I was kind of afraid to mention this because I'm new here, and I'm not sure how you guys will react, but I don't actually have a bike yet! I've been doing all my training on various exercise bikes at the gym. I want to get to where I can do 100 "miles" at the gym before I really decide if I want to fork over the money to get a bike that would be good enough to allow me to do endurance events.

I would really like to do actual events (other than the driving involved... I hate driving), but it's a lot of money to spend for a bike and all the accessories needed. And I like reading at the gym, and I'm not sure whether reading or actually going somewhere will work better at inspiring me to bike more. I've worked up to doing four-hour rides at the gym, in which time I can read a whole book. I like accomplishing two things at once