I shared this discussion with my husband, and we both admire your persistence from where you started. He had a walking partner for a while who just would not push himself beyond the lowest comfort level, and then backed out. He has health problems that could be remedied by just taking a daily walk. I know how hard it is to stick with it -- for me, to lose weight was a minute-by-minute endeavor to avoid eating what I wanted, when I wanted, and to exercise when I didn't feel like it. It was like swimming upstream against a strong current.... it takes a LOT of will to push through that, especially before it becomes a habit and when the body isn't feeling well.
And you did it on a hybrid, no less.
(Oh yeh, I already said that.
)
And George, what counts is that you started. You're an inspiration to me too! Hey, this whole forum is an inspiration to me to see how far many of you have come from where you started.