BluesDawg

Welcome back to bicycling! If you stay with it you are very likely to be much happier and healthier than before. Just a few things to remember:

1- Take it easy at first. Don't expect to start off riding long rides, riding fast and feeling great while you ride and after you ride. You will need a little time for your body to adjust to the activity and to adjust your bike to you.

2- Find someone to help you set your bike up so that you can be as comfortable as possible. It is important that your bike fits. It is very hard for people on a message board to understand what is wrong and tell you what to do about it. We will try. But someone standing in front of you can do a better job more easily.

3- Be patient. You can't buy instant fitness or comfort. As long as you are not doing something completely wrong or have terrible equipment, you will start feeling much better after several rides. Buying new saddles, new handlebars, new bikes, new clothing etc will come later. Until you get through the initial process of adjusting to this new activity, you won't really know what different equipment you need.

4- Don't think that you need the perfect bike. As long as you are on a bike that fits, that is in good working condition and that is reasonably suited to the type of riding you are doing, just ride it and ride it and ride it. Eventually you may come to the point that the bike is limiting your riding, but not right away.
Bicycling is more about legs, lungs and heart than about frames, wheels, handlebars and saddles.

5- Once you are riding comfortably, you must abide by the overriding rule of bicycling, "N+1".
The number of bicycle you should have is N+1, where N is the number of bicycles you have now.