New (and Clueless) in Seattle...

[KnottedYet]

From where you are, you can also easily get to the Arboretum to ride, but sometimes that's crowded. There's also the road that runs along the lake (oh, someone help me, I've drawn a blank!) which is a major bike route and is sometimes closed to car traffic for races. It's nice and flat and cars know there are a ton of bikes on it.

Lake Washington Boulevard! Yeah, that's it! (I had to go get my bike route map, because I couldn't remember!)

[mimitabby]

Yes, Dex, welcome to Seattle! I live south of you a little bit. Maybe we can do some rides together! yes, if you can get up over your hill, Lake Washington BLVD is there, it's beautiful and there are lots of bikes.

Your new bike is beautiful and is fully capable of doing the STP, actually, you COULD HAVE done it on your old green bike too, if you were stubborn.

You have 3 months to get in shape and I would be happy to do some of your training rides with you. I should mention that the Cascade bike club
has a lot of training rides already.

And those hills? Those are your friends! Right now they are all high and annoying, but they are your back yard and someday soon they will not phase you a bit!

[dex]

...you COULD HAVE done it on your old green bike too, if you were stubborn.

One of my friends told me this as well...but I also *really* like reasearching and shopping, and I love new toys, so this seemed like a reasonable excuse to indulge those loves a little. Also, I figured the added motivation of shiny, pretty new bike might make me more eager to ride. (And, um, carrying Anabelle up the flight of stairs from my front door to street level has never been a picnic--she's a pretty hefty girl, not entirely unlike me--and that's one of the things that's been a barrier to taking her out more often.)

I did notice the training rides on the Cascade site. Here's another of my dirty little secrets (amazing what people will reveal on the internet to relative strangers, but would take hours to admit over coffee with new friends): I have a little social anxiety. The idea of showing up somewhere to do something I'm not very good at/knowledgeable about (yet) with a bunch of people I don't know kind of makes me queasy. I'll get over that, but only after I've convinced myself I'm not a total disaster on two wheels.

I'm truly bowled over by how nice everyone here seems. Y'all are great!

[mimitabby]

well, get used to your new bike in the privacy of your own company and then maybe look us up.
I am always looking for someone to ride with, particularly someone close to home.

[dex]

I just realized how that might have sounded. If it came across as off-putting, that wasn't intentional. I'd love the chance to ride with you, or anyone else, I just wouldn't want to hold people up...which is probably my actual big fear at this point.

[teigyr]

Dex,

There is such a wealth of information on this website, isn't there!!! Seriously, the people up here are a great group and are all very supportive. I know how it feels to be concerned about holding someone up so it's important to be honest about your limitations but, maybe, it's good to have a contingency plan with who you ride with. Say you go out with an informal group, maybe there is an understanding that you will all meet up somewhere if they get ahead?

The bike trails are really fantastic and are a good place to get a feel for your new bike. You've got a lot of changes going on and I think it's normal to feel a bit out of your element.

Oh, if nobody said it before, both King and Snohomish counties have free bike trail maps. Those would give you some excellent riding places until you're ready to venture out with other people!!

I'm sure you will do fine and enjoy your new bike! And I second what Mimitabby said earlier, any time you want to ride, just say the word.

[KnottedYet]

Me, too! I'm a fairly slow rider most of the time, so don't worry about holding me up!

I have a double on my road bike (and it isn't a compact double) so I really walk just about every hill. Until I get a triple or a compact double on her, I prefer to do social rides on the nice flat bike trails. Especially if it involves a little visit to RedHook Brewery... hee hee!