mahlers2nd

So took Sue out for my first ride tonight. A couple of observations:

a) 21 crappy gears still seems a little easier then 10 good ones
b) this is harder than it looks
c) I was flying like a kid again!
d) I was actually able to shift reasonably competently and only had to stop twice
e) one 2.5 mile loop around the neighborhood is about all I can handle right now... probably be a little while before I'm on any greenways or group rides.
f) definitely need to get it into a bike shop -- couldn't get the right hand gear to change tonight (even though it did while I was test riding it today... so don't know what is up with that)... but I don't want to give her away yet.

Let's see if these pictures post (sorry for the rotated image -- not rotated when I uploaded it)...

mahlers2nd

Ah, would that I was on an actual horse... I have actually ridden a clydesdale -- the 4-legged variety. Rode dressage for awhile until I could no longer afford to set money on fire :-(


@stanman -- you have excellent taste in music -- and bikes!

@Null -- are you a Unix geek, per chance?

@cola -- I told my coworker about my bike -- turns out she actually leads the Tuesday night beginner ride for "Slow Spokes". So she is definitely going to be a good resource.

I really appreciate all the posts here -- it has been a tough summer for a variety of reasons... getting ready to send my oldest off to school and trying to find my own life again. I appreciate all the "atta girls"... and knowing there are lots of people out there like myself who are doing successfully doing what I want to do.

And nice to see some fellow RPT'ers here as well. I'm a computer geek by day so feel more comfortable behind a computer than with actual humans and hoping this will allow me to climb onto the other side of the ethernet cable!

Cheers!

Null66

BEAUTIFUL BIKE!!!!!
I always loves the brake extensions.. I use interrupters now...

Be careful with the heat, though it seems to be getting better! I feel Sept to early Dec, is really nice, as is march through may...


Was Oracle DBA, Performance and availability specialist, so yeah open systems... Almost all Linux now.
Will be seeing you on the trails!

Null66

uhm,
Random comments.

That is a beautiful bike...
I was lurking on this forum a while ago and they were seeking "mixte's"... They might be able to help with the shifting issue as well.
Classic & Vintage

I had an 80's Schwinn Traveler, it had steel/chrome rims and braking was questionable during the rain. I believe modern brake pads improve braking very significantly. Perhaps CoolStops or SwissStops have pads for steel wheels... There's a lot of experts on classics/heritage/vintage bikes and they'd know better.

Water is necessary in the triangle, perhaps a seat post bottle mount would work...

obed7

welcome to the forum... congrats on the bike.. now go ride the crap out of it.

dagray

What is your budget for a bike?

Do you want to stick with a vintage bike or is newer an option?

I ask as I was riding a Raleigh Revenio 2.0 at 390 pounds and it was under$1000.00 .... now I am riding an Orbea "Orca" (I know unfortunate name for a bike for a big guy, but the Orcas aka Killer Whales are very nimble and fast) was a couple years old and brand new (sitting on the bike shop floor for two years) so I got it at cost.

Whatever bike you get make sure it fits you, and get out and ride and enjoy it.

Welcome to the forum.

mahlers2nd

At this point, my budget is pretty low... Once I've been doing this for a bit, I will brave the Local Bike Shops -- maybe wait until later in the season when they have their fall closeouts -- and see what a newer bike might do for me.

Thanks for the tip on the Orbea... yeah, Orca isn't the most complimentary name I could think of but if it works... well, what's in a name!