Introductions - I love biking in Minneapolis!

Hi!

My name is Tara and I don't know anything about bikes.

I just bought my first bike at the Hub's used bike sale and I love it (it's an all black road bike with pannier and a rack and a little computer and everything)! I'd been riding my dad's Giant Iguana and it was just a little sluggish...and since I don't have (or want) a car, I figured I would buy a faster bike for my commute to work since I gave up on it when it proved to be such slow going. And then the Iguana can get me through the ice and snow in the winter. :D

So I'm here to learn things like how my bike works and how I should be riding it. I've been impressed with the quality of the forum posts I've read--someday I'll know enough to contribute something!

-tara

Hello sparklingrobots--I love your user name, you must give us an explanation for it :) .

You are off to a flying start with having two bikes--always a good idea when one is a commuter, especially in the Twin Cities area. Take a peek at the Great Lakes regional forum to see how many other people are from that area. You certainly won't want to miss the Winter Cycling forum, either.

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

Greetings and welcome. Enjoy the road bike and I'll probably see you headed the other direction at some point soon (watch for the secret MPLS BF hand signal). Ride safe!!

Welcome--you'll be well versed in no time.

Thanks to everyone for the welcoming responses. I'll keep an eye out for you, Joe Dog, and maybe I'll even learn the secret hand signal!

The username is because I really like robots and sparkling things. Pretty straightforward. : )

Thanks again! : )

The username is because I really like robots and sparkling things.

I don't know about robots, but my spouse has a thing about dragging ferrous metal objects and sparks :p .

East Hill

A great thing about riding a bicycle is that it is an opportunity to express other interests. If you like exploring and visiting new places, you can do that from your bike. If you like mechanical things, you can use your interest to keep your bike working in top condition and maybe even improvise some things to work better for you. If you like meeting people, you can take part in group rides. If you like physical conditioning, your bike can take the place of a gym membership. If you want to save money or the planet, you can commute by bike.

I went to my first two years of college at Concordia in St. Paul and biked all over the Twin Cities, but that was in the mid-1960's.

It's a good point, twobikes--I even geek out in dancer-mode about alignment and flexibility while riding. It's perfect!