Story of my High School Bike
Part Diary, Part Blog, Part Technical Manual

Back in 1988, I was a junior in high school and wanted to get into cycling. I had been riding BMX bikes as a kid forever, but I figured it would give the Euro-Spandex deal a try. After being named best value buy in Bicycle Guide mazagine for three years in a row (1988-90), I thought that the Specialized Sirrus would be a good entry level road bike. We lived in a small city in Arizona, so the closest Specialized dealer was in Lake Havasu, which was about 70 miles away. So I order the bike and a few weeks later, my dad and I drive a van to Havasu to pick up my new 54cm red Sirrus with a complete Shimano 105 gruppo, for about $550.

I rode the bike for a year or so, then it sat for a few years. During one of my first jobs after college in 1996, I started working at a firm with a couple cycling enthusiasts. Back then, the bike was already kinda outdated technology, but it was in good condition and I already had it, so I began riding it weekly after work. Thinking back now, it was a 12 spd with very tall gearing, which made climbing extremely difficult - but I suppose it also made me a stronger climber. Funny how as a kid, it never occurred to me that I could actually change the chainrings or cassette.

The bike was fine, but it was never a bike that I was really proud of; it was that decent entry level bike to tie me over until I get something really "nice". And trust me, I browsed through a lot of bicycle magazines, reading about all the new technology and what the pros were riding in the Tour de France. But for some reason, I never really committed to some expensive Italian frame with Campy parts. I just kept window shopping and lusting after other bikes, while continuing to ride my Sirrus.

In 1998, I decided to move to the San Francisco and take on a new job downtown. Living in a dense, urban, and hilly city, the Sirrus got less and less use. At that point, I started really getting into cars, so that is where my time and money began to go. So in December of 2004, I placed an ad in craiglist to sell my Sirrus for $250. On January 1, 2005, a fellow from SF came and met me at the Starbuck's in Burlingame, rode it around the parking lot for a couple minutes and bought the bike.

Now fast forward to 2007. For some reason, I wanted to get a fixed gear bicycle. I thought I would either get a cheap old road bike and convert it to fixed gear or buy a new Bianchi Pista. Instead of spending $550 on a new Pista, I thought I may be able to convert something for cheaper - besides, what's the challenge of buying a bike that's all set up and ready to go - that would be too easy. So I begin scouring through craigslist again, looking for a 54-ish cm road bike for less than a few hundred bucks. After a few weeks, I found some interesting stuff, but overall, it was disappointing. One day on a whim, I thought to myself "I wonder if the guy that bought my Sirrus is still in SF and if he even rides the bike anymore. Wouldn't it be cool if I could buy my old bike back and convert that into a fixie". The guy could have moved to Minnesota, sold the bike, wrecked the bike, had it stolen, depend on the bike for daily transporation - who knows what!

So I look through my old emails and I find his original email with his name, address, cel phone number, and email address. So I send him an email, thinking its a long shot, but what the heck. So a couple of days go by and no response, not really a big surprise. But on the third day, I get a response, saying that he still has the bike and that he would be willing to sell it back to me. Wow, this may really happen - I could get my old bike back! So the following day, I drive to his house in SF. On the way there, I think to myself "I wonder what condition the bike is, I hope it isn't trashed, I hope he didn't change out a bunch of parts..." So I arrive, we shake hands, and we walk over to the garage. There it was, in the garage, leaned up against the wall - EXACTLY like the way I sold it, except for a layer of dust over the bike. He must not have ridden it more than 3 or 4 times since 2005. I was relieved and happy - "So how much will you sell it back to me for?" He said that he bought it from me for $250, so offered to sell it back to me for $200. I was really happy - so I gave him $200, shook hands again, loaded it in the station wagon and off I went. Before I left, I told him that it feels like I just rode my bike to a friend's house and left it there for a long time, and that I finally stopped by to pick it up again. So on January 31, 2007, my old high school bike was mine again. On the drive back, I proudly called my dad in LA and told him what I had just done.