Hi from New Jersey
Hello! I'm a newly minted member and I'm quite excited to become a part of this community. I've been reading through the forums whilst researching what new bike I should buy and there is just such a wonderful wealth of information here. I hope at some point I can ADD something here - starting out I think I'm just going to have lots of questions.
I'm a pretty casual rider. I don't ride particularly fast (I probably average about 14 MPH or so and I'll brake on hills) and I only ride about 10-15 miles a day about 5 days a week. My current bike is a 16 year old Mongoose Hybrid 12 speed bicycle. It is completely adequate for the way I ride (mostly on pavement, paved bike paths and hard packed bike paths) but I could use some lower gearing and well, to be honest, I just want a new bike! I think I probably like to think I'm a more accomplished rider than I am - I really am a novice and I don't have any grand ideas of doing a full out tour or a road rally. I just enjoy riding both by myself and with others. It is a big help in managing stress and I like to think it is good exercise (although at my speed and distance I'm not sure about that).
I'm pretty sure that one of my first posts will be looking for advice about what I should be looking at and opinions about what has been recommended as I hit bike shops. So hello!