Saying hi from central New York
And when I say central New York, I'm not kidding. The precise geographic center of the state is a 15 minute drive from my house.
I've been 8 years away from biking. Not a nice story so I'll skip it, but the important thing is that I'm back. I love biking, although I'm not very good. I just love riding.
I have a Cannondale R500 that I bought back in '91 or '92. It has a triple chain ring, 7 speed cassette and Shimano RX100 components. My goal is to make this bike last at least another 10 years. A lot of what I'm going to be asking about is components to buy now so that I can replace parts later after they've disappeared. I can't believe how much things have changed since I bought this bike, but it's not as bad as computers.
Anyway, I'll describe how I like to ride. 8 years ago I got into the best shape I've ever been in. By the end of the summer my schedule was basically working out at the gym three times a week and riding 40 miles on my bike on the days in between. On the weekend I would take a ride between 70 and 113 miles (113 being my longest ride that summer). I don't race. I guess what they call it is "sport touring". My goal now is the same it was that summer: to lose all my excess weight and get so that I can ride longer distances without difficulty. When I finished that summer I weighed 180 lbs. Right now I weigh 218 lbs. and I've just lost 12. Yikes!! Needless to say, I'm not doing 100 mile rides on the weekend just yet. I'm doing 20 miles every other day and am now ready to step that up to about 30, I think. My last couple of rides have been really easy and enjoyable. There is nothing better than a summer morning ride over rolling hills through rural countryside. Makes me glad I'm alive. Know what I mean? Of course you do.
I never type intros on forums, but I got such a nice welcome from the moderators here that I figured I would this time. What a nice place. I've already learned some things from lurking the past couple of days.
My immediate need is new tires. I'm heading over to the mechanics section to post my first question.
John