Hi all,

First, I want to thank this forum and fellow bike enthusiasts for the warm welcome and welcome advice and guidance. I have only been riding the Schwinn for two days, it is smooth as silk, and I love her, BUT, when I was at the shop pricing out the tune up and repairs, for slightly more money I could have bought a new ride, and one in particular really caught my eye. However, sentimental value won, and I redid the Schwinn. As I said, it was Dad's bike, and he was 6' 2", and I am only 5' 8", so the bike is tall for me. So after today's ride, after taking the photos (thank you KZBrian on the lesson how to post photos), and after a chat with my sister, I decided to go back and get the new bike after all. So many of you have collections of bikes, and I think that is cool. I brought my sister's bike to the shop tonight to get hers refurbished, same thing, new tires, tubes, chain and whatever it needs. It is the same year as Dad's but she has the Schwinn World Tourist, and it is a ladies style bike. When I walked her bike into the store, the clerks remembered me, and I said, HOLY SMOKE, look both tires went flat already, and I just picked the bike up yesterday. My sister's bike is the same color as Dad's, and the clerk was falling for my joke, so I had to quickly say only kidding. The bike that caught my eye was the Raleigh Route 3.0 comfort hybrid because it was a brilliant blue, and it was the color I fell for at first. However, in the long and short of it, I ended up with the 4.0 model because even though the purple is not as flashy as the blue, the upgraded features made it the reasonable choice, well worth the slightly higher price tag. And it is a Ladies Bike. I will take pictures tomorrow. Right now, she is in the back of my Odyssey (secure in the garage) because I am hitting the beach bike trail early tomorrow morning. I love that trail!!!! Soon, I am going to join the local bike club. This is all great stuff.

Uh oh, I see you have been bitten by the bug. Bet you'll buy another.

How many do you have?

Not as many as others.

Schwinn unicycle, custom touring Schwinn Paramount, Schwinn Paramount road bike, 45 speed DG Cruiser, Cannondale CAAD 8, 7spd Magna and recently purchased Giant Propel SL3

Congrats, that is an impressive collection. In addition to my two street worthy bikes, I also have a Schwinn dynaire exercise bike, but life with a lot of basset hounds makes the possible impossible, ergo, to ride outside, what they don't know won't bother me, but the ride will benefit me ergo them in the long of the short of matter. Unicycle, brings a beep to my heart. My first love, many moons ago, was a clown who juggled while riding one of those. And we were grad students of Science, but he was an amazing unicyclist and juggler, and he didn't let science get in his way of being the man he was meant to be.

I too have the Airdyne, a recumbent exerciser, a treadmill and elliptical, no hounds though, but since I can't fall off them they're part of the exercise stable.

Your posts have been great, your dad's bike being put back in order (sorry its too big, I was wondering about that when you posted the pictures,) I hope the bug's bite stays with you, best of luck with the new bike too.

Bill

Oh yes, I am committed, unless family issues derail me once again, but today's ride was a special thing. I was overwhelmed with the comfort of the new bike, and I will ride
Dad's again when I am more fit and in better shape because in the past I could deal with it. Funny thing, I have ridden men's racers most of my biking history past 12 yrs. old because I generously welcome hand me downs. A bike is a bike, but wow, I realize that adding comfort and easy shifting may be the ticket for me to baby step back into a vigorous exercise for health benefit plan. I took scenic pictures on my ride today, and I don't know if it is appropriate for this list, but I even saw a wild turtle today, a first in my bike riding history. I took a picture, but I didn't post it anywhere yet. I also took a picture of the no bikes allowed sign as many bikes continued to ride on that route. I am, by nature, not a rule breaker, but maybe next time I will venture and explore. Also, the bridges on the path say, walk, don't ride your bike and on the trip south I did that, and since my legs needed a break from peddling, I willing obliged. When I got to the third bridge, I scrambled my gears, did a turn around and discovered the forbidden path and the turtle. On the ride North, I tried being like the "regulars" who don't follow the sign, "Walk your bike" on the bridge, but I have a little bit of vertigo, and since I was on the bridge, I got wobbly, so I won't be ashamed to walk my bike on the bridge every time. Not only is it high, but it is narrow. I rather be safe than be part of an accident, and perhaps not even my fault. I really felt in a comfort zone today, and Bill, thank you for your post. I have a tee shirt that says Be Calm and adopt a Basset hound. The Be Calm is the important part of life.
Jackie

Well, I didn't mean to say a bike is a bike, but in the world of hand me downs it is. I am learning how special bikes are, thanks to Sunrise Schwinn and this list. Had the clerk not urged me to take care of Dad's it may have been garage sale discard, and I am so glad it is not. Live, Learn and Ride...

Excellent posts! For those of us with senile ADD, please use paragraphs. And don't forget to......squirrel!

Please let me know about squirrel. My hounds love to bark at them and chase them if they dare be in the yard, but I do not know how to apply squirrel to this bike thread.
thanks, and before I had so many bassets, I had a relationship with a wild one, and I fed him peanuts, so many so, that for years, there were peanut shells all over the neighborhood. We called him Bernie, I don't know why, but he trusted us, and took peanuts from our hands directly.

Jackie

+1 - no way can I any longer read a bunch of sentences without a break - no matter how good the content!!