SkippyX
Hey y'all.
A couple of months back I stumbled onto these forums and started perusing the clyde threads. The before & after pics were truly inspirational. Eventually I dipped a toe in the water and put up one of those "what kind of bike?" threads. Based on the advice I got here I went out and bought a Trek 7100.
It seemed to rain darned near every day for a month after that, so the Trek was relegated to the garage for a while. Eventually the weather cleared up and I started riding it. Slowly & for short distances. I got a rack and some wald folding baskets and started riding to the grocers (1 mile). As that got easier I started riding around the neighborhoods and checking out the little shops along the boulevards. Most of my rides were limited to five or six miles for a while.
Yesterday, after a month of riding regularly, I thought "It's a pretty day. Why not ride into work? It's only eleven miles." So I did it. And at the end of shift I rode back to the house. On the way home I stopped off and had one of those foamy fancy coffees at a sidewalk cafe.
It was a hoot. And I'm seriously stoked about the ride. My ride to work was pleasant. When I drive I get annoyed w/ stop lights, but on the bike I'm generally grateful for them (get a drink of water). It was very cool to ride down the bike lane (narrow lane along the regular road) and say "Hullo!" as I pass by people on the sidewalk.
I didn't even feel all wobbly when I got off at the end of both commutes.
Furthermore, I got on the scale the other day. I was scaring the hell out of 300 pounds two months ago. Last night I stepped on the scale - 290! 10 pounds gone from my flabby frame!
I'm thinkin' I'm gonna be likin' this experience.
Thanks for the advice & inspiration, y'all.
A couple of months back I stumbled onto these forums and started perusing the clyde threads. The before & after pics were truly inspirational. Eventually I dipped a toe in the water and put up one of those "what kind of bike?" threads. Based on the advice I got here I went out and bought a Trek 7100.
It seemed to rain darned near every day for a month after that, so the Trek was relegated to the garage for a while. Eventually the weather cleared up and I started riding it. Slowly & for short distances. I got a rack and some wald folding baskets and started riding to the grocers (1 mile). As that got easier I started riding around the neighborhoods and checking out the little shops along the boulevards. Most of my rides were limited to five or six miles for a while.
Yesterday, after a month of riding regularly, I thought "It's a pretty day. Why not ride into work? It's only eleven miles." So I did it. And at the end of shift I rode back to the house. On the way home I stopped off and had one of those foamy fancy coffees at a sidewalk cafe.
It was a hoot. And I'm seriously stoked about the ride. My ride to work was pleasant. When I drive I get annoyed w/ stop lights, but on the bike I'm generally grateful for them (get a drink of water). It was very cool to ride down the bike lane (narrow lane along the regular road) and say "Hullo!" as I pass by people on the sidewalk.
I didn't even feel all wobbly when I got off at the end of both commutes.
Furthermore, I got on the scale the other day. I was scaring the hell out of 300 pounds two months ago. Last night I stepped on the scale - 290! 10 pounds gone from my flabby frame!
I'm thinkin' I'm gonna be likin' this experience.
Thanks for the advice & inspiration, y'all.