derekthelion

Hey all!

I just wanted to introduce myself! My name is Derek, and I come to you from Northern New Jersey. I have recently taken up cycling. Most of the past 10 years were spent skateboarding, but getting older now I have found it starting to take its toll on my body! I have turned to cycling as a way to get the same excercise, but also steer myself away from my car as a way of transportation. I find riding my bike to be both thrilling, and convenient. I have a 1970's Windsor International and am looking to get my hands on a few more bikes and to begun to understand the mechanics behind bikes in order save myself on labor costs!

I look forward to all that I will gain from these forums!

1nterceptor

Welcome, we have a few riders here from New Jersey(myself included).
HoW far is your commute?

derekthelion

I have a 14 mile ride from home to work. I am in the process of relocating near a train station that will help me a lot! What area of NJ are you from?

1nterceptor

West New York, Hudson county. I know 14 miles one way is hard on somebody just starting out.
Just keep at it and eventually you'll get used to it. I was in a similar situation a few years ago.
I ride to work in the afternoon over the George Washington bridge to my job in midtown, 16 miles.
At nite they close the bridge by 12am, so I take the Path train to Hoboken, from there I ride 5 miles
to my house. The first time I tried biking to work, it took me forever and I thought I was going to die.
Then it just got better and better from there. Once a week riding to work, then twice a week. So
now I'm up to 4 days a week biking to work. I can ride everyday but I take one day off to run.

There are plenty of commuters here with longer rides than me. So I hope this inspires you

derekthelion

Haha, totally! I actually have been doing 25+ mile long rides on weekends. A lot of hills up through Ramapo! They have been helping me get some mileage under my belt. Thanks for the inspiration!