I usually join forums and lurk, sneaking my way in responding to threads without introducing myself, since I'm kind of a shy person. I'm trying to break that trend and am changing a lot of things in my life, so here goes -

I'm in my mid thirties and I hadn't ridden a bike for probably 4 1/2 years, and had never been into road cycling, when I recently made some major changes in my life and decided to get active again. I had just gotten out of a horrible marriage and into a relationship with a hardcore cyclist, who finally got me out on the tandem and got me hooked. I bought my bike two months ago and have been riding ever since - either on the the tandem with my sweetie or by myself, working my way up to 40-mile rides. I also practice yoga (classes twice a week) and run about two times per week and have gotten into shape amazingly fast - lost 20 pounds over three months and have more energy than I've had in years.

So now I'm going on a 100k in a month and am starting training for a century ride with Team in Training and am love love LOVING my bike! I'm excited to be here and learn from everyone here, and maybe someday actually have experience and wisdom to share with other new riders