Hey everyone! I live in the North Shore area of MA just outside of Boston and after years of riding what is probably the most horrendous department store bike known to man (broken brakes on a regular basis, what I referred to as "surprise gears" which had a mind of their own and changed without prompt or warning, chain lock causing me to fall to a near imminent death or actually just a scrape on the knee but you get the picture here) I finally decided to invest in an actual good bike! I picked up my Cannondale Quick 4 a couple of months ago which I lovingly named Ophelia and it is by far the greatest bike I have had, and possibly in the world! My initial goal was to ride for fitness and to get out and enjoy some of the beautiful local bike paths and rail trails in my area, but now my goals have expanded out to really build my endurance, plan many day trips along the trails and coastline and to eventually invest as well in a mountain bike for bikepacking so I can grab my gear, hop on my bike and ride out into the mountains of MA and NH to camp. I'm so incredibly happy with my bike and all of the amazing paths that I've already explored and plan to explore. While I told myself that my bike was pristine and that I would never EVER add anything to it or alter it that lasted, oh, maybe a week or so Of course I added a bottle cage and a bell but shortly after I definitely wanted to invest in a backrack. I grabbed a Topeak Explorer and had to MacGuyver the struts on there since the struts didn't quite reach the screws and would've interfered with braking, and although Topeak does make some excellent panniers I'm in the process of making my own as well as a frame bag. All in all I'm super happy to be riding a quality and reliable trusty steed rather than a death wish on two wheels, and very happy to be part of this community!