Hello from Mississippi
01-31-12, 10:18 AM
#1
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Hello from Mississippi
Hi all,
I'm new here, and posting from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I'm a 29 year old guy looking to get more serious into cycling, both for commuting (which I already do) and for fitness (I'm about to turn 30 and could definitely use a healthy hobby).
I'm relatively new to bicycling, too. As a matter of fact, I only learned to ride a bicycle 3 years ago. Growing up, I had a bicycle for about a week before it was stolen from the garage. I hadn't learned to ride it yet without the training wheels, and guess I just didn't have enough interest to beg my parents for a new bike. Man, if only I had known what I was missing out on! Since I learned to ride a bicycle, I've really enjoyed it, and I now commute to work and around town every day except for when it's raining (which I'm hoping to change after I get some rain gear).
For me, nothing beats the feeling of the wind in my hair and really being able to notice the environment/nature around me as I cruise around town. It's also fun to notice the funny looks I get from people when they see me riding along with my 10 lb. dog in the basket strapped to my back-rack
. Plus I enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I'm powering my own means of transportation.
I guess the only other thing related to cycling is that I'm looking to switch from my 2004 Gary Fisher Wahoo to a Giant Defy 3 road bike that I tested out last week. I've been pleased with the Wahoo, but came to the realization that I have never taken the bike off the road, and don't plan to in the future. Test riding the Defy 3 felt like a new world was opening up to me, almost as revealing as the feeling I got when I first learned to ride a bike, haha.
I guess I'll stop there, as I see a wall of text forming already. I guess I can tend to be a bit long-winded. I look forward to reading the posts here, and if you're from around Hattiesburg MS and would like to ride sometime just let me know!
I'm new here, and posting from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I'm a 29 year old guy looking to get more serious into cycling, both for commuting (which I already do) and for fitness (I'm about to turn 30 and could definitely use a healthy hobby).
I'm relatively new to bicycling, too. As a matter of fact, I only learned to ride a bicycle 3 years ago. Growing up, I had a bicycle for about a week before it was stolen from the garage. I hadn't learned to ride it yet without the training wheels, and guess I just didn't have enough interest to beg my parents for a new bike. Man, if only I had known what I was missing out on! Since I learned to ride a bicycle, I've really enjoyed it, and I now commute to work and around town every day except for when it's raining (which I'm hoping to change after I get some rain gear).
For me, nothing beats the feeling of the wind in my hair and really being able to notice the environment/nature around me as I cruise around town. It's also fun to notice the funny looks I get from people when they see me riding along with my 10 lb. dog in the basket strapped to my back-rack
. Plus I enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that I'm powering my own means of transportation.I guess the only other thing related to cycling is that I'm looking to switch from my 2004 Gary Fisher Wahoo to a Giant Defy 3 road bike that I tested out last week. I've been pleased with the Wahoo, but came to the realization that I have never taken the bike off the road, and don't plan to in the future. Test riding the Defy 3 felt like a new world was opening up to me, almost as revealing as the feeling I got when I first learned to ride a bike, haha.
I guess I'll stop there, as I see a wall of text forming already. I guess I can tend to be a bit long-winded. I look forward to reading the posts here, and if you're from around Hattiesburg MS and would like to ride sometime just let me know!
01-31-12, 10:22 AM
#2
Galveston County Texas
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Howdy njschmidt,
Road bike is the way to go.
Get one that takes 700 X 28 tires. Best of both worlds, commuting and touring.
Now we need a pic of your bike with the puppy in the back.
Road bike is the way to go.
Get one that takes 700 X 28 tires. Best of both worlds, commuting and touring.
Now we need a pic of your bike with the puppy in the back.
__________________
Fred "The Real Fred"
Fred "The Real Fred"
01-31-12, 12:12 PM
#3
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Hi 10Wheels,
Thanks for the reply! So cool that you're in Galveston... I spent a lot of time growing up at Crystal Beach (my parents lived there until Ike). They're now in Beaumont, and I spend time cycling there whenever I visit. I'm a big fan of the lack of hills, haha.
Thanks for the tip on the tires... One thing I forgot to mention, though, is that I'm pretty short (5'2", to be exact). I have 26" tires on the Wahoo, and am not even sure if I can get 28" tires on an XS road bike. I'll definitely look into it, though (and will work on getting a picture of the dog).
Thanks for the reply! So cool that you're in Galveston... I spent a lot of time growing up at Crystal Beach (my parents lived there until Ike). They're now in Beaumont, and I spend time cycling there whenever I visit. I'm a big fan of the lack of hills, haha.
Thanks for the tip on the tires... One thing I forgot to mention, though, is that I'm pretty short (5'2", to be exact). I have 26" tires on the Wahoo, and am not even sure if I can get 28" tires on an XS road bike. I'll definitely look into it, though (and will work on getting a picture of the dog).
02-01-12, 03:44 PM
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Welcome to the forums!
I was in the same position as you about two years ago. I was big into mountain biking back in high school and college, so I originally bought mountain bikes for me and the Mrs. Plus, I thought they're more versatile since they can essentially go anywhere. However, we never took them off road and whenever we went biking with our friends who had road bikes and 29ers, we were always left behind. That's when I decided to get us a couple of decent road bikes. After that, the mtb's have just been collecting dust in the garage.
I was in the same position as you about two years ago. I was big into mountain biking back in high school and college, so I originally bought mountain bikes for me and the Mrs. Plus, I thought they're more versatile since they can essentially go anywhere. However, we never took them off road and whenever we went biking with our friends who had road bikes and 29ers, we were always left behind. That's when I decided to get us a couple of decent road bikes. After that, the mtb's have just been collecting dust in the garage.
02-02-12, 04:41 PM
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@10Wheels, very cool pictures of Galveston and the 10-mile forray into Bolivar Peninsula ... They definitely brought back some memories.
@TrekmanDan, thank you for the welcome and for sharing your experience of the transition to road bikes. I actually went 2 days ago and got a Giant Defy 3 at my LBS (they accepted the Gary Fisher Wahoo for a nice bit of trade-in value, too). I've really enjoyed riding it so far, but think I need some time getting used to it (I had my first fall today! I was coming to a stop and guess I was stopping too fast, because when I put my foot down there was enough momentum to tip me right on over, haha... Nothing hurt except my pride).
I'm looking forward to being active on the forum... So far I've just enjoyed lurking in the background, utilizing the search function for my many questions. I also started up a blog (should be in the signature), where I'll be posting my daily experiences getting into a more physically active cycling life.
Thanks again!
@TrekmanDan, thank you for the welcome and for sharing your experience of the transition to road bikes. I actually went 2 days ago and got a Giant Defy 3 at my LBS (they accepted the Gary Fisher Wahoo for a nice bit of trade-in value, too). I've really enjoyed riding it so far, but think I need some time getting used to it (I had my first fall today! I was coming to a stop and guess I was stopping too fast, because when I put my foot down there was enough momentum to tip me right on over, haha... Nothing hurt except my pride).
I'm looking forward to being active on the forum... So far I've just enjoyed lurking in the background, utilizing the search function for my many questions. I also started up a blog (should be in the signature), where I'll be posting my daily experiences getting into a more physically active cycling life.
Thanks again!
