Bike Forums - Hi from Southern California.

I just made my first post here to say hello. I recently bought my first bicycle in several years. The last bicycle I had was a kids' mountain bike I didn't make much use of and has been rotting in the backyard. Recently, as a young adult, I made the decision to turn to the bicycle as my primary mode of transportation, since I don't have much money or travel far that often. I like to do a fair amount of research before going through with something like this, and these forums were very helpful as part of the process. I'm confident that they'll be of great help to me as I return to bicycling.

I decided to get a Schwinn Men's Trail Way 700C hybrid bicycle. It'll mainly be used for commuting along suburban streets. I know there are much better bicycles out there (Treks looked very good during my research) but wanted to get something at a low-price ($229.99, from Target) and entry-level (this one seems to be a great deal, according to customer reviews). I plan to take good care of this one and use it for as long as I can and upgrade to a better bicycle in the future. I haven't ridden a bicycle for several years, and it showed when I took my new bike out for my first test ride after its first tune-up at the LBS (I learned that word from these forums, I think ;)). I felt uncomfortable, clumsy, awkward, and was confident I looked pretty lame. I hope to get much better though, as this is supposed to be my main form of transportation, hopefully for many years!

Well, I'm off to the Commuting and Hybrid Bicycles sections. Thanks for what seems to be a great community. :)