New Rider from Central NY

After years of talking about getting into biking, I finally make the plunge into getting a road bike, yippee! Arthritic knees run in my family and just about anything I do these days manages to bother them, so I relented I needed to try biking. I've always liked it, but my husband and I already have so many expensive hobbies and toys that I didn't want to add ONE MORE thing to that money sucking list! :p

I got the Trek SLX C and hubby the Giant Defy 1. We went to a bunch of bike shops and somehow ended up at one 40 miles from home. But, it's close to where we do dog training, a good friend of ours loves the place, and we like the atmosphere the best. Plus, they offered the best discounts (6 months of 10% off) and a year of service free (other places it was 90 days or just one tune up for free). PLUS, both bikes we got were 2012's on clearance and nowhere else had our sizes in 2012's. So hopefully the distance still comes out in our favor in the end.

Exercise/social fun/commuting are my main goals with the bike. I'll definitely be looking for advice on commuting. Unfortunately, going through some very unsavory areas is my route into work and there literally isn't a way to avoid them. That will be the topic of an entirely different thread! Another goal is to do a wine tour/century ride around some of Centry NY's Finger Lakes with some friends.

Hopefully I'll get at least a couple months of riding in before the epic snowstorms that plauge this area hit us!

My husband and are big outdoor people in general -- lots of hiking and camping/backpacking....both play in "old folk" soccer leauges (kidding..we are early 30's...not that old, but those 20 years old make us feel old!). We also do schutzhund with our German Shepherds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schutzhund for the wikipedia explaination of the sport).

So glad I found this forum! You all seem great from perusing the old topics! :D

Welcome from a fellow CNY'er! There are some great rides in the Finger Lakes - hills that don't seem like much in the car get really big once you're in the saddle (especially if you stop at the wineries ;)) Enjoy your new steeds!

My tour in the Finger Lakes was big hills (10-18% grades) and rain.

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Originally Posted by IBrakeforPastry

Welcome from a fellow CNY'er! There are some great rides in the Finger Lakes - hills that don't seem like much in the car get really big once you're in the saddle (especially if you stop at the wineries ;)) Enjoy your new steeds!

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Oh, no doubt!!! But I have many friends who have done it so it's now like a competition....:-) I think I'll start with Skaneateles...the baby-ish lake :)

Are you in the Syracuse area?

Yup. Actually, if you want to do a Lake Loop, Otisco is good, starting in Marcellus. There is one really steep hill on the west side. It's impossible to ride - I don't think they even plow it. So walk the bike up (think "cross-training" ;)) and once you're on top, it's a beautiful ridge ride. The rest of the ride is flat to rolling. Check out 30 Bicycle Tours in the Finger Lakes Region by Roth and Walters. Also, the Onondaga Cycling Club has mapped out lots of rides in the area. I'm not a member, but I've used their maps in the past (and should send them some money, now that I think of it). I didn't ride much this year, so I had actually forgotten about them.

I can just imagine the areas you want to commute through :eek: