Quote Originally Posted by staceysue View Post
I don't know anything about bikes - but I've seen those handlbars that curve down and have rods sticking up, so you can ride more upright with your hands on the top of the curve or crouched down with your hands on the bottom of the curve, or put your hands around the rods. I'd like to find something like that.

Of course - if I get a fast bike and bike shorts, I'll probably end up going fast enough that I'll need a helmet . . . . good bike + good shorts + helmet = big bucks, even if I do find a good used bike! Plus - I feel like I'll look silly on a road bike with my butt up in the air. Not that it matters - I'm in much better shape than the average woman my age - but the only people I see riding bikes like that are skin and bones. Wouldn't do wonders for my body image!
Yeah, you need a helmet. They're all safe (if you're in the US, it needs to be certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission before it can be sold); what the extra $$ buys is coolness--both in number of vents and in styling.

And don't worry about the body image. I think I look silly in spandex (and people think I know what I'm doing), but it's about being comfortable and having fun. I'm not a stick either. If you shop clearances, you can get good stuff for relatively cheap.