Hi Melissa!

Hey, if you keep on riding the Nirvana, you won't be at your weight for long!
Thanks for saying that - I needed to hear that today !
And, BTW, I'm also 5' 1 & 1/2" too - I've just always said 5' 2" for whatever reason.....

I really am a beginner rider (at 45). When my husband & I got our bikes in 2004, I couldn't make my way out of large parking lots (to ride around in).
Cars, Mack trucks scare me to death when I'm on a bike!! So.....the riding I did in '04/'05 was probably less than 10 hours total (on the road, anyway.)

But......on June 5th we checked out a local bikeway path not far from our house. Put the bikes on our rack & drove out there.
The longest I've ridden (thus far) is 11/12 miles.

To be honest, I'm kind of afraid to do the whole length of the bikeway....I'm thinking to myself...."what if there's a hill, and I can't get back up it??"

I just stop at 11 miles (even though I definitely feel I can go longer), and say, "well, that's enough for today!".

I SINCERELY want to get past that, and do the whole path. It's 22 miles round trip.
What's the worst thing that could happen??
I could get tired, and have to walk my bike back......... or,
My husband could ride back, get the car and pick me up.... (I really don't want that to happen....)

On the 11th we went out to a couple towns over on a route where there's not much traffic, and there were some hills (a hill to me, anyway -- to a seasoned rider, my hill would probably be like going over a pebble!!

Anyhow, my husband kept looking back to check on me, (God Bless him, I don't want to wreck his ride!), but, when I'm going up "this hill", I'm getting a little frustrated because it's harder than a flat surface and it's taking me awhile -- BUT, I KNOW the only way I'm going to get better is to get through these things.... Right??

I desperately want to keep loving getting out there & riding -- I don't ever want it to feel "like exercise"..
I know that I've got to bring my bike to my bike shop & have it checked out, because when I shift from the very hardest gear to like 2 gears easier than that -- it's like I'm "spinning" -- there's absolutely NO resistence - and I'm only going two gears easier than the highest gear....
And, I'm hearing noise out of my left ear, in the back of my bike (where the derailleur is.... perhaps that's out of sync or something??)

(I've got to learn "gear lingo", b/c all I really know is 'hardest gear/easiest gear".)

We're going out riding when my husband gets home from work. It's a very nice day & finally, a day without rain!!

I know I'm going to feel a lot more comfortable riding because I got a pair of PI shorts yesterday and went to Target today and got a couple of Champion C9 tops...(I didn't want to spend a lot of money on one top, after paying for my shorts yesterday... )...
But, if I'm going to feel drier & more comfy, (rather than wearing cotton shorts/shirt & sweating to death in them.... really doesn't feel good at all!), then the $$ I spent of these shorts will be well worth it !

Thanks for listening Melissa! I didn't expect to go on & on, but I just wanted to get out how I was feeling!!

Have a beautiful & peaceful day!!

Denise