Bike Forums - Hey! from the edge of the Ozarks

Hi all -

I'm joining to see more of the great pics and links that I can't by just lurking. :rolleyes:

I've been an active member on some forums in the past that are unrelated to biking...but it remains to be seen how active I can be here. I joined mtbr a few weeks back but the page loads...ugh...:eek: I am not a computer person....just a user...but at least the pages load at a decent rate here.

As far as biking - I'm over 40, riding for fitness and fun now. I'm 6'4" tall and most wouldn't even call me heavy as I'm a big weights guy...but bumping up to around 300 pounds touched off something 'bad' in me...

it was over 100 degrees (July 4th) and it's STILL over 100 degrees every day...but 300 pounds was just wrong in my head!
Weights? nope, the garage is 150 degress.
Swimming? the pool is constantly in use with kids and friends and family. and way too noisy for me.
The treadmill? that's the domain of the wife and daughter...and besides it sits in front of a flat screen...not exactly gonna help me and I like outside.
Walking? nope...I jumped out of planes for Uncle Sam in the 80's for a bit...and we used to run PT in combat boots every day when I was in...the knees and chin splints with the age and weight...that's pure pain after a while...and we won't go into running at my size...:o
So...that leaves the bike. When my son was younger I used to ride with him - he's a teen now and likes to ride with his friends, which I understand. Anyway...we used to ride MTB trails...and after 'breaking' a few bikes of less build quality with my weight (then it was 250) and the way I ride (think, kid...reckless, aggressive, etc...) I was told about the Specialized P-1 one day...and I never looked back.

The bike is just pure, simple, and (for me) fun. My son and I used to do several MTB trails a month...but later he got a boat...and now he drives...so...the bike was left 'hanging'.

I got it down a few weeks back...I've been getting around 4-6 miles a night sometimes more...but my area is really hilly. This riding takes over an hour, some pushing on the really steep hills, and some coasting. Usually I stop every 20 mins or so to rest, wipe some sweat, and drink some water...not looking for speed records and this is "my time" anyway. (geez, I missed that for almost 25 years of kids!)

Weekends I'm getting in 10ish miles a day at least....it depends if I drop off this one mountain or not - when I do...I may as well do 20 miles...it's gonna take me 20 mins to push back up anyway...lol. (again, VERY hilly around here.)

The bike shop tells me I can't hurt the P-1 - I liked the biking so much, I had them service the bike and put on the handlebar riser stem thing....those 3 inches of raise really feel great - gets my hands about even with the seat now. :p

I live with a/ use a backpack for a briefcase daily...and I've never been bothered with a pack...so I wear an old USGI Molle ii patrol pack when I ride....it's got plenty of room for my what-if kit, my bike fix-it kit and tube, water bottles, and plenty of space for extra layers when it gets colder - and it's like an old friend, lol, so it's nice to give it some use.

I'll try to get some pics after some posts...geez, this intro was a longer than I thought.

Thank you for the good posts and pics - lots of great stuff on here I see already