kimberyote

Hello from madison county IL! I recently bought my second bicycle and I am waiting for the snow to melt! Snow depth of 12'' in my backyard this am so I am working on my cardio by shoveling instead of biking!
I am a second year novice. My first bike I bought for back rehab is a giant cypress lx. It performed well on the limestone trails. I then started looking for a fitness bike and choose the trek 7.6 FX. A 2009 model that I bought new at a very good price. I also bought the clip on pedals & shoes and a fancy speedometer. This faster bike is a very new experience to me for sure! I realized with my first bike that padded shorts were a good idea. Now I have the pants also. I am looking for some type of vest/arm warmers that are bright green. Being in the construction industry, I have become very aware how well bright colors work for the peripheral vision. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Being a novice, I usually ride on the Edwardsville trail system (MCT) to bring my strength up.
I hope to get my older brother to start to riding with me and use my cypress to help him with his overall health.
Hope to see everyone on the trails or future rides!
Sincerely, John D.

JerrySTL

Welcome! I live in Belleville. I ride the MTC trails a lot. In fact I'm thinking about moving to Edwardsville or Glen Carbon so I don't have to drive to get on the trails.

I lead a bike ride on Wednesday evenings during April leaving at 6 PM from the trailhead in Collinsville near the Culver's Restaurant on Hwy 157. It's free and very good way for beginners to learn how to ride in a group.

10 Wheels

Hey John,

Welcome to Bike Forums.

kimberyote

sounds good. I have a bud that lives off of west main street in Belleville. I read that the 7 mile metro link trail opened up that connects Swansea to memorial hospital station in there Belleville area.
I will try to make the wednesday night ride in april. I was in Highland the other day & heard they have rides on thursday nights from highland to St. jacob.
Thanks for the info!

qcpmsame 

Welcome to BF from another rider that works in the construction industry, family GC part owner and engineer here. Sounds like you are well on your way with your kit and safety awareness already.

Bill