Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.chimo
12-17-03, 05:14 PM
I'm new to these forums and relatively new to cycling. Bought a bicycle last May on a whim. I was in WalMart waiting while my car was being serviced nearby and saw a bicycle that looked like my kind of bicycle. Not that I had a 'kind of bicycle' but this one didn't look like a teenager's mountain bike nor did it look like something Lance Armstrong would ride. It turned out it was a fairly good decision. It would be termed a hybrid -700c x 38 semi-slick tires, straight bars, 21 speeds, and a relatively comfortable saddle on a suspension post. It only cost me $200 but weighs a ton. At the time I wanted to lose weight so I figured I needed a sturdy frame. I rode it over 2000km during the summer and found I very much enjoyed cycling. I lost a lot of weight and am thinking of a new bike. I'm not sure what I would do different except I feel there must be more efficient rides out there. I hadn't ridden in 40 years or more and am not much interested in speed or distance. I ride the back country roads mostly and stop to read all the historic markers or simply to watch the ducks swim by. I don't want to race but I would like to keep up with the kids. Its embarrassing when I'm huffing up some hill and some cute young thing says "On your left Sir" and goes by me like I'm standing still. She should at least have to work to go by me.