Introductions - Hello from New Mexico

I've been lurking around the forums for a few weeks now after a friend turned me on to the link. At 37 years of age I'm a noob to the biking world for the second time, did a lot of biking when I was a kid, but those days are history. I quit smoking last March and biking has become my new hobby. In early June of this year I got back on the bike on a spur of the moment thing so I just picked up a Schwinn mountain bike at wally world which I now know is a favorite place among the hard core riders here, but it was one of those things that got me on the bike and into the sport which is main thing. I started out doing only 5-8 miles, three days a week, now I ride every day and do a few 20+ mile and one 40 mile ride a week.

I've enjoyed reading the forums and learning more about biking and fitness. I hope to get plenty of input on choosing a road bike in a few months.

Welcome to the forums and congrats on being mobile again!

'bent Brian

THX for the welcome Brian! I just got back from a short 10 mile ride with my new SPD M520 pedals and didn't fall......yet so I'm good for today!!!!

It sounds like it will not be long before you are ready to upgrade your bike. When you do, go to your LBS and have them help you. They can help you with a bike specifically for your needs and make sure the bike is correctly fitted for you. All of this for a reasonable amount of money, and probably some free tune-ups to boot. It will make a world of difference in riding. Your short trips could easily trun into day long journeys. Also, when you are ready for an upgrade, and if you do mainly road riding you might want to consider a recumbent. They are fun, fast, and excellent for putting in many miles. Nothing gets sore either!

'bent Brian

Nope it won't be long before I'm ready to upgrade however I have one huge dilemma with the one and only LBS they don't have any inventory of new bikes on display. The last time I was in there they had one new Specialized road bike that was ordered for a customer and a Griffen TT bike that has been in the store for over 3 years and the newest bike after that would prolly be a Schwinn which would before Pacific Cycle bought them out. Ruidoso has a small bike shop which had only mountain bikes in stock the last time I was there so the nearest bike shops are over 200 miles away.
I will be looking for a light road bike to ride from Roswell, NM towards Ruidoso NM ( Riverside )which is a lot of climbing. Ruidoso has a small bike shop which had only mountain bikes in stock the last time I was there so the nearest bike shops are over 200 miles away.

Well, after having lived in NM for a while myself there is one alternative: go to Albuquerque. I think 2 Wheel Drive has a lot of stuff and they are shown as being a dealer for several lines of 'bents. It might be worth a day to go check it out. That is one of the bad things about NM is the distance between things. My wife and I own some property in the McIntosh/Moriarty area. We are longing to go back. If I had work there I would move back in a heartbeat! We sure miss NM.

'bent Brian

Albuquerque Bicycle Center has three stores here. I've been to two of them and they have a nice supply of Treks and Specialized on hand. They may have other brands but these were all I looked at. www.albbicyclecenter.com

Albuquerque has other shops, too so you could make the rounds when/if you come down. Northeast Cyclery, Bike City, Cycle Cave, Fat Tire Cycles, and Bike World are all here. Bike World has three stores in town as well and the one I went to had a nice supply of bikes on hand. I went to Fat Tire and the salesman (kid) didn't impress me at all and I walked in about two minutes. I haven't been to Northeast, Bike City or Cycle Cave so can't comment on those.