BWFox, I'm pleased to hear that you are making a go of biking, again. I am down and out for a while, myself. But, I will have all limbs.

I am not a racer either and don't care who passes me. I like to sit mostly upright and enjoy the ride and the scenery. I take pictures of flowers and cows. My wife, like yours, doesn't have the passion that I do, but she started riding again last January and truly enjoys our time on the roads and especially, the bike trail on the American River from Folsom to Sacramento, California. We live in a rural area, too. The roads are paved, but rather rough. The wife and I switched from road bikes to Mountain Votes in 1983. Loved them for 18 years.

We have switched to Hybrids. I ride a Marin Sausalito and she loves her Trek 7300 (WSD). We have lots of hills around here, too.

That brings me to the thought of Tadpole bikes. I talked to my Dr. about that and he says "You are not quite ready for that, yet". However, that is still in my mind. The thought of falling terrifies me and injuring that leg, again. I'm months away from recovery and maybe my attitude will change. I'm going to start out on my BikeE recumbent. I also, have a Giant (Girl's stepthru). I bought that Girl bike 2 years ago when I was getting back into riding, again, after a long lay off. I just didn't feel like I could hoist my leg over the seat (with bad knees). My wife told me "well, sweetie, you are an older dog, now and can't hike your left up to pee as high up the tree". What could I say? Well, the point is, I'm worrying that I may not get back on the bikes that I love to ride. (I have 5 of my own. My wife only wants one).

We ride the bike trail on the American River, where we've met tricycle and tadpole riders. I recently had my mind blistered when I saw a "Greenspeed Magnum" for sale on Craig's list. They claim that the bikes will fold up and fit in the back of a small car. They are still heavy, I think.