About Cyclist: "I just turned 75 and still enjoy riding as much as ever!" Chris Morgan

September 25, 2022

About Cyclist: "I just turned 75 and still enjoy riding as much as ever!" Chris Morgan

I just turned 75 and still enjoy riding as much as ever. I fully retired about 7 years ago, about the time I got my first serious road bike – a Focus Cayo. Most of my career has been spent programming computers, starting when the IBM PC was introduced in November 1981. I worked for a number of businesses as an independent contractor creating basic data entry systems for things like customer tracking, inventory management, invoicing, and the like. My final job was working for United Healthcare programming claims processing applications.

I graduated from Georgia Tech with a BS and MS in Systems Engineering and Operations. Research in 1970/1972 and spent my early years working in the Washington DC area for several government contracting firms.

I married in 1974 and with my wife, Alice, we raised two fantastic girls. We first lived in the northern Virginia area before moving to Dallas in 1982. I have always been active in church and I am currently a member of Denton Bible Church, where my wife and I mentor young men in a 9- month-long program of learning life skills, theology, physical fitness, and leadership. In my woodworking shop, I teach basic woodworking skills and how to build simple projects to these young men, as well as to the girls who are also a part of this program.

I have always been into cycling since a boy. But only in the last 10 years have I ventured into riding beyond my neighborhood. We spent summers from 2013 to 2015 going to Denver to be with our daughter and her family. There I got into mountain biking on the marvelous trails they have there and in the nearby mountains. But after my daughter moved to Dallas, it was time to get a road bike and keep up with the groups I started riding with – Pathfinders (led by Mark Solow) and the Carrollton Cycling Club. I also have enjoyed riding in local organized rides like the Denton Turkey Roll, St Jude N Tx Bike Rally, Lake Cities Bike Tour, Ride Ataxia, and, of course, the Hotter’n Hell 100 in Wichita Falls.

I currently ride with the Pathfinder Cycling group, led by Mark Solow on Saturdays. And, I ride with the Carrollton Cycling Club on Mondays and Wednesday evenings, at least until it becomes dark too early to get out.

No special goals this year as a cyclist, except to keep rolling. Various health problems and the windy spring and hot summer have interfered with some. But I look forward to cooler weather, which we are now having.

I just got a new bike. Because of health issues, I decided to get a new gravel bike that has some electric assist. It is a 3T Exploro Racemax with boost. What’s great is that it doesn’t look like anything but a normal carbon frame gravel bike with drop handlebars.

I have Clarence at Mad Duck Cyclery to thank for getting me fixed up with it. While certainly heavier than a normal carbon bike, it is light enough that I don’t always have to depend on the electric assist. But when there is a challenging hill, it comes in quite handy.

I love learning. Right now, I am collecting and reading books on Calculus. Who in their right mind does that, right? Oh well, each to his own. I also spend a lot of time in my well-equipped woodworking shop building furniture pieces out of walnut, mahogany, and maple.