Well this looks like a really nice place. Happy to be here so far :-) Just started riding a few weeks ago, mainly to get into shape. Bought a Trek 1000 and so far, aside from a few little things, having fun.

I live in Huntsville Texas where between the prison guards and college students I should be wearing armor and carrying a large caliber weapon (tow missile comes to mind), heh.

Right now I am only riding about 3-4 times a week and between 5 to 10 miles per ride, lots of hills though. My first goal, aside from losing my pizza gut (not beer gut, cant stand the stuff) is to ride 30 miles or so to a neighboring town and back. Not much for you all I know but hey, I havent ridden any kind of bike in almost 20 years and havent exercised at all in 15. Add to that the fact that I smoke (please no comments, I do not WANT to quit, I like smoking, I just want to be a slimmer, healthier, smoker).

Right now my biggest problems are hand fatigue which I am trying to fix with the help of some people right here in these forums and BUYING GADGETS! Oh the bike stuff is soooo coool. Just one more jersey, wait, I need Perl socks too, oh, no, those gloves dont match my bike but these do, etc etc etc. Heck, been riding about 4 weeks now and already have aero bars (no lectures, they look really cool, heh). Hey, those carbon wheels only cost as much as my bike.....nah.....maybe next week! j/k

One other problem, do you people really walk around in these blasted biker shoes********** OMG I can hardly walk and I know I look real cool, NOT! Stagger, slip, slide, wobble, wobble, aaaaarrrrrrrggggg! I have Nike carbon soles with Look cleats. Ride=good, walk=get outta my way I am coming down!

Anyway, good to meet you all and if you are ever up here (or down here) drop me a line and we can ride, as long as you wont be embarrased by the fat guy on the Trek with all the gadgets riding way too slow and puffing next to you :-)


Allan Hall

PS: No, I will NOT shave my legs! :-)

Welcome aboard.
You'll like it here.

Never say never.

Many welcomes, Flea! It sounds as if you're on the right track to zap that Pizza belly. You'll find some great people and information here.

Hi Allan. Glad you found the Introductions forum.

Don't worry. You're not the only one here battling a weight problem.

Allan, you gotta shave if you're going to be "one of us".

Hi Flea!

I'm an old Dallas resident (lived in Plano for about a year). It sounds to me like we would get along GREAT! I'm getting into the shoe/peddal thing right now as I haven't ridden a bike in like 25 years.

A lot different now than it was when I was a kid riding that 24" Colunbia with the push button horrn and the speedometer (analog with a round dial). Didn't know that back then we should have ridden those things with carbon forks, suspension seats, SPD pedals, Sidi shoes, and Cycling Computers (though I must admit that my Flight Deck is a lot cooler than that old spedometer I had)!!!

If I only just kept that 'ol Columbia.....I bet it's worth a fortune now!

Yes Talkdj, I can remember my yellow Murray 10 speed like yesterday. Seems it was more comfortable, easier to work on, much cheaper and didnt require all the cool toys that my new one does, heh. I went everywhere on that thing, 20 miles was no big deal (I was a sprinter after all, legs of steel, "what do you mean there was a hill back there, that was a speed bump!"

Now of course my toughest challenge is walking to the street from my house to get on the bike in these blasted shoes! I swear my wife will find me unconsious on the side of the driveway one day.

I bought a Topeak Panoram computer and love it, speed, ridetime, distance, and the time all on one screen. I had nightmares about taking my hand off the grip to press the button and SPLAT, down I would go. Now I never touch it, just wish I got one with cadence too. "You meant I have to pull UP on the pedals too!?!?!?!?!"

Catch ya around the board!

Allan

Sure you won't! Welcome aboard!

Here's an update from my last post:

Wynn now has a shoe/pedal combo!!! (Man, I'm going to need one credit card just for buying bike stuff!!!)

I went by my FBS yesterday and got the Sidi Rampa 3/Shimano 545 combo. I was hesitant at first but my dealer put the bike on a trainer for me slapped on the pedals, I put on the shoes and was scared to death that I wasn't going to be able to "click out". Then I said to myself "Dumb Dumb you're on a trainer - your not going to fall this way". Long story short, I got the hang of it after a couple of try's and now Uncle Wynn is riding clipless. Now I just have to start riding OFF THE Trainer.

In other news....As I was walking around the store, I saw this Trek 7500 and started to get all sweaty and stuff...I'm thinking, "I think this is what I should have bought first time out...the Outlook was to heavy and wasn't for me, the NuNu (just 3 days old) is way to big (height and reach - the dealer I traded the Outlook to for the NuNu didn't really help with the "fit" issue) and to be honest I don't ride on mountain trails, don't ever intend to, all I ride is just bike trails - paved- and city streets. "So Mr. Trek dealer, what do you think about this bike"?

These guys pulled the NUNU off the trainer, put the 7500 on the trainer with the 545 pedals and took a lot of time fitting the bike to me. There's a lot to be said about choosing a LBS to be your FBS!!! So now, the NUNU is sitting in the back of the store, the 7500 with the pedals and shoes is in my garage and all I have to decide is if I like this combo better (Hybrid vs MTB). If I decide to make the switch, we're going to swap the cassette so I'll have all 27 gears (9 speed on the NUNU, 8 speed on the 7500) and the shifters (I want to keep the Flight Deck so I need the STI shifters that I bought extra for the NuNu),

I know, I'm a dork...but I think that this is my final exchange.