You might be surprised how quickly your view changes if you give it a chance. When I returned to cycling, my wife rode along on this:


(actually this pic was after adding clips & straps and lowering the stem angle)

So, as she found it more difficult to keep up with me, I started making little changes.

Added clips & straps (against her objections) - she liked them almost instantly and said she felt stronger with them.

Adjusted the stem to move bars lower and forward - she liked that especially riding against the wind.

Changed the 26 x 1.95/65 psi tires to 26 x 1.25 90 psi - Wow! She couldn't believe the speed!

Picked up a '78 Schwinn Le Tour III - She could really do some distance on this (riding in the drops works!)

Got the deal on the Fuji Finest 1.0 - a little intimidating but really nice.

Found a brand new par of Shimano road shes in her size at a thrift store and paired them with some M520 SPD pedals I had - She gave them a try and felt "a part of the bike".

Along the way I also got her a few pair of padded shorts, some jerseys & gloves. This is where we are now:



Her new Giro helmet arrived today (visors give her a pain in the neck when in the drops) along with some true road pedals that will get installed tomorrow. This will finish the transformation from bopping along on a comfort bike to racking up some serious miles and having a blast doing it! Just one woman's (reluctant) journey from cruiser to roadie.