Introductions - Newbie from Northern CA

Hi, all. I found the forum by Googling for info on a Puegeot Mojave. There's one being given away on a local Freecycle list. I'm still debating on whether to try to get it. I was a very active cyclist in my teens, but wrecked my knee. Took it back up in my late twenties for commuting, but wrecked my knee again. Too many steep hills, and an ankle that pronates badly. I knew about the problem, but never could get any adjustments right. Now I'm in my late fifties, and wondering if I can deal with cycling again without wrecking my knee again. I'm a retired firefighter and recently diagnosed diabetic, and I need to get back into shape, and thinking cycling would be a fun and practical way to do it. But I live in the Sierra foothills, steep hills abound, and I don't know if my knee can handle it. I'm walking some, but walking's just to slow to be a practical way to get anywhere. I live a long way out in the sticks, far away from most anything.

I do have an old Motobecane road bike that's been following me around for years, that my son managed to lose some of the hardware for the rear brake, so isn't instantly ridable. But it's a 23" frame (I'm only 5'7"), a little big for me, and that may have been part of the problem with my knee. The Puegeot with it's 18" frame would be a better fit, and probably a more practical bike for the area.

I tend to be a lurker, but will post if I think I have anything to contribute, or as a last resort if I've got a problem to solve. So don't expect to see too many more posts from me, but I'll be around.

Hi neighbor... I'm here in Sac, so I'm guessing you're right up the road a bit. Like you, I just stumbled onto these forums a week are so ago. I just hit 60, and until a month ago, hadn't done any serious biking in close to 30 years. I did have a fairly new Trek hybrid gathering dust in the garage though, so I dragged it out on a whim, took a quick hop, and now I'm hooked all over again. Now, four weeks later, I've dropped over 10 lbs and am feeling better than I have in a long time. Did 20+ miles yesterday, and another ten at sunup this morning.

It can only get better!

CC

Hello, CACrow. I'm about 70 miles from UCD Medical Center (the only place I can think of near the center of Sac), so I'm a good bit away. Riding from here would probably be fun, with a 2200' drop, but getting back would be a killer.

Somebody beat me to the Puegeot, so if I'm going to cycle, it's fix up to Motobecane, or go looking for another bike. The Motobecane is really way too big for me, and I don't have much of a budget for a new bike, and worrying about the knee is making me re-think the cycling. I may just continue to walk. Everything is downhill from me, and the return hills are rather, ah, challenging, shall we say, with my driveway being the steepest place. The closest destination is a little store only 3/4 mile from me, but it's a 300' drop. Would hardly have to turn the pedals going down, but coming back would be quite different. I'd worry about that knee every revolution. I'll have to keep thinking about it and keep reading the forums for some inspiration. Your story certainly is the kind of thing I'd like to hear, with the weight loss and all; that's what I need to do. I just may have to do it walking, though.

Any luck with the bike? I'm thinking that with the terrain you have to deal with, proper bike fit would be super critical. Even for me, cycling in a flat flood plain here, it took me until just this weekend before I had everything set to my liking. I'd had the saddle far too low. Getting it up to the proper height made things far more enjoyable. Now I know I can get along fine with this Trek for quite a while. I still plan on treating myself to a new ride once I've met my weight loss goals. I'm easily dropping a consistent 10lbs per month, with maybe 50 or so to go.

Hi,

I live in Chico, and if your close enough to here, check out Chico Bike and Board. I also have a bad knee and if I were looking to buy a bike I could ride, I'd go there. Hope you can get back into cycling! It's fun.