riding all over Florida.  My first seven years was in Florida.  I also rode in Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Virginia.  I have done of numerous weekend sag supported rides as well couple weeklong rides.  I have ridden 8 centuries (100 miles in one day).

I also was a member of Space Coast Freewheelers based in Cocoa, FL when I was living in Melbourne, FL.  Currently, I am member of Carolina Cyclers based in Columbia, SC.

I have been involved one bicycle accident involving with a car out my ten years of riding.  It happened here in Columbia in July of 1998 while I was commuting home from work.  The accident didn't stop me from riding my biking.  The motorist failed to yield right of way while making a left turn.  I didn't see the car making a left turn ahead me.  I was focusing straight ahead working on my momentum up a slight grade.  All of a sudden the car was in front of me.  My front wheel hit the car's front fender and my body landed on top the windshield.  I was black and blue all over me for couple weeks.  Luckily, I didn't have any broken bones or any serious injuries.  I missed couple days of work because of muscle spasms.

I also do some off-road riding.  Not as much I do road riding.  Most of my off-road riding has been in Florida during the Suwannee Bicycle Festival and Florida Fat Festival in Live Oaks, FL when I was living in Florida.  Now, I mostly do my off-road riding in Columbia at Harbison State Forest, Ft. Jackson, and Sesquicentennial State Park.  My off-road bicycle is Specialized Rock Hopper.  I also used this bicycle as my commuting bike as well.  Yes, this is the bicycle I had the accident with.  Now it is all fix up and ridable.

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