An Introduction of Sorts

Greetings fellow internet surfers!

I've been throwing around the idea of starting a blog that is an in-depth look at my various hobbies for quite sometime now. I've thought about doing one on my photography, I've strongly considered starting an automotive blog a la the style Top Gear, Jalopnik and other excellent resources for automotive journalism, and more recently I've wanted to start one about my love of cycling.

I wasn't sure what kind of direction to take with a cycling blog; should I express my views and opinions on the industry, should I talk about my newbie status and development in criterium racing, should I write about my adventures in leisure, training and long-distance rides, etc.

What about building bikes?

As it so happens, recently I've started another chapter in my hobby of cycling: bike building. This came about a little over a month ago when my dear old 1988 Cannondale Criterium was stolen (RIP) and I was in a pinch to quickly throw a fixed gear project together I had been slowly gathering parts for. Out of that fiasco came a cheaply acquired 1988 Schwinn Le Tour in pristine shape that I would ride temporarily, as well as dedicated parts bike that enabled me to finish my fixed gear project.

Why was I in a pinch to get a new bike after my dear old Cannondale was taken away from me? I deliver sandwiches for Potbelly Sandwich Shop in downtown Chicago. Why did I absolutely NEED a swell old Schwinn AS WELL AS a parts bike to build a more trendy fixed gear? I got them both for such an amazing deal, and if there's one thing my suburban middle-class background has taught me, it's that trendy things ought to be bought when one has the financial means.

Saving you folks a lot of BS to read through, I purchased an Eighth Inch Scrambler V3 framest and threw all of my parts on that and created a pretty slick whip that has proven to be a great work bike. I plan to flip the Schwinn (into the arms of a deserving cyclist) for a small profit.

I was quite proud of building up a bike from scratch; it taught me some valuable skills that have made me a lot more comfortable in future bike building and maintenance, as well as given me a little sense of pride. I owe a lot of credit to my roommate and pal Brent as well, who's infinite knowledge of bike building and helpfulness is much appreciated.

To finally get to the point and allow you more time to allot for reading Facebook, Twitter and Efukt, I have decided that this blog will be about my general interest in cycling, encompassing all of the aspects I've come to really love. I think I'll also throw in other aspects of my life that I think might be interesting and/or cause a chuckle or two (but you can be the judge of that, my humor can get awfully cheesy).

Cheers,
  PJN