Introductions - Newbie Intro

Hey All:

Just like to say hi and say it's nice to be a part of this forum. I've been lurking around here for about a month or two and thought today would be a good day to introduce myself since I purchased a touring bike today. I've previously owned a Trek Navigator 100 for the past 5 or so years and owned a Cannondale SR(?)400 about 20 years ago.

After changing my eating habits and losing some weight, I've decided to commit myself to commuting to work which is only about 3 miles away but is all hills and traffic. I would also like to lengthing my rides little by little and possibly do some overnight camping and fishing. But that's getting way ahead of myself.
For now I'll just say that it's a pleasure being apart of this community and THANKS for having me.

RiverShark

Hi. I'm fairly new to biking myself. When I learned that people go for 40 mile bike rides on a regular basis I thought "wow, 40 miles on a bike!?!?" Well, this summer I started commuting to work less than 7 miles each way and thought that was pretty good. But during the summer my body temp got very high and I would be so exhausted from the short ride (I don't know the word "moderation") that I'd collapse at 9pm and sleep to 7am. After a week of intense 14 mile roundtrip commuting, I went on a 40 mile bike ride and it was hard at the very end when the group I was riding with pushed for speed, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I actually pulled for a spell at 23-24mph on flat. You should try to find people to ride with. There's this thing called drafting... you may have heard of it. :) Makes long distance road riding a breeze. Definitely find some people to ride with. Will be much easier for you to set goals and reach them! And much more enjoyable to reach your weight fitness goals. Good luck! I'm a newbie too, but, yeah, welcome to forum!

Hello RiverShark, make certain you post some photos of the new rig in the appropriate place (touring or commuting)...don't forget to visit the regional forums and say hello to the rest of the folks from PHL. There's a big contingent of members from Philadelphia...

Welcome to BF!

Edit: Hi to Grotug as well :D .

East Hill

Thanks For the Welcome!!!

Welcome RiverShark, It's alway very exciting when you get a new bike. What touring did you buy? Are you going to use it for commuting or do you have plans for either a light or loaded tour?

Hi Cyberpep:

Thanks for the Welcome. I ended up getting the Rocky Mountain Sherpa 30. I broke the bank to get it so I hope it's everything I believe it is. In the end it's really gonna be about what I make out of it though.

The reason I chose an RMS30 is because I want to commute to work and will be carrying things to and from on a fairly regular basis. But more than that, I'd like to start taking some overnight camping trips to various fishing spots in the local area. And I like the thought of taking some longer tours in the future. I looked at the various touring bikes out there and really narrowed it down to a Jamis Aurora and the RMS30. I'm usually very frugal by nature but something about the RMS30 kept me coming back to it. I wasn't sure I was going to get it until I put a downpayment of half the cost to the LBS. I've always loved Cannondales but had the neck of one crack on me so I decided I wanted steel. I liked the Trek 520 and have a BikeLine BS about 1/4 mile from my house. I also Liked the Jamis Aurora and have a LBS that sells those about 2 miles away. But in the end the Sherpa held my fancy. I've fretted over buying this for 2 months or more but finally did it. And I'm glad I did.

RS