Commuting - She is gonna do it!

SUPRISE; SUPRISE; SUPRISE!

I have been commuting to work for some time now. A comple of months ago I offered my poorly fitting '96 Specialized Hardrock GS Sport (cromo) to my wife for a commuter ride. Out of the blue yesterday she says, "Hey! Wanna take a ride so I can test ride the "green Specialized?" :eek: So, we rode her commute route to work and back. She really like the bike. I did have to make some adjustments to seat hight and pitch. I'm also looking at simi-slicks. She is really excited about getting to use her new panniers. Oh, we did talk at length about what she should carry with her. (needed items vs. weight) We sat down and looked over full fenders to add to the bike. She chose a nice set of Planet Bike full fenders in bright yellow. The bike is green with yellow lettering. I"ll post a pic once we get the new fenders on. I have posted pics of the bike with my black fenders, but really think the yellow ones will give the bike an entirely differnet look. GX1-NOV24-03 640x480.jpg (http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=8408)

I am so very excited for her. She really needs to get moving.

Any encouragement ya'll may offer for her will be welcomed! Her name is Coleen. Her forum screen name is AG7KinMT.

Thanks a million!

Bob

Glad to hear you are happy with her decision.

I have a MtB bike (GT) and put Tom Slicks 26x1 on it with no problems, the bike flies. I've been letting my friend (wife is too intiminated to ride with me) use it and he weighs 240 lbs with no problems and not a single flat in many many miles (400 or so). Tough little tires.

Nice, Bob!

:D

:) Great job Coleen, After your first couple of weeks you will become addicted to the commute and love it. Then wonder why you have waited this long to start.

:) I hope you have many miles of safe riding an enjoyment on your commute. Just stick with it. :)

John

cycling is cool!

Congrats, I envy you for that. I've tried to get my fiance into cycling, but its something she just isn't into. Opposites attract.

Tom slicks are great, I've been using them on and off for years, fast and durable with a nice solid, stable feeling to them.

Excellent choice, Coleen!! Just think: now you can show up to work fired up and ready to go, instead of the drive home adding stress, the ride home will relieve all of the stress of the day, you will feel much more energized, and most likely will be more productive. Since ive started riding my bike around campus, my GPA went up from a 2.6 to a 2.85!! I feel sharper and more alert all of the time. Just stick with it!!

Good luck!!

Good on ya, Coleen! My wife did the same number on me last year, proposing out of the blue that we commute via bike together. She loves it, and though presently sidelined by a knee cartilage issue (not bike-related, mind you!) she's looking forward to getting back to it.

You'll feel great! Congratulations!

-Rob

Good luck Coleen! and have fun commuting to work!

:beer:

That's cool man, I wish my g/f was more into sports like that, let alone commute, BRAVI to Colleen!

On another thing: the Fenders, I got me also the Planet Bike fenders on Ebay, for $ 20.00, Titanium color, but the color don't match the candy red on my bike frame.
The yellow you mention sounds nice, plus it'll give it the added benefit of being "eye catching", important when commuting. Should I paint them yellow& black or just blue?
Corsaire

Good luck Coleen the best thing I ever did was to start commuting. Always have energy, puts me in a good mood, and I lost weight to boot.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I'm gonna get her signed on this evening so she can reply herself.

Ya'll have no idea how jazzed I am. I even spent my beer money on her bike accessories! ;)

Hey, Coleen, don't forget there is a women's forum too. Have a blast riding to work. It is often the best time of the day, when you are able to ride at your own pace, or race off your stress, or just enjoy being alive on this piece of earth at this moment.

Way to go, Coleen!!

My wife started riding up to her university classes last year during the summer, and I think started again this week. She has a great ride, 12 miles straight up the Cherry Creek bike trail to downtown Denver, and loves the 'free' exercise. I'm sure you'll get a lot out of it too...

N7CZinMT - I know how you feel. I get really excited about spending money on my wife's bike stuff, spending money much more eagerly than I will on myself even!

oh! and now you can spend what would've been gas money on video games! :)

Thanks for the vote of confidence from everyone. My plan is to start out a day or two a week and work my way up so that I ride everyday to work and still want to go for a ride on the weekends. This will obviously come somewhat slow but I want to stay excited about cycling. I want to do what it takes to stay healthy and enjoy doing it as well. Thanks again!!!!! :D

My plan is to start out a day or two a week and work my way up so that I ride everyday to work and still want to go for a ride on the weekends.
Great way to approach it! I did the same thing - when I started commuting (about 5 years ago), I wasn't really passionate about cycling. All I owned was a crummy hybrid. Over a couple of months I started to love the feel of being on a bike, and the exercise and health benefits were fantastic. I'm kicking myself for having stopped the bike commuting for a couple of years there... but now that I'm back on the bike (over 12 months now), I'm loving it again and hopefully won't ever stop!

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=416464#post416464

The results of my first commute are posted at the address above if anyone is interested.