Oh, sorry… no religion allowed.
I started riding and building my own bikes when I was a kid. Every kid in my neighborhood did the same thing. It kept us off the school bus. They all started out as trash (the bikes, that is). We all pieced broken bikes together with other trash finds. Some of them were actually pretty cool as irreverent trash goes (again, the bikes). It was a cultural and economic reality.
Well, fast forward to 2001. I needed a bike for the NYC Five Borough Tour. My garbage picking days were past (I thought) so I picked up a Fuji Sport 12 speed at the Salvation Army. Drop bars were out of the question so I scavenged a flat bar, Shimano brifters, a rear der and freewheel from my MTB and rode.
And I kept on riding. I was back; but the technology was so new, I was lost. Stuck in a time warp, I could no sooner ride a plastic bicycle with giant lettering on the wheels as I could wear a multi colored leotard while I was riding it. I needed steel. Lots of steel.
I kept building and riding in my own creations, my soul becoming more tortured with each passing season. I drifted around different forums and found lots of smart people. They were knowledgeable, disciplined, pure. No, I needed to remain the iconoclast. Where could a crazy mixed up kid like me go?
Well, one day I was web surfing some rat rod car photos looking for paint ideas for my fixie and there you all were. I thought, “man, these cats are all form my planet. I’m home”. So it's back to garbage picking and dreams of lugged steel. I guess i'll see you all later.
Peace everyone, (oops sorry, no politics)
John O’Donnell
Yonkers, NY
I started riding and building my own bikes when I was a kid. Every kid in my neighborhood did the same thing. It kept us off the school bus. They all started out as trash (the bikes, that is). We all pieced broken bikes together with other trash finds. Some of them were actually pretty cool as irreverent trash goes (again, the bikes). It was a cultural and economic reality.
Well, fast forward to 2001. I needed a bike for the NYC Five Borough Tour. My garbage picking days were past (I thought) so I picked up a Fuji Sport 12 speed at the Salvation Army. Drop bars were out of the question so I scavenged a flat bar, Shimano brifters, a rear der and freewheel from my MTB and rode.
And I kept on riding. I was back; but the technology was so new, I was lost. Stuck in a time warp, I could no sooner ride a plastic bicycle with giant lettering on the wheels as I could wear a multi colored leotard while I was riding it. I needed steel. Lots of steel.
I kept building and riding in my own creations, my soul becoming more tortured with each passing season. I drifted around different forums and found lots of smart people. They were knowledgeable, disciplined, pure. No, I needed to remain the iconoclast. Where could a crazy mixed up kid like me go?
Well, one day I was web surfing some rat rod car photos looking for paint ideas for my fixie and there you all were. I thought, “man, these cats are all form my planet. I’m home”. So it's back to garbage picking and dreams of lugged steel. I guess i'll see you all later.
Peace everyone, (oops sorry, no politics)
John O’Donnell
Yonkers, NY
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