Hi everyone,
After about 6 years of medical adventures and 60 pound weight gain . . . that is only 10 lbs a year!, how quickly it adds up . . .(I had to take pills that caused weight gain PLUS I was out of commission), I am ready to ride! It has been a long hard haul, I started by walking every day, but I am SOOO excited to be riding my bike again. I have an "mature" steel frame Specialized Hard Rock that I just love. I couldn't bear to sell it and felt disloyal getting a new bike, so I spent way too much money getting new gears, new seat, new 2" rise handlbars, tuneup, armadillo tires (lots of rough road and stuff where I live and I was getting flats all the time), toe clips, helmet, gel gloves, etc. I live in a very hilly area and end up walking my bike up hills at times (by the third hill!). Now, I'm thinking I should have invested in a lighter weight bike, see if I could add more gears (I have 21) but can't do that in the near future (but I'm sure my bike appreicates the TLC). I know that when I was younger, my derriere got used to the saddle in about 2-3 weeks. I'm sure that is not so true when you are older. . . how long can I expect my older tushie to be tender? The new seat (Specialized Windie 155 Body Geometry) seems to be vastly more comfortable than my old "foam" seat, but the I know nothing will prevent the discomfort. I have no chafing problems, yet. My goal is to ride to work, 4 1/2miles, mostly down hill and I can do this fine. Coming home is all uphill. That will take me some time! In the future, I want to do more leasure riding and a bike tour. Somewhere along the way, lose the 60 pounds! Should I alternate walking to work and riding to work to rest my tender tushie? OK, I am a "wordie" person, but thanks for reading!