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History: My first road bike was an old Raleigh Record Sprint which I found most of abandoned by the side of the road. That did very well for a couple of years before the frame snapped. At the time I could get Trek bikes cheap, so bought their bottom of the range model, which then (1994) retailed for £350. When I went off to university the following year, I started racing on the 370, helping the Cambridge squad to a silver medal in the student team time trial championships in my fourth ever time trial. After this I got the Scott to have a dedicated TT bike, and the Trek was back to training. But when I then started road racing, I used the 370 for the first year before graduating up to the 5500 in summer 1997. I remember being in one of my first races as a 4th cat, on the 370, and being in a break with Gary Baker, his Condor teammate, and two 1st cat riders, and thinking that my bike cost me less than the price of Baker's rear wheel..... The bike has been a trusty workhorse since then, quietly clocking up the miles without complaint. The mudguards and rack are a permanent fixture, as are the homemade front lights. In 2002 the bike had a bit of a facelift, having the old parts of the 5500 fitted and going up to 9spd from the old 7; a couple of gears extra are useful now I have left the flatlands of Cambridge! But once again it has taken another winter of abuse without any problems - probably about 6000 miles with nothing more than an occasional squirt of lube on the chain. I think it was grateful for the spring service it just got though; the chain (once I found it under the grime) was completely shot. Purpose: Training, shopping, commuting, general purpose don't-have-to-worry-about-it road machine. 
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