10ch
04-27-2007, 06:31 AM
Hello everyone!
I'm not new to cycling, but I am new to teamestrogen.com and so I felt this was the best place to introduce myself.
I'm very excited to find a women's cycling forum. It's like a breath of fresh air. The venerable bikeforums.net is a great source of information, but for a woman it can make for a disappointing community. So I'm looking forward to the comradery this community seems to have and the things I'll be able to learn and share with other women interested in an activing/hobby/sport I love dearly.
About me: I'm located in the Bull City (Durham), North Cack (NC) and work at Duke. My commute is 3 miles by car and 4-6 by bike, depending on if I take the cemetery (the longer, but more worthwhile route).
I got my first bike (as an adult) in 2003, a Giant Boulder (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10ch/39369376/), and I used it mainly for mountain biking and the occasional MUP. I started commuting to work in 2005 (on the Giant) in response to the Smart Commute Challenge (http://www.smartcommutechallenge.org/). I very quickly upgraded to a Gary Fisher Big Sur (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10ch/61738861/) that I scored off Craigslist for a cool $300 and over the span of a few months modified it to be a lean mean commuting machine. Just this week, I made another Craigslist purchase, a 1980 steel Raleigh Sprite (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10ch/473460598/), and it's gotten me in the "wanna chat about it" mode, just like I was in 2005. The Sprite is a totally different riding experience. I find myself going slower and being less aggressive on the road. Maybe that will change as I get used to the friction shifting.
I'm also a bike mechanic wanna-be and finally have my own repair stand, which really should've been the first thing I bought. For repairs that HAD to have a stand, I would bungee/rope my bikes to the front porch railing!
(I know I'm being awfully chatty, but I'm just excited to be in a place where my words will be heard and not one-up'd, please bear with me!)
And last thing, a dozen of my close friends (all women) are gearing up to group train for a 50 miler in the fall. We're starting our training rides in June. Several of these folks don't even have bikes yet! I'm so excited that so many people I care about are taking on this challenging goal and making biking part of their lives.
Thanks to Team Estrogen for working for a great cause and providing a space for us to play.
I love my bike!
Beck
I'm not new to cycling, but I am new to teamestrogen.com and so I felt this was the best place to introduce myself.
I'm very excited to find a women's cycling forum. It's like a breath of fresh air. The venerable bikeforums.net is a great source of information, but for a woman it can make for a disappointing community. So I'm looking forward to the comradery this community seems to have and the things I'll be able to learn and share with other women interested in an activing/hobby/sport I love dearly.
About me: I'm located in the Bull City (Durham), North Cack (NC) and work at Duke. My commute is 3 miles by car and 4-6 by bike, depending on if I take the cemetery (the longer, but more worthwhile route).
I got my first bike (as an adult) in 2003, a Giant Boulder (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10ch/39369376/), and I used it mainly for mountain biking and the occasional MUP. I started commuting to work in 2005 (on the Giant) in response to the Smart Commute Challenge (http://www.smartcommutechallenge.org/). I very quickly upgraded to a Gary Fisher Big Sur (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10ch/61738861/) that I scored off Craigslist for a cool $300 and over the span of a few months modified it to be a lean mean commuting machine. Just this week, I made another Craigslist purchase, a 1980 steel Raleigh Sprite (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10ch/473460598/), and it's gotten me in the "wanna chat about it" mode, just like I was in 2005. The Sprite is a totally different riding experience. I find myself going slower and being less aggressive on the road. Maybe that will change as I get used to the friction shifting.
I'm also a bike mechanic wanna-be and finally have my own repair stand, which really should've been the first thing I bought. For repairs that HAD to have a stand, I would bungee/rope my bikes to the front porch railing!
(I know I'm being awfully chatty, but I'm just excited to be in a place where my words will be heard and not one-up'd, please bear with me!)
And last thing, a dozen of my close friends (all women) are gearing up to group train for a 50 miler in the fall. We're starting our training rides in June. Several of these folks don't even have bikes yet! I'm so excited that so many people I care about are taking on this challenging goal and making biking part of their lives.
Thanks to Team Estrogen for working for a great cause and providing a space for us to play.
I love my bike!
Beck