I was never huge into cycling until I rode my friend Sam's fixed gear. That summer I fell in love with cycling. It was 2006. I decided to build myself a bike, luckily I had a partially working Peugeot City Express we found in a snow storm years before. The wheels were destroyed and the seat was easily removed (bad). Being a poor college student I could only afford a wheelset (with a cog for the fixed gear) and a chain. So I bought the 700c wheelset with cog and tubes and tires and a 1/8" chain.

While waiting for the parts I stripped the bike of everything I could and cleaned the frame thoroughly. The handlebars, seat and fork were also cleaned. The bottom bracket and crank were left on as I had no idea on how to remove them then. The cantilever brakes were removed and tossed, the extra cabling for the shifters and brakes were removed.

Finally the wheelset came in and I assembled my "brand new" bike. No brakes, no coasting and a broken seat. I loved it. I rode it the whole last half of the summer and only added safety equipment to myself (lights, helmet, etc...). 

Since then the bike has changed over time. Two sets of handlebars (drops and bullhorns), a new crank and new chain, new seatpost and seat (found it in a bargain bin for $10 at a local bike shop), new brake and brake lever and plenty of consumables (tires/tubes etc...). I still ride it to class daily, even in the winter and rain. It is fun, it is cheap, it is quick and I hear it is somewhat good for you (bonus!).

Here is an example of the short commute I ride daily to classes: