Bike Forums - NYC commuter

Hi everyone - been reading here a while, just started to post recently. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 20 -- but then I never wanted to get off! I used to bike commute in Providence and Oakland, and between a coupla little towns NW of Paris. Since '94 I've been living in bigger cities (Bangkok, NYC) where I thought cycling would be too much of a hassle. But in the past year, and more consistently in the last six months, I've been riding again, and I love it. My main commute is about 12 miles round-trip, and occasionally I ride between 20-30 miles in a day (which is nada to a lot of you, I know!). I'm going to do 35 this weekend in a short-course of the NYC Century Ride. Hopefully by next year's ride I'll be able to go much farther. :D

I'm especially interested in the commuter forums but also hope to learn more about maintenance (I have one book and can just do basic cleaning/lubing/patching, etc. but want to do more).

In my non-bike life I have always worked for non-profits (community organizing, human rights, women's issues, social service, arts-in-education) and on my own time I write. As my title perhaps cryptically notes, I was born and raised in Ohio and am fourth-generation Japanese American. And as I suppose it doesn't note, I'm female and 34. That's it for my demographics, since I don't feel like getting into politics or religion on this board. :) I look forward to continuing to be part of the community here, even though I'll probably read more than I'll post.