Joining the chorus of “I’m Baa-aack.” I joined here as a fat fifties diabetic in 2007, started commuting to work on a bike and just riding for the sheer joy of it on my then-20-year-old Bianchi Boardwalk. Picked up a Specialized Roubaix in 2008 and headed off to enjoy long-distance (half-centuries and centuries) rides through the North Shore. In 2009, picked up a Dahon foldie as the main commuter bike, as taking the subway under the harbor was a lot safer than taking the long way ‘round on the cobbled and potholed truck routes.

And then I stopped. That hundred pounds I lost? Found ‘em again.

Now I’m an overweight-but-no-longer-obese sixties diabetic. The Bianchi is in tough shape - it’s gone from being a 21 speed to a 6 speed, and SunTour parts are no longer available. The Roubaix is still great, but it’s a little beyond me now - my feet are in terrible shape, my hands are also feeling the twinges of neuropathy, my neck gets cricked, and my doctor mutters darkly about “proprioception,” by which he means that my sense of balance isn’t what it used to be. I’ve gotten under the 105 kg weight limit, so I’ve been taking my Dahon out on the local bike paths (I now live within a stone’s throw of the Cape Cod Rail Trail). The only issue I’ve got is that the 20” wheels and the tall stem and seat post (looks like a child’s bike with a pituitary problem) of the Dahon doesn’t feel terribly stable.

I’ve been thinking about a comfort bike, something with swept handlebars, an upright posture, and a mattress saddle, preferably step-through. I’m hoping to work up to 25 mile runs on the trail, probably don’t need more than 8 gears as this is flat Cape Cod. Should I just stick with the Dahon and get used to it, or is there a comfort bike you’d recommend?