Thread: Need Advice
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Old 07-14-16 | 07:46 AM
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jayspring8
Jay
 
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 1
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From: Ohio/North Carolina

Bikes: 2016 Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disk

Need Advice

I have just decided to join the world of cycling. Any insight you have to offer is much appreciated:

A little bit of background, I am 20 years old, going into my junior year of college. I have played sports all my life, and never looked in the mirror wondering if I was out of shape, until now. College has taken its toll on me, from partying to eating whatever and whenever I want; never worrying about my physical condition. Unfortunately, one night this year I had consumed just 2 beers, later deciding to leave to go get dinner with friends, and got pulled over by a special DWI task force looking for college kids drinking and driving. Don't get me wrong, it was a dumb decision. I've learned from my mistake and I will NEVER do it again. However, before you judge me, I blew a .09, which is .01 over the legal limit if I was just one year older. This was an eye opener to me. I am more than likely going to loose my license for a year, so this past weekend I decided to take charge of my life and invest in myself.

I went to the local bike store and ordered myself a 2016 Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disk. I really wanted a road bike or mountain bike, but didn't know what to get. I really wanted to be the insanely fit guy you see riding a road bike for god knows how many miles, but also wanted to be able to take my bike to the mountains and hit some trails with friends for fun. So I decided on getting a hybrid bike. Being realistic, I'm going to be using the bike for fitness, long rides, and endurance training 9 times out of 10. Because of my DWI, I am going to be riding my new bike to class every day too. This is why I am worried about my purchase.

I ordered pedals that have one side for lock in shoes (when I go endurance riding) and another side being more of a mountain biking style pedal. I ordered the shoes, the tight performance clothes for long distance riding, and a helmet. I'm just worried its not the right picture for a hybrid bike... I'm new to this so I have no idea, but is this something that other people do? Is it normal to use the lock in shoes on a hybrid bike, or even take a hybrid bike for long distance road cycling? Should I order new handle bars so I don't look dumb road biking with flat bars? I hope I don't look like an idiot, I have only played traditional sports all my life (basketball, football, golf) so this is all new to me. I'm really trying my best to become healthy again and get into biking. I have started a low carb diet, quit tobacco products, reduced my drinking heavily, and lost 7 pounds from canoeing, biking, and walking while I'm waiting for my bike to ship in today. I will probably pick it up tomorrow. If anyone could please help me out, or just let me know what you think. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, all comments are appreciated. Im not afraid of being critiqued to better myself.
-Jay
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