Quote Originally Posted by CyborgQueen View Post
Thanks everyone! I'm feeling more inspired. I wasn't sure if 35 miles will be a daunting task in a short span of time.

I test rode a road bike yesterday, (Norvara Camara Pro), and whoa...it's a heapload better than my crappy 10 year old Schwinn bike. Mind you, my bike still works well and I think it still has a lot of life left (aside from the stupid gear set up...you change gears like a twist on the handle bars...not exactly very easy to use), but it does leave me struggling to ride. I am doing the best I can, and get the miles going, then I will decide on a bike in about a month. I'm taking training classes specifically geared towards the 35mi charity ride. But, I rather learn about the saddle fit, bike size, what to look for, etc before getting the bike. I don't want to turn this into "not another 'what bike to get' thread", but frankly, I'm kinda stuck on choices because I'm 5' and I think I'm roughly 43cm...that doesn't give me a whole range of bike to choose from.

Anyways - thanks for the encouragements!
Hi and welcome!

Congratulations on how far you've come with cycling in the past few months! At this pace, you will definitely be able to ride 35 miles in time for your event.

The 35 miles will be much easier, not to mention more comfortable, with a newer, WSD bike. I think you owe it to yourself to get one! Not only is it an exciting purchase, it is an extremely pragmatic one.

I may not be the best receptacle of knowledge regarding bikes for petite riders, but two of my very good friends are short (5 feet at most) and both ride Trek Madone 4.5 and highly recommend it. Might be worth checking out? I've heard good things about Giant as well, but am not sure which bikes would be best.

Welcome again!