Hello to all, and good day!

My name is Daniel. I just signed up for this fiesta, and I thought I'd just say hello and introduce myself with a little history and philosophy. I couldn't find an introduction thread, so I thought this might be the best place to post this. That way no one gets sucked into reading all or part of it unless they really really want to! :) This is admittedly long and involved, but for the literary types here on the forum I hope you find it interesting.

I'm 63 years old, and have been doing balance sports all my life. As a lad here in Texas I started riding bicycles and horses at about the same time. By the time I was 13 I was riding bronc- and bull-riding in rodeos - yes, they are definitely balance sports, but also definitely high impact. Got my first motorcycle at 14, and that ended the rodeo riding. Found surfing not long after, and that became my life for some time - with the obligatory skateboarding thrown in for good measure.

I also grew up roller skating, both at rinks and on the street (steel wheels - ouch!). Skateboarding led me to poly wheels for skates, and I became one of the first people in Texas to take up bowl skating on roller skates. I still have a pair of purpose-built bowl skates that I occasionally dust off and ride around the streets and parks of... well, pretty much anywhere, but I don't ride bowls anymore due to my age and the hard-won wisdom that it has bestowed.

Skip forward a couple of lifetimes (one career as a musician, another as a computer scientist, a stint at MIT, some time sailing around and living in the Florida keys): in 2002 or '03, while living in Fort Lauderdale and working as a Systems Admin for a dot-com company, I discovered and bought a Trikke on a lark. Loved it, loved the sensation of skating on three wheels, and ended up riding it the 10 miles to work pretty much every day for the year or so I worked there before getting laid off in the tech recession of that time.

I took that opportunity to move to Micco, Florida, which happens to be just across the Intracoastal Waterway from Sebastian Inlet, a rocking surf spot. Spent about six months riding my Trikke and bike, carrying my surfboard across the Intracoastal with my kayak, surfing the Inlet. That was a great time indeed!

In 2004 I decided to move back to Austin, Texas, where I own a house with an apartment reserved for my use. My parents were getting on up in age, and I figured I could enjoy Austin and be near them. Also I still hadn't found a job, and figured my prospects were better in Austin than in Micco. I lived in Austin and commuted to my parents' little farm outside Flatonia, Texas (halfway between San Antonio and Houston) to spend a day or two every week or so. Never did find that job in Austin - I guess I was having too much fun to look seriously.

In early 2005 I took a job managing a primate sanctuary near Dilley, Texas - about halfway between San Antonio and Laredo, down in south Texas. My riding pretty well came to an end for a while, as there were no places nearby to do anything other than bike, and by this point my right knee had become so messed up with all the years of abuse (I like to blame the rodeo!) that I couldn't even bend it enough to ride a bicycle. I still rode my Trikke whenever I got back to Austin, but for that five-year stretch my exercise was almost exclusively wilderness- and monkey-management-based. Mainly avoiding wild pigs, and exploring the mesquite scrub with my dogs.

My mom died in 2007, and my father pretty much tanked after that. I realized that he was going to need help and care, so last year I took early retirement and moved to Flatonia. It's satisfying being able to help my dad, and I love the rolling hills of central Texas, but a Trikking mecca it's not - especially with my little skateboard wheels. Over the course of a year I have slipped into a routine that basically includes no exercise. I've ridden my Trikke a bit, but the roads here are tiny pebbles imbedded in some sort of macadam, or tar, or some such mess, and the PU wheels just skitter crazily over the surface. Going uphill is akin to riding a bicycle on rough ice, and going downhill - well, let's just say that it is a test of concentration.

Oh, back when I was living in Fort Lauderdale I had a horrendous crash on my Trikke. I had a course that I would ride, alongside the beach and around the streets and sidewalks of the area in a large, irregular lap of about three miles, I'd guess. I got really good at it, and could just wail down the road, passing bikers and skaters if they weren't just grinding. One day my attention wandered for just a split second, and I managed to trap the front wheel of the Trikke in a parallel groove/crack in the sidewalk. It stopped, completely, and I ended up landing with my left hand, in a fist, under my sternum. I really thought I'd broken both my hand and sternum, it was the worst crash pain I've experienced, and I guarantee that's saying something. Turned out nothing was broken, but I still have pain from it in my left hand.

It didn't stop me from riding, but I gained a lot of respect for what can happen on a Trikke. It also keeps me from feeling completely comfortable when I'm not on smooth concrete.

And so when I saw a StreetStrider on an infomercial I realized that it might be the answer to my needs for exercise and short-range travel to and from town about 3 miles from the farm. My main need is exercise, FUN exercise so I'll stick with it, and I need to be able to get it on the short ride to and from the post office, bank, grocery store, etc. The arm-assist means I should be able to take some of the strain off my knee, if need be, and I can still get decent core work. And the roads here my not be glass-smooth, but they ARE pretty empty, and the hills are mild at worst, or best. I really don't have to worry about traffic, and I should get a good workout - especially when that 30mph Texas prairie wind is cranking!

I did some research on the net, found this site, read Ivan's extensive review of the SS (and that of the lady at crazyguyonabike, very entertaining as well), and - long story shorter - Saturday night I ordered an 8s, resplendent in "Breakwater Blue," and I was told this morning that it was shipping today! Yippee! [Update: I have my strider, assembled and ridden. See the ongoing saga on the "My StreetStrider Commentary" thread.]

Anyway, that's my story. Hope I didn't waste too much of your time!

Again, hello to all, and happy moving!

Best regards,
Daniel - Delta Foxtrot