Getting to Know You!

[RoadRaven]

OK... better say hi to you new folks (or old lurkers!!! )

bikerINco... was sure I had said hi to you earrlier Jody, cause I remember thinking how cool it must be to live on a steamboat ... and then I realised you meant a place called Steamboat... the USA has such cool names for some of the towns.

runnergirl... congrats on your graduation... I teach on a degree level programme, and I know how excited each group of students get when they are in their final year. Way to go - and excellent to hear you are continuing with study!

julbee... welcome Julie... thanks for sharing some great rides in your intro - look forward to seeing more of you.

FreshNewbie... I know I've chatted with you in other posts but here's an official "welcome" - glad you are enjoying the boards

weathergal... LOL, when I read your comment about going uphill, well, I can relate - I really struggle on hills. Working hard on it hough.

Dianyla... I love IT too - its not my job, but I love messing around with it all. Hey, you know much about LINUX? We're contemplating building a PC (well, letting the older kids do the building with some supervision from us) and set it up as a LINUX only PC. Anyways, welcome, and hope you like it here

[CorsairMac]

Welcome to the board Diane. I loved your comment about your first post - criminy I remember the first time I posted here I must've read my posting a hundred times Just to be there were no typos and it made sense and the question didn't sound stupid. The first time I posted and found a mistake I looked like this ! and man can I relate to your loaner, hand-me-downs - right now I'm riding a 1987 Peugeot I bought off a guy cheap and a 1989 Trek 1100 coz it was only a 50 cm frame and I was the shortest person he knew! ROFL........(although I do own 2 new bikes that I bought so not ALL of mine are everhereafters! )
Hope to hear more from ya soon!

[fultzie]

i could have sworn i posted on this one, but i guess not! oh well, need to procrastinate going to class

Real name: Katherine

Where do you live? Ann Arbor, MI... originally from Chicago, where they ship me when school is not in session

Explanation of your handle: in drivers´ ed in high school, the jerk that i had for a teacher called all the girls either "honey" or "sweetheart" and the guys by some variation of their last name... from the death-look i gave him, i think he got the idea that calling me "honey" was a Bad Idea, and so called me Fultzie instead. and then my friends started using it, and it stuck.

Explanation of your avatar: UMich Cycling! yay!

Age (general or specific) : 20

Occupation: student, slacker, work at a rock climbing wall

Favorite bike: very hard to choose... i love all my bikes... but i´d go with my bianchi eros for now, since Fred was my first road bike... but i´m kind of lusting after an Indy Fab ti- crown jewel for the next baby.....

What's in your stable? 2000 Eros (Fred), 2004 Rockhopper (Lucy), Diamondback Wildwood (Chunkster)-- poor thing has been beaten to hell

Fastest speed on a road bike? where? when? about 50 mph... downhill... in a race two years ago... didn´t even know it until i checked my max speed later

What is the biggest lie you've ever told: um, probably something like "no, officer, i had no idea that was a one-way street" (i actually realized it after the fact, when the lights went on behind me... missed the sign, oops)

Most memorable moment on my bike: ooh geez... a lot of them... maybe right now (because it´s the most recent) it´s when my (boy)friend and i rented cruisers in argentina to go wine tasting (yeah, bikes and alcohol, probably not the brightest) and my chain kept falling off, and then it finally broke. between the two of us we could not get it back together (well, the lack of chain tool and missing link didn´t help- dah!). we were pretty much out in the middle of nowhere on a highway, and were like "yeah, right we´ll find a bike shop out here". well, not only did we find a bike shop, but TWO of them, in people´s garages in the town we had passed through. the first was closed, but at the second we sat for a half hour and chatted with an elderly argentine man as he pieced my chain back together again.

Most fun ever had on a bike? every time!

[Lynne]

Dianyla-
Oh yeah, those STUPID tracks! Whenever I come in from a ride in the west hills, I hit the tracks that run North/South-can't remember the name of the street...up by NW 23rd. Then I have to turn off and I'm always trying to find another way to get home. Who's bright idea was it to run tracks that aren't perpendicular to the road on say....4th and Washington (I think)?? The little signs of the poor biker person falling to his death after hitting the MAX track is enough to deter me....

[Dianyla]

Thanks all for the warm welcome!

The little signs of the poor biker person falling to his death after hitting the MAX track is enough to deter me....

Yeah, I wince every time I see those road signs. The visual of the biker endo'ing is just a little bit too accurate!

I loved your comment about your first post - criminy I remember the first time I posted here I must've read my posting a hundred times Just to be there were no typos and it made sense and the question didn't sound stupid. The first time I posted and found a mistake I looked like this !

The first one's always the hardest, but I've been trying to lurk here and get a general sense of the community before joining and just barging in like a bull in a china shop. Not that I would know anything about that. And I hate typos, evil evil typos. Hey, when my post count increases will I have the powers to edit my own posts for typos?

Dianyla... I love IT too - its not my job, but I love messing around with it all. Hey, you know much about LINUX? We're contemplating building a PC (well, letting the older kids do the building with some supervision from us) and set it up as a LINUX only PC. Anyways, welcome, and hope you like it here

I work mainly with commercial Un*x flavors but Linux isn't all that different. One thing I can say, having tried the "linux workstation at home" game in the past, nowadays it is a lot nicer and much more feasible to actually build and use linux at home than it was 4 years ago. Redhat and Suse make some nice package distributions. Although you can download linux for free online, for first timers I'd suggest picking up a book+CD of a distribution that will help you get through it. HTH.

[CorsairMac]

And I hate typos, evil evil typos. Hey, when my post count increases will I have the powers to edit my own posts for typos?

Look down on the bottom right hand side of your post and you should see an "edit" button. You can edit a post for about 1-2 days and then it's there Forever and Ever Amen!

Also, when you type your post, there is a "preview post" button right next to the "submit reply" button that will let you preview what you wrote before you post it. (which kaffy has started doing now so I don't have so many "edits'"!! LOL)

[Dianyla]

Look down on the bottom right hand side of your post and you should see an "edit" button. You can edit a post for about 1-2 days and then it's there Forever and Ever Amen!

Doh, I just finally saw this on my own posts after already posting that question. I'm a moderator in another forum that uses vbulletin and I'm kinda used to seeing an Edit button on everyone's posts. Also, we prevent newbies from using the Edit feature until they've reached a certain post level. Now I just see the button on my own posts. Just having a durr... moment here, don't mind me...

[Squirrel 2]

Real name: Irene

Where do you live? Bordentown, NJ

Explanation of your handle: DH is 6'3" & I'm 5'2", when we ride together, we've been nicknamed "Moose & Squirrel". Anybody remember Rocky & Bullwinkle?

Explanation of your avatar: ?? haven't figured this out yet...

Age (general or specific) just turned the big 5-0!

Occupation: Accountant

Favorite bike: any bike with a great paint job.

What's in your stable? my road riding steed of choice is a white Serotta Legend w/ red & yellow decals, a navy blue Specialized Dolce lives on my trainer, and a poor-old rusted red Specialized Hardrock (approx. 20 yrs old) hangs out in the basement for lack of any place better to go (haven't got the heart to throw it out)

Fastest speed on a road bike? where? when? 36.6 mph bombing down a long hill last summer in Vermont -- haven't hit that since.

Another picture of yourself or your ride? N/A - non-digital camera environment.

What is the biggest lie you've ever told: can't remember, once you've hit the big 5-0, they all just kind of blend together...

Most memorable moment on my bike: riding next to the Canadian border in Vermont on my longest solo ride ever -- 70+ miles. Not only do I remember the stunning scenery, huge cliffs on the border of sheer rock with tall evergreens way up on top, but it was a personal challenge that I overcame that day as well by being able to finish that ride.

Most embarrassing moment on my bike: taking my bike out last year on my birthday to get used to my new clipless pedals, going blank & forgetting how to clip out as I was going up hill in town, then managing to run into the curb & fall over, all at a speed of about 5 mph.

Most fun ever had on a bike? local charity rides are just terrific, great fun, great people, lots of food (very food-oriented). Looking forward to tomorrow's Ride for Autism.

[RoadRaven]

Welcome to the boards, fultzie and Squirrel... hope you enjoy being here

Dianyla, thanks for your suggestions re linux

[oroight]

Real name: Jan
Where do you live? Melb Australia

Explanation of your handle: alright,ok with aussie twang
Age (general or specific) 40

Occupation: research assistant

Favorite bike:Full Biannchi carbon

What's in your stable? Biannchi SL3 campag,singlespeed,old giant mtb

Fastest speed on a road bike? where? when? dont know

What is the biggest lie you've ever told:

Most memorable moment on my bike: Coming down Kosciuszko...


Most fun ever had on a bike? childhood expeditions

[Balrog]

Real name: Allison

Where do you live? Ann Arbor, MI (home of large, scholarly, football-playing rodents)

Fastest speed on a road bike? where? when? I usually hit 29 or 30 mph on some hills around Ann Arbor

Well hey hey, neighbor! Let's see ... um ... which hills? Newport Rd., those fabulous descents on Scio Church Rd. ... How about behind Kerrytown, heading toward the Amtrak station? Short but steep. Also the Miller Rd. dip.

Do you ride the Breakfast Ride with the AABTS? I'm the boring middle-aged lady on the Trek 7500fx wearing cargo shorts.

Welcome to the discussion!

--Blarog

[Balrog]

Real name: Katherine

Where do you live? Ann Arbor, MI...

Explanation of your avatar: UMich Cycling! yay!

WAH!!! Velo Club, aiiiyeee! Fly, you fools! Everybody off Huron River Drive! On your left! On your left! On your leftyourleftyourleftyourleft ... !

By the power vested in me by the Regents of the University Of Michigan, I now pronounce this discussion a charter site of the UM Alumni Society. "Sing to the colors that float in the light, hurrah for the Yellow and Blue ..."

So now the BIG question: Two Wheel Tango or Great Lakes?

--Balrog

[fultzie]

hee hee, my personal fav. hills in A2 are on Joy Road... ironically named, if you ask me! but that hill on state down to the amtrak station... fun if there are no cars coming up to the intersection! the cobbles/ bricks are bearable if you´re on a mtb. not so fun coming back from a ride, though. and the hill by the med center is hell after hitting the Local Loop (mtb).

i lived off of miller road last summer... wooo-ee, that was a fun commute! great way to wake up, but coming home that hill was not so fun.

hmm, I used to go to TWT, their mechanics are awesome (one guy-- Pat i think-- sat and explained to me exactly how to pull a crank off for a good half hour... and didn´t charge me! those guys are awesome).

Great Lakes was always really rude to me. and i mean *really* rude.

*however* neither of these stores will sponsor UM´s cycling team-- we´re sponsored by Dexter Bike and Sport, so i suppose next year i´ll go there.

Blarog and Quail- you should join us for a ride sometime!!! blarog- are you an alum, or do you work at the U, or a community member at large, or all of the above? you´re always welcome!!

and check out the UMich Cycling website for some more info... it hasn´t been updated lately, but when school starts again it will be

[Balrog]

Hey Fultzie!

No such thing as "off topic." This is the "meet-and-greet" thread, really, and finding out the common connections is part of the fun. I'm sorry to hear that you've had such groty experiences with the local bike shops: it's good to hear them First-Person because I can float this information up through the AABTS, so when discounts are offered to members by these shops, we know that there's a dubious history to consider.

Sorry: I'm too much of an old school feminista to cozen would-be harassers. Esp. TWT, which prides itself on being gender-neutral-friendly.

NEITHER store would sponsor the UM team? That totally stinks. Sounds like it's "local advocacy" time. Thanks for the link! I think the Club has a link. I should check.

I love the Miller hill, esp. down from the Newport Rd. heights. I'm not as familiar with Joy, but some of the classic OHR routes, and the old (early '90s) EcoRide routes would run you up North Territorial, where there are some long grades.

And THEN there's Geddes. Short and sweet ...

Thanks for replying! I'm staff at the Law School, btw, but also an alumna. I live over by Zion Lutheran, near Eberwhite Woods.

--Balrog

[fultzie]

hee hee, looks like you got the "unedited" version of my post! after i posted i figured it wasn´t necessary to go in to detail with the TWT thing, but maybe i should have left it!

honestly i´ll still go back there for emergency parts/maintenance, because aside from that one creepy guy the employees (particularly the mechanics) there are great. they´ve even fixed my bike while i wait (on a friday night!), because they knew i had a race the next day.

that said, i won´t be buying my next bike there. it really burns me that they list UM under the clubs that get discounts on their website, and then don´t honor it.

oh, if you want to read the whole gory story of the creepy guy hitting on me, check out the "i´m a beast" post from last summer ...actually, i should update that one, as there has been a new development!