I have my older brother, Johnny, to thank. He cycled across the UK and France one summer and I thought that was just so cool. While he was there some stole his bike and he had to purchase a cheap/used bike while in France. He brought that bike home with him and sold it to me for $12 (I might mention that was $12 too much for this bike). It was in reality a piece of junk (didn't shift well, brakes barely worked, etc), however, I loved to ride that bike and ride I did until it died on day out on the road. Johnny made arrangements for me to purchase a used Univega Grand Turismo from a local shop and it was love at first ride. I still ride this bike today and I can't image not riding it. So thank you big brother for being such a great role model and for introducing me to bicycling!