Aging Athena Says Hello
 

Howdy,

I'm from Seattle. I'm 57. I've been riding bicycles for recreation for about 30 years. Sometimes I commute. For a living I work for a tiny printing company. For a loving I make pots. Another loving of mine is theater; I've done some acting, and a lot of puppetry. Not so much with the theater stuff anymore.

I've been unwell for a few years, put on a lot of weight, now I'm T2 diabetic...blah blah, long story...I'm working on getting my health back. I want to ride a bike. I have a Giant Innova hybrid I've been trying to make work for me practically since the day I bought it. Changed saddles (several times), changed stems (a couple of times), changed handlebars (a few times), had to put touring rims on because I kept popping spokes, etc. The bike never has fit me right. Plus the bike is so stiff & twitchy that I really don't feel as in control as I'd like to be. I've had a couple of spectacular crashes on it.

So, I decided it would be smarter to purchase a bike that I actually WANT to ride, as opposed to making do with one I really can't stand. I made a list of different kinds/brands of bikes (hybrid, road, urban, mountain) within my price range & went testing. I found a Marin Coast Trail Women's MTB. "Why an MTB when you'll mostly be riding on pavement?" you might ask. Well, when I first started biking as an adult in the 80's I fell in love with mountain bikes. I actually DID ride around the Marin headlands on my bikes, as well as commute when I lived in San Francisco.

The other day, when test-riding a hybrid & nearly having my fillings shaken loose while riding over a crappy, pot hole -strewn piece of urban street, I realized that the geometry of the mtb coupled with the fat tires could make my ride a lot cushier. Face it, I'll be 58 in a couple of months. I don't really give a rat's patootie about traveling at light speed. My reflexes aren't what they used to be (I was a terror in downtown San Francisco traffic :)) so going slower, bouncing over crap roads, riding on damp pavement (I live in Seattle - we're all about damp here) while feeling in control is OK by me. I can always switch out the knobbies for something a little less aggressive for commuting. Anyway, I love my new bike so much I want to marry it & have little tricycles together, that's how much I love it. :love: Boy are my quads sore! But it hurts so good in all the right places! ;)

I'm going to copy all of this & put it into a thread for the Clydesdales/Athenas, because that's really where I belong, but just wanted to say a general hello!

Howdy and Welcome to Bike Forums.

Nice to meet you. I'm glad to hear you are getting back out on the bike. It really is a lot of fun and the best part about it is that it's healthy. Having a decent diet combined with biking will improve your life style dramatically.

Thanks, AaronMTB...I'm kind of a born again Paleo/Primal Blueprint person, so I've got the diet covered. I'm dropping weight (and blood pressure & blood glucose levels) so I know I'm on the right track. My doctor thinks so, too. Sure feels good to be back on the bike! I hope in 6 months that these last few years will seem like somebody else's bad dream.

Hi Athena,
You seem to have some mobility problems similar to mine. My first plan, until I saw your post, was to look into a "Giant" bike, but the one that was suggested to me was a "Giant Suede". Very strange name for a bike.....makes me want to peddal as fast as I can in the opposite direction!!
I's very late at night for me here in Southern Ontario...close to Detroit Michigan.
Do you think we could chat some time, or maybe, if you want you could just give me your thoughts on the "Giant" bike that you bought?

Thank you for your time,
Maree
frascarlett@gmail.com

Hey Scarlett06...I sent you an email. If you didn't get it check your spam filter.

Hi BikinPotter, welcome!

Sounds like a similar story to me, only I have chronic fatigue and a host of other problems, but it doesn't stop me from riding whenever possible, because if I don't ride, it will be just be worse. And it sure does a person's head a lot of good to get out and go somewhere without having to drive inside a big metal box all the time. :)

Sure does! I have a scooter, too. There's just nothing like moving through space unencumbured, is there? It wasn't all that long ago that metal boxes with wheels and infernal combustion engines didn't exist. Yet we have a mindset which accepts car culture as "normal" and to ride a bike is somehow childish, or something. Sad, really.