The next bike I purchased was an Eddy Mercks edition Falcon, an English bike with sew-up tires and 531 tubing. It was fast, it was cool, and the paint job was the exact shade of purple as an XKE. It was the ninth bike sold by a new bike shop in Milwaukee where a buddy worked. We created a "special" version by replacing the steel crankset with a Japanese alloy crankset and the Huret Simplex derailleur with a Suntour VGT. Man, I could motor through Grant Park on a weekend and nobody would challenge me. I rode that Falcon from Chicgo to Milwaukee, from Chicago to Madison, and from Milwaukee up to Stockbridge, Wisconsin, all rides of between 85 and 190 miles. I went through many rear wheels and learned the best way to fix a sew-up tire (throw it out and buy a new one).

When it came time to replace the Falcon, high pressure clinchers had just become widely available. The exchange rate with the French franc was at an all-time high, so I bought a Peugeot PF10. I still own this bike, with new wheels built by my bike-shop buddy. I still ride it occasionally.

About 12 years ago, I suffered a severe knee injury while cross country skiing. Once I had recovered enough to start bicycling again, I tried riding my Peugeot, but it was very uncomfortable. I bought a "beater" bicycle at a garage sale, and rode it almost exclusively for many years. This beater is a Schwinn Continental, which is a ten-speed bike that weighs about twice as much as a good road bike. It shifts like a crowbar in a garbage disposal, but it rides OK and I didn't have to use toe clips, which was hard on my bad leg.

Four years ago, I decided that it was time to get one of those mountain bikes that everyone was riding. One of my buddies has one, and I rode it a few times and liked it. I wanted a bike that was both comfortable and able to withstand the rigors of urban cycling. Most of my riding takes place within the city where I reside, although my wife prefers riding trails. I am both heavy and strong, but slow, and I've broken spokes, bent rims, and even broken rear axles on numerous occasions. I went to several bike stores and tried both mountain bikes and hybrids. I finally ended up buying a hybrid, because it seemed to provide the best combination of comfort, speed and durability for my riding needs. After a few modifications, I was on the road to veritable biking bliss.

I have read some negative comments regarding hybrid bicycles from supposedly knowledgable "experts". They suggest road bikes over hybrids for "efficent" workouts. To me, riding a bike just to get exercise is like flying a small plane just to get someplace a little faster. Anybody with that attitude might as well get an exercise bike and never leave their basement. Exercise should be fun; if it isn't, it won't become a lifelong pursuit. These "experts" also assert that if you don't ride on dirt most of the time, you are better off on a road bike, and if you do, then its a mountain bike for you. They ignore the versatility of the hybrid, which is tougher on the road and can still handle dirt trails when required.

When I ride, I get plenty of exercise, but I also usually do a few errands that otherwise would have had to have been done via automobile. I also enjoy perusing people's gardens, spotting occasional wildlife, and people watching. Since I ride in an urban environment, however, I also encounter potholes, road trash, car parts, and bad drivers that could quickly terminate a nice ride.

The two most compelling reasons why I ride my hybrid almost all the time are comfort and durability. The upright seating position of a hybrid, while less aerodynamic than the dropped-handlebar road bike, is much more comfortable. Prolonged rides on my road bike usually leave me with a sore neck. The softer ride of the hybrid also reduces numbness in the arms and hands caused by shock. (Gel gloves and bar-end grips help reduce this numbness, and taking a short break to do an errand or whatever seems to help, too.) I may not go as far or as fast on my hybrid as I would on my road bike in the time allotted to my workout, but I will still be burning the same amount of calories.

When I rode my beater or my road bike, I used to have to replace or retrue the rear wheel at least once a season, and would usually have two to three flat tires a year. This meant downtime, for a few minutes in the case of a flat, but up to a week if I broke a spoke, bent a rim, or threw the wheel out of true. I have put over 4000 miles in three plus years on my hybrid, and I have never had a flat, even though I wore a rear tire down to the core before replacing it. In fact, I have not had to do any other maintenance other than oiling my chain and keeping my tires inflated since I bought the bike. In the four decades I have been riding bikes, this is the best record for durability I have ever had. Even my balloon-tired bomber had a flat occasionally.

My wife loves her hybrid, too!

Why some so-called "experts" denigrate hybrids is a mystery to me. Perhaps they suffer from a "gearhead" mentallity or it may be that the bicycle manufacturers and dealers that support them would rather see you in the bike shop buying new wheels and tires or keeping their wheel builders busy. At any rate, unless you plan on entering the Tour de France or crashing through the outback, you might want to consider a hybrid as your everyday bike. I did, and I ride it nearly every day.