Dear Cruzbike,

My story starts out several years ago. When I was in grade school. I got my 1st," REAL" bike. A 10 speed road bike. I put several hundred miles on this bike the 1st summer I had it.
 
I found out that I love to cycle. As I got older, I kept on riding. I did not get my drivers licence until I was 17. I rode my bike every where.
 
I found out that dating was kind of hard to do with out a licence. But even after I started to drive, I did not give up my bike.
 
Then in June 1984 I rode my 1st mountain bike. I was hooked on that. I kept my old road bike, and still have it to this day. But I did 99% of my riding on a mountain bike. There are lots of great spots to ride where I was living in WV.
 
My 1st year I was very hard on that poor thing.  Needless to say, I trashed that bike. So the next spring I upgraded to a better frame and components.    
 
Before to long I had 3 different bikes. 1 for trials, 1 for down hill runs and 1 for racing. So you can see that I was really into riding.
 
In 1989 I moved to the south eastern part of NC. Not a lot on mountain trails there. But I did a little beach cruising.
 
I put a kid seat on my old road bike. My wife would not let me put a  seat on one of my mountain bikes. She had seen how I would ride off road.
 
Over the next few years I did not ride as much as I wanted or should have. I lost my legs and put on a few pounds.
 
Then in the spring of 1997, my life changed. I blew out 2 dic's in my lower back. I had constant pain like I had never had before. The Dr wanted to cut on me but I would not let him.
 
Over the next several years I gained more and more weight. I tried a few times to get back on my bikes but would only last a few min. My back would flare up and I would be laid up for a few days.
 
I thought my riding days where over for good. Then I herd about your company from a friend. I looked you up on the net and thought I would give one of your bikes a try.
 
My friend had bought one of your kits and had a Wal-Mart Mongoose converted to your system. Some time later he upgraded to one of your factory bikes.  So he let me try his older kit bike out.
 
On April 6th of last year I took delivery of that bike. And my life changed again. This time for the better. My first few rides where kind of comical. I looked like a bear in the circus trying to learn how to make this thing go.
 
But before to long I was getting the hang of it. I put on 6 miles my 1st time out. I rested a few days to see how my back would take it. I had not pain at all. Then I put on 8 miles the next ride. Zero pain again. I waited a few days and then did 10 miles with the same result. No pain.
 
I was hooked. I was going for 2 or 3 rides a week. I set a goal of riding 100 miles a month. Which would give me 1200 miles in one year.
 
I wanted to track my rides so I started a detailed log. I rode in the rain, early in the morning, late at night. In the heat of the day. Just about any time I could find. I was back in the saddle and loving it.
 
I even dusted off my old road helmet and took to the back roads in my area. My longest outing was 40 miles on one ride. I was like a kid. Bike riding was fun again.
 
Then another thing started to happen. I noticed my clothes where not fitting as tight as they once did. So I started to watch what I was eating and low and behold the weight started to fall off of me.
 
I had gained 30 pounds over the years. And I told myself it was time to take control of my body again and loose the pounds I had put on.
 
The first 10 pounds came off pretty fast. Then I leveled off for several months. Looking back at it I think what was going on was that I was losing fat but gaining muscle.
 
But then I started to loose some pounds again. By Nov of last years I was down 20 pounds. I was feeling so much better. Not only in my cloths, but in my body.
 
Then the holidays hit. And I was a bad boy. I ate to much and I did not ride as much as I should have or needed too. And I put a few pounds back on.
 
So after the new year I started back up again. I had to buy some cold weather gear to stay warm, that way I had no excuse not to ride. I had to work at it but the pounds came back off again.
 
As March came around I got serious again. I wanted to put as many miles on as I could before my year was up.
 
By the 5th of Apr of this year, I had met and passed my goal. On 104 rides, I had gone 1416 miles. Apx time in the saddle was 180 hours.
 
Some of the other things that I have to note. I have lost and kept off 25 pounds. At last check, my blood pressure was 117 - 78. My cholesterol is down 20 points. My resting heart rate is now in the mid 50's. And my love handles are now love knobs.
 
I just wanted to tell you my little story and to say thank you for a great product. My plan and goal this year is ride more than the 1416 miles I did last year. And to drop another 10 pounds. That would get me to the weight I was when I graduated high school so many years ago. I will keep you posted.
 
 Thank you again, one very happy Cruzer, Brad Losh, Lumberton NC