Been trying to find a message board and stumbled across this one while buying an actual cycling jersey (cotton t-shirts in Florida are not cutting it!). Am impressed enough at the friendliness that I wanted to say hi, so...hello!

Got a bike in an effort to try & find some physical activity I can enjoy and loving it so far. Wish I had tried this earlier as it's 90 pretty much every day now here in Central FL so it's tough to find a good time to ride.

Most of you seem to have nice bikes, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who started with a $100 Walmart deal, right?! Like I said, I'm enjoying it, but it's a no-speed cruiser and man is it hard to deal with even the slightest incline. The bike trail near my house is fine as it's very flat. The husband & I can manage about 7 miles there now, but in the neighborhood I can do maybe 2 or 3 before I'm tuckered out & getting wobbly legs. Am having some problems with sore arms but I just raised the seat & am trying to get the handlebars up enough so I'm still sitting upright. Haven't found the right balance yet. I have a plate in my left wrist from breaking it a few years back so I think any leaning forward would cause me more discomfort.

I know you all would be guessing, but would some speeds help with being able to go further while being more comfortable? I like the upright/cruising style, does anyone manage to do 10+ miles on those? For anyone else who started with the cheapie bike, how long did you stick with it before upgrading and what are the biggest differences between a cheapie and a "good" bike?

I think am just babbling because I found a group where I can get some info & have some bike chat. Yay! Also sort of in a hurry, so please excuse bad grammar or spelling lol.