I'm Ed from Gainesville, Florida. I just joined today! I started riding a bike because I received a bunch of tickets from the Alachua County Sheriffs office (expired license, expired tag, and no insurance). Yeah, I know, I was a knucklehead. Also, my weight was 340lbs and my blood sugar was @ 560mg/dl. Those two experiences drove me to do some physical activity, like playing more tennis and taking up bike riding.
As of 22 Jan 2011, I've been riding my bike for 9 months. Right now I have a "WalGoose", which is a Mongoose bicycle sold by Walmart. It is the XR 200 which is supposed to be a mountain bike. At almost 40lbs, it won't do any mountain or soft trail. And besides, what mountains do we have in Florida? I also have a Landmark cruiser also from WalMart. That was the bike that got me into bike riding. I'm also planning to sell this bike in the near future. I don't want 3 bikes in the house!
I do most of maintenance and lubrication on the bikes. If I break a spoke or get the wheels out of true, I send it to the bike shop.
For my 1 year anniversary, I plan to buy a better bike, most likely a Marin. I want to start going longer distances than the 11mi (one way) commute to work.