Hi! I'm new and glad to meet you all!

Hi all!

I just found this forum and I love it already. Here is the scenario:

42.
Overweight.
Tried the old Wally-world purple Mom Bike with the big baby seat on the back (the "baby" is 13, which tells you how long it's been since I peddled a bike!)
Went to my LBS since I had NO CLUE what to do, but the Mom Bike hurt my knee cause it was too short.
"I want to get fit, mostly ride on the pavement but some streets near me are dirt. And I am on a budget."
New Jamis Explorer, bright red, matching helmet with lots of air holes since I live in Florida and it's HOT.
Riding about 45 minutes a day this week--it tires me out but I love it!

My goal: to ride 35 miles at the end of October in a fun ride through the horse country of Ocala, Florida.

Nancy

Hi Nancy!
Congrats on your new bike and on getting in the saddle!
You will have that 35 mile ride in the bag in no time! Keep us updated on your progress.
Sue

Nancy, you sound great!! welcome to Team Estrogen!
keep up the good work! and get the "baby" to ride with you
since she doesn't fit in the kiddy seat anymore!

Welcome, Nancy! 45 minutes a day in this heat? You rock!

Hi Nancy from another Nancy-

I started out with a Jamis Quest. What is the Explorer? Hybrid?

Glad to see you are back on a bike. Nothing like cycling to loose weight!:p :p :p :p

This mileage thing gets pretty addictive. Since you live in Florida I suspect you'll be doing lots of early morning rides. Enjoy the light- a favorite time of the day for me.

Keep us posted on your progress. This is a very supportive group!

Cool!! Where in Florida? I'm in Alachua, just a little bit northwest of Gainesville.

Nanci

Hey, are you talking about Horse Farm Hundred? I did a shorter version of that last year-it's pretty! Santa Fe Century, the day before, is flat. That's my home territory. Then there's the Horrible Hundred in Clermont in November, which has bad hills, but if you can't make it up, lots of people walk- and the support is great, and they have a short 37 mile ride- maybe even shorter. That's the ride that made me fall in love with road biking!

Hi Nancy and welcome! Congratuations on your new purchase, may you have many endless hours of joy atop your new bike. I think your goal is awesome, keep up the good work.

makbike (Marcie)

Welcome to the forum Nancy and congratulations on your new bike!

Shalom Nancy and wishing you tail winds

Heading says it all: Thank you so much for the warm greeting! Truly, I am in the right place!

Nanci--I am quite familiar with Alachua, lived in Gainesville from '84-'89 while hubby was in grad school. SO pretty up there! I'm amazed at how much Gainesville has grown since we've been away, don't know if sprawl is catching up to Alachua yet or not?? We live down here in the Melbourne area, about three hours away and on the coast. VERY nice down here--beaches if you like that sort of thing, lots of nature, stuff to do but not overgrown yet. Yes, the Horse Farm Hundred is the thing--I am doing 35 miles of it and I'm looking forward to it! Not sure I'm ready for the hills in Clermont but there's always next year, right? (Alas, the only "hills" we have here are highway overpasses...)

And to the other Nancy (Bike Goddess), yes, it is a hybrid--a very BASIC hybrid but it is perfect for me! It has an upright position, but I have had a lot of lower back trouble so I'm working on building those muscles before I look at lowering and going faster.

And to all of you non-Nancys (and you know who you are!)--thank you so much for your encouragement! I am riding in the cool part of the day, which is great because the egrets and the sand-hill cranes are out. And being in Florida, I did not know what a goat-head is, and just between us, I'm glad I still don't! :)

Best wishes to everyone for a great Monday and a GREAT ride today!

Nancy

Ah, Melbourne. Are you familiar with Wickham Park Marathon??

http://www.mattmahoney.net/wickham/

I'm the only female to complete the marathon three times, consecutively even!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nanci

Ah, Melbourne. Are you familiar with Wickham Park Marathon??

http://www.mattmahoney.net/wickham/

I'm the only female to complete the marathon three times, consecutively even!

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Awesome!! I'm not familiar with the marathon there, but Wickham Park is about 15 miles north of me and I used to work quite close to there. It's a great park, isn't it? I'm very impressed with you for completing even ONE marathon, let alone three, let alone consecutively! One of my long-term goals is to compete in a triathlon, but I'm going to definitely get the bike part down pat first.

When is the marathon? (What time of year?) And I thought riding a century was tough--

Nancy in Central FL

Welcome Nancy! Congratulations on the new bike.

Wow, way too many Nancy/Nancis on this thread...! :p

welcome to the group!

congrats on the new bike and good luck!

Hi Nancy!

Welcome to TE :) !!

You WILL reach your goal of 35 miles by October!!

Congratulations on your new bike!!:D

Denise