Trans Am, The origin of my obsession with the TransAm: Introduction

I’ve dreamed of this journey since 1981. It’s rooted in an obsession with freedom and self-reliance, and, of course, it is a full-fledged mid-life crisis, but that isn’t the full story.

It’s hard to know where to start the story.

I could have started it when I got my first bicycle, a 1967 Murray Wildcat with a banana seat and coaster brake that was awesome for skidding sideways.

I could have started it when I got my second bicycle. The 10-speed craze was in full swing in the early 1970s, and since we lived a few miles from town, I desperately wanted a 10-speed. But we were also poor: My mom was a single parent raising three kids with part-time jobs and public assistance, so a new bicycle seemed unattainable. But when my grandfather died, she inherited a little money, and bought me a brand-new Hiawatha 10-speed from the local Gambles hardware store.

However, I decided to start the story later, when, as a young adult, I really discovered cycling and it became central to my life.