brief beest builder bio

I have ridden bicycles since I was four or so years of age. I did not start with training wheels- my dad got me going in one fruitful afternoon, and I have been going on two wheels ever since. I am a very bad, neglectful car owner, and riding was and is a necessary reality as well as an avenue to fitness and adventure.

I was reared in the Republic of Texas, where I lived for the first thirty two years of this turn on the dance floor. The next eighteen years (which brings you to the present- you do the advanced mathematics to determine my age) have had me bouncing back and forth between the states of Minnesota and Chicago, with a half year in New Mexico thrown in for spice (and more road miles, and lots more climbing than I have had before or since). I am currently torching in Minneapolis, where I do, yes thank you for asking, ride the whole year 'round- though Minnesota winters are not what tiggers like best. Relocation is desired, but wherever I end up Wildebeest will, too.

Out of a sense of mechanical curiosity, but even more driven by student/musician lifestyle-imposed poverty, I began tinkering with my own bikes many years ago. Eventually, as in 2001, the time came to exit the food business in which I had been, in one gig or another, since 1983; on that note, I tickled the itch and went to confirm what I already knew and learn what I did not know about wrenching bikes at United Bicycle Institute.

Since summer of 2002, I have been a full-time mechanic, enjoying the wealth, fame and notoriety that is endemic to the bicycle business. I went back to UBI in 2005 to see what framebuilding in steel was all about.

I still bake, homebrew, farm and ride. I do not play music much any more, but the guitars and the 'cello are always here when I get the itch.