Cranbrook ride.
As a 69 year old prostate cancer survivor with one gimpy knee, I got back into bike riding again last summer, after my cancer treatments ended. I took my 7-8 year old single speed road bike on a ride, and found much to my surprise that I could still ride. I am looking at bikes online with some gears to make hills easier which would also extend my range. I ride at least 5 miles every day, and had been riding to my weekly chess group, a 10 mile round trip. At one point, I have to dismount and do a short push of shame of maybe 25-30 yards on the way to the group. The ride home is like thrill ride as there is lots of downhill riding.
I have my adult kids Huffy Cranbrook at my house for a while, and have been riding it often. It is slower than my single speed road bike, but still fun to ride. Here day I decided to see if I could ride that Cranbrook to our meeting place to see if it was fesable for me to ride that tank. It wasn't chess day, so this was just a fun ride o see if I could live with a single speed cruiser. I was actually quite pleased that this old geezer could make it, and without any more pushing than when I ride the road bike. I wasn't really any more or less tired after the trip yo the site. That 5 mile stretch, due to lots of gradual uphill riding takes about 40 minutes, with a auick stop for some water. I have removed both fenders and the chain guard from the Cranbrook, so it's a little lighter than stock. They trip home, of course, is my fun payback for the up hills on the trip to the site. So, now, I am thinking of buying a cruiser bike, with or without multiple gears, as a second bike. But, I am very happy to know I can do this ride on an old Cranbrook, and am working up to longer rides up to 30-40 miles. I know I could do it on a cruiser, as once I get out of my housing developement, the longer rides are pretty flat. My knee problem isn't that big of a deal for me, and I walk with a cane. The cane is mostly because, if I trip or stumble, I'd likely fall, as the right knee isn't much help. I am happy to be able to ride at all after what I've been through, and am ecstatic to be able to do the longer rides too. I'll keep the rode bike, and have to do some bottom bracket maintenance, which will be new to me. I want to get a second bike before I get into fixing the rode bike, so I have a ride.