I keep a journal, and looking back over the year I found that one year ago this week I finally decided that it was time to decide just which bike to purchase and to get serious about learning how to ride As I remember, it was the fine women of TE who helped me to decide to purchase the Trek 7.6 FX rather than the much heavier step-through comfort bike that my original LBS was pushing me to buy. I brought Stella home on December 13 last year, and stepped over her for the first time on December 14th!

Over the last year:

  • Learned how to ride on the Trek
  • Rode 1900 miles so far (400 on the Trek)
  • Bought Ms Explorer and converted her to flat riser bars
  • Sold the Trek as she was too big for me
  • Rode at least 6-7 metrics solo and several 50+ routes on organized rides
  • Longest ride was 72 miles
  • Rode 600 miles in August alone
  • Sidelined in September by pulled hamstring and two kinds of tendinitis in one leg


All in all, outside of that last bullet, am very happy with my progress this year! I had hopes of riding at least 2,500 miles this year, and would have passed that goal if I could have avoided the injuries. Considering how sedentary that I was, and was in such bad condition for so long, it is kind of neat that I was ABLE to get a sports-related over-use injury or three at my age That may seem an odd statement...

Very thankful for the very knowledgeable, kind, and patient women of TE