Diane dressed in her cycling gear and headed out for her morning ride. The sky was clear and the temperature was cool. It had been a long five months since she had taken over her father John Biggs' business , and riding her bike had been good therapy. Biggs' Fabrication had taken off well since she restarted the business after her dad's heart attack and death. She was sure she was going to lose the business till her father's insurance policy came through. She didn't even know he had an insurance policy.

Now she was all alone, except for the employees of Biggs' Fabrication. They were her family now. Her Mom had died years ago when she was just 4 years old. Heck, she is only 18 now.

Diane was a certified welder and fabricator in her own right. Instead of learning to cook and sew, while she was growing up, her Dad had taught her the art of metal , welding, cutting, shaping , and forming. She had learned her lessons well ; she was very good at it. She may not have been the best in her shop but she could hold her own with any of her crew.

She rolled her bike out on the highway and set off punching the start button on her Cateye cyclometer, and started riding down the road. Her bike -- she was proud of that. She had built the bike from scratch; cut and welded the frame and front fork, laced the wheels, put this bike together and tuned it, all from the ground up.

She picked up her pace as the road leveled and noted that her speed on this stretch was 28 mph. She had come a long way from her first ride; she had been lucky to make 20 mph on this stretch, back in May. That bike had been a boat anchor compared to this one.

Freed by the insurance policy from worries about money, she had started the business back up and started her own side business. Building high end racing bikes from lightweight titanium was fun for her. It was good for her soul like her morning rides.

She dropped a gear and picked up pedal speed to 85 RPM as she began a climb.

She had enough money to live a life of leisure, she would not have had to work for a long while, but work was good it kept her busy. It brought her friends around; it brought her family back to her. Cal Drake, became the shop's foreman, basically he ran the business, but don't tell Sally that. Sally Brooks was her office manager; if anybody asked her, she would tell you straight to your face she ran the business. She was a real sweet heart and as close to a mother as Diane could remember.

Timothy (Little Timmy) Cross -- now there is a contradiction, as if anyone could call a man who is 6'6" and 260 lbs little. He could do just about anything with metal, and clear out any bar this side of the Mississippi, but to women and children he was an oversized teddy bear. Jake Skaggs and Billy Jones, a harder working pair of fabricators could not be found. Derek Drake, her resident computer geek , and partner in Diane Biggs' Custom Bikes, he had as much to do with both her companies' good fortune as anybody else. He set up the shops computers and Cad/Cam program.

She kicked her bike into a higher gear with a burst of speed, 32 mph on this slight downhill run into a very steep one and a half mile climb. This part was a real killer.

Derek had developed a program to help her build custom bikes. You just input certain measurements and riding styles and it crunches those numbers sending them into the Cad/Cam program, which gives her the plans to create her works of art.

5 mph…. but at least she was past the worst of her ride. Two miles more and the wild ride began as she reversed her course. She'd never have made that climb on her old bike. It had taken her 2 months of riding everyday to conquer this section of her ride.

Diane went from a casual rider to a serious grinder. She was far from world class like that Jenny Bond she read about but she was pretty darn good now. She was five-feet eight-inches tall and weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds, with less than 5% body fat. She was stronger, leaner, and healthier than she had ever been. In many ways, she didn't look as feminine she once had, her breasts looked smaller now just a small to average B cup, down from a C. Her chest was larger and her waist smaller, but her legs were great. She cleaned up real good to and thank goodness for WonderBra ® she thought.

Derek a classic computer geek with a gut to go with it, no longer looked geeky. He was not riding on her level but he is pretty hunky now. He now even has some girls calling him for dates. His riding and this job have changed him so much. He has a lot more confidence in himself, his abilities and around people, than he ever had. He climbed out of the computer shell he had created.

Turn at the top and now for a high - speed run. Her focus and concentration narrowed to the task at hand , as she tucks in as streamlined a position as possible. Speed 57 mph, road ahead clear of traffic, thank goodness. As grueling as the climbs are, the downhill runs are harrowing. A slight climb and a level run of 28 mph.

Titanium is not easy to work with but it makes a great bike. The guys have taught her a lot about fabrication, since she started building bikes. Little Timmy would not let her get away with a half-assed job. It was either done right or a full assed she joked. Her first bike had taken almost a month to build, but she got it right.

She hit the button on her cyclometer sixty-four minutes fifty-two seconds on a twenty-five mile ride with one hell of a climb; a full thirty-two minutes faster than her first complete ride. Her legs felt like jelly but she rolled past her place and headed to the local diner for a good country breakfast. Since she had been riding the amount of calories she ate soared and instead gaining weight she lost fat and leaned out. She locked her bike to a pole outside the diner, took off her helmet and cleats, put on some lightweight deck shoes she carried, and entered the diner.

She spied Brittney, Debbie , and Sabrina sitting in a booth. Brittney's eyes went big as saucers as she saw me.

"Diane is that you?"

"Brit, don't be daffy, of course it is me."

Sabrina made room for me to sit down so I joined them.

"Since when did you take up riding bikes?"

"Derek and I have been riding with a club since May, down at Waynesboro. I started riding seriously early July after I built my own bike. Where have you been Mars? Oh , that's right ya'll went to England. How did that go guys?"

"It was brilliant Diane. Since when did you start building bikes? I knew you restarted your Dad's business, but building bikes and since when did Derek start riding bikes? I didn't think he looked at anything that didn't have a keyboard attached."

"Derek has become somewhat of a hunk now girls, he has lost weight and muscled out nicely. We ride twice a week together with the Waynesboro group and he goes with me to Charlottesville where I do some serious riding on the weekends."

Deb sat there with a long face mouth open to catch flies and said, "Are you talking about Derek Drake the computer geek, a hunk? You've got to be kidding?"

"Well let me fill you girls in. Derek is dating a couple of girls that ride with the bike club. He looks great. He works at my shop doing Cad/Cam work and helps me design the bikes I build. With him and his program I can build a bike that'll fit you like a glove, girl. My bike is right outside the door I will show ya'll when we leave, now I am hungry."

Sabrina asked, "What is Cad/Cam work?"

"Cad/Cam is computer-assisted design technology and manufacturing. It means he works on computers to draw the things we make and also connects the computer to run the machines that do the work."

I ordered the large ranchers special, coffee , and OJ.

The girls giggled and said, "You're going to eat all that by yourself?"

"Yes, since I have been riding I eat a whole lot more, and I have not gained or lost any weight. So enough about me -- how was England already?"

"It was great we have tons of pictures to show you, Deb and I stayed with Drew and Jules Bond, Sab stayed with Maddy Peters who's Drew's cousin. Dan got in a ton of trouble and was decked by Gaby. Drew rides bikes, he is very good , and his mom rides bikes too."

"So is Drew Bond any relation to Jenny Bond? Dan got decked by a girl?"

"That is his Mom, Diane."

"You're kidding. She's the Lady that won the Tour De Fem, right?"

"That's her. I got to go to Germany to meet her at a bike show with Drew. Drew has won a bunch of races too. He is one of the hottest riders under 16 in England. He will be here in January you'll be able to meet him."

I finished my breakfast, as the girls were explaining England to me. The trio gawked at me as I ate.

"What gives? You three are looking at me like I grew a third eye."

"It's just the way you're eating, that reminds us of Drew, we have never seen you eat that much."

"Cycling burns so many calories I have to eat like that; I just completed a twenty-five mile ride up US 340 and onto US 33 and back. I am riding between one-hundred-seventy-five and two-hundred-twenty-five miles a week, now."

We paid ou r bills and headed outside. I stopped and showed the girls my bike. They oohed and awed over my bike. I told them to pick it up. They were surprised at how light it was.

"It is light but strong enough for hard riding and it is built to last. It is a very good bike. I built the frame and the front fork and ordered the rest of the gear, and put it all together."

"Campa whatever, I think that is the stuff Drew uses on his bike."

"Campagnolo or Campy as some call it. Yeah they make some good stuff, some of it is quite pricey. Ya'll come by the office sometime and we'll talk some more. Good to see you girls again."

After hugs and farewells, I gave them my business card, Diane Biggs Custom Bikes, with my phone, fax, website, and email addy. I changed into my cleats and pedaled down the road to my shop. I showered and changed into work clothes. Derek was in the office working on a project using our Cad/Cam program.

"Derek, do me a favor and check out Jenny Bond that Tour De Fem cyclist and a Drew Bond her son. Drew is some kind of muckety muck under 16 cyclist in England. Drew Bond is coming to Grottoes and I need advertisement."

"Sure thing Boss lady, that sounds great."

"Oh those kids that went to England, they are back. I met Britney, Debbie, and Sabrina at the diner, they probably have some wild stories.”

Diane settled into her shop forming a plan. Yes , this could be good. She started plans to build two bikes.

To be continued.

Paula Dillon 09.02.05 © 2005
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