Hi all, road bike newbie here

[Grog]

Welcome to TE, Azurah! You have a lovely bike, a friendly bike shop (that's the South Maui shop, right? they are nice guys there), and beautiful roads to ride on!

My husband and I were just in Maui last month and thoroughly enjoyed riding the West Loop (on bikes rented from the South Maui Bike Shop). It's a long and hilly ride but I'm sure it will be accessible to you in no time. (And don't forget to stop at Lorraine for shave ice in Kahakuloa.)

Have fun and keep coming back to tell us about your rides!

[Yuli23]

That's a nice looking bike. Love how the pedals are pink as well.

[wineberry]

Congrats on your new bike! Did you purchase the size 48? I'm curious as I'm 5'1.5", and presumably need a size 46/47, and figured the size 48 would be too big for me.

Do you know what your inseam is?

Thanks.

[MyRubyE]

Welcome Azurah! I too love your bike. Bike riding will definitely help with the diabetes and hopefully the exercise will prevent you from having to take medication. I have the more severe (Type 1 diabetes) autoimmune diabetes, and cycling has helped me stay healthy with no complications. Best of luck with the new bike. This is a great forum, which helped me when I first started out.

[Slk41]

I LOVE your bike!! I wish I'd been able to justify a Ruby when I bought last week but I just couldn't do it...we have so many bikes already! So I settled on a Dolce Sport and if the rain would ever stop, I'll let you know how my first real road ride is!

[KatzPajamas]

Azurah, that is one beautiful bike! It was the beauty of a Ruby that looked just like it that attracted me to road biking. I ended up with a Cannondale Synapse. 28 years old...ah, to be so young again! Will be looking for reports of your adventures in the islands. Enjoy!

[Azurah]

Wow, been awhile since I've logged on! I haven't been on my bike (or doing much of anything else) lately. We're short-staffed at work right now and I've been putting in more hours than usual. I've been so tired that I often crash when I get home and sleep until the next morning. Seem to be coming down with a cold, too.

wineberry - I'm 5'2" and my bike is a 51. Sorry, I don't remember my inseam off-hand.

Grog - We go to Island Biker in Kahului. I know of the shop you went to, but haven't been inside. So you rode around the backside of Lahaina? That sounds like fun and I'll have to do that one day! I haven't even been that way in a car in years! I also want to ride to Lahaina. I see lots of bikers whenever we drive out there.

Thanks to everyone else welcoming me to the forums! It's also super awesome to see how many others have/are interested in the Ruby. Now...I just need to get back to riding it again and getting some mileage.

As for the borderline-diabetes, I do take a low dose of metformin daily. I'm going in for general bloodwork and the 2 1/2hr blood test next week to check on things and follow-up with the endo. I'm hoping I'm still in the border-line range! I know that biking will help, but my diet really needs work...

[Lavigne]

SOOOOO JEALOUS!! Your bike is beautiful. I was very close to buying that exact bike (my debit card was declined because I have a daily limit that it exceeded). I'm sort of glad I didn't because I'm 5' 2.5" and the 54 was just a tad too big. I was able to get an Orbea Onix Dama TLT in a 53 and the fit is perfect. I've only had my bike a few weeks and it's my first road bike ever.

I'm jealous because I can not imagine riding in Hawaii any time I wanted to. I live in south Louisiana and I'm a rare breed in these parts. There aren't many road bikers so there are very few safe places to ride. Also, it's incredibly hot with the humidity, but I'm trying to learn to deal with it.

Good luck riding in paradise and I really hope your Diabetes improves now that you're riding. Keep us posted.

[Owlie]

I've been drooling over the Ruby Expert. It won't happen any time soon, but I can dream, can't I?

Lovely new bike. Enjoy!