Falling in love with riding...

[cusepack]

Welcome to the forums Monica, and great to see another Floridian.

This site is amazing . . . you'll learn, love and enjoy all it has to offer and these gals are simply the best

[RIDIN'CHIL']

[SIZE="6"]hi all...

i tried to insert a picture in here.. so you all can see my new baby...

but i cant figure out how to do it..

shes a purple hybrid motobecane...

i got the helmet at the same place...

she was just built yesterday... and then yesterday evening she came home with me... how perfect huh?

her name is genesis... due to the new BEGINNING of adventures that

she and i will have together....

NOW... IF THIS *%$#@# RAIN WOULD JUST STOP!!!!
i hear the thunder already and i just got home from work...

OKAY...

here is something else that i need to know..

i am supposed to go home to st. louis for 10 days in july... flying southwest airlines... i dont wanna leave my baby behind....

how can i take her with me??

i have read on other posts about people traveling with their bikes...

but since i'm such a newbie... i dont know how to "pack" the bike....

and when you arrive... do they just throw your bike on that thingy that goes round and round for the luggage

not sure how this all works... BUT I WANT HER TO GO TO ST. LOUIS WITH ME!!!!! SO PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks!!!!

oh yeah... you know what???

YA'LL ROCK!!!!!!!

SIZE]

[DebW]

When you are in St. Louis, you should ride part of the Katy Trail. It starts in St. Charles and heads west across the whole state, following a railbed near the Missouri River. The surface is crushed limestone. It would be easier to rent a bike there (lots of rental places in St. Charles) than bring your bike with you. To take your bike with you, you'd either have to invest in an expensive bike crate, or stop at a bike shop and pick up a used cardboard bike box. The bike has to be partly disassembled to pack. This involves removing the front wheel, saddle and seatpost, stem and handlebars, and pedals. It takes some tools and technical savvy to accomplish this yourself, or you could pay a bike shop to pack it and unpack it. Then you have to worry about the airline damaging your precious. I'd suggest renting if you only want to ride a few times. If you really plan to ride every day then it might be worth taking your own bike.

[cusepack]

Monica -

I'm getting ready for a trip to NY to see my family (lots of great hills in the Adirondacks!!), and I'm taking my bike with me (honestly, I don't think I could go a week without riding, so it's got to go!!!) The LBS has cases that they rent, so I'll go in two days before my trip, pick up the case, and they kindly offered to teach me how to pack/unpack my bike. They even offered to loan me any tools I don't already have and need. Most of the hard cases are very well made, so I'm not all that concerned about any damage to the bike. You can always purchase some of those pool noodles, cut them down the middle and wrap parts of your bike inside the case as additional protection.

Kathryn

[jujubebe]

You stole my story! I'm 52, started riding this past spring for the 1st time in over 20 years. My motivation was my dad. He's an avid cyclist and after my mom died in 2005, I thought it would be nice to share in his interests. He had a few of my mom's bikes, so i didn't even need to haul a bike across town.

I, too, fell in love. I had a crummy 6 speed Huffy from Target which I literally rode into the ground (stuff was fallling off it!). Found a good bicycle shop, told them my goals - daily riding, 12 months a year, carrying groceries, bad weather use, etc. For my budget they recommended the Marin Kentfield, & I am very happy with it.

Basically, I no longer get into my car if the trip is under 5 miles. I have dropped 10 lbs in the past 3 months, from 180+. Interestingly, this amount of vigorous exercise seems to have regulated my appetite; I'm no longer a nighttime fresser.

Like you, I have powerful legs - of course most women have better lower body strength. I also have osteoarthritis & fibromyalgia. Other than some morning stiffness the 1st two weeks, I have no pain from riding; it is the only exercise that 1, doesn't bore me, 2, doesn't beat up my joints. My sense of well being is the best it's been in years.

I think cycling for transportation is effective exercise for me, because - well, I have to get home! That's when the work begins. Unlike the gym, you can't just quit. btw. riding an exercise bucycle would be my definition of torture.

OK, I'm up too late & this is a long & disjointed reply. Have fun, keep riding, & keep us posted!

julie

[jujubebe]

you could rent a bike when out of town. I rented a lovelty Fuji in NYC.

[Bad JuJu]

As DebW said, DEFINITELY make time to do a few miles on the Katy Trail! You will fall in love all over again--it's such a beautiful trail.

And now that you've got your helmet and your bike, you'll need some biking shorts, with a chamois built into the seat of them. The longer rides you do, the more you'll appreciate that extra bit of padding. I know among those of us who--ahem--"got back," as the song says, there's a tendency to think that our natural padding is sufficient. Trust me--it isn't. The great thing is that it's fall (though here in Florida it still feels like summer ), so there are some great sales going on on summer biking gear like shorts. Check your LBS and if they don't have anything that works for you, go online and check out what Team Estrogen has to offer. They're great.

I'd consider renting in St. Louis rather than taking your own bike. I know it's hard to leave her so soon, but it's better for her and easier on you if she just stays home. I'm not from St. Louis, but I've been there to visit, and it seems like there are plenty of bike shops and rental places there, esp. close to the Katy Trail.

Have fun!!!

[KSH]

WOW! Good for you for getting out there and riding! Your health is really going to improve.

Keep riding... and then ride some more... BUT... PLEASE GET A HELMET ASAP! Basically, you really should NOT ride WITHOUT A HELMET!

Point in case: My boyfriend had just gotten his pretty new Trek 1500 (aka: $1,200 road bike)... and he was riding along a bike path. What could go wrong? There aren't any cars... so he should be just fine. YEA! RIGHT?! Basically, he over-corrected missing someone coming head on... and he crashed into this cemet railing for the bridge he was near. He DEMOLISHED his bike. Seriously. It was a month old and nothing could be saved. He separated his shoulder, and had these horrilbe gashes on his HEAD! His helmet was crushed, but his head was intact. His helmet saved him from serious injury. And, then he went and about a $1,500 road bike. GO BUY A HELMET TODAY! *Said with concern and love*

With that said... it won't be long before we will suck you in with your "hybrid", "road", bike talk. You will start to learn all about cycling and then you will be TEMPTED to jump head-first into it... with your credit card close behind.

Good luck and keep riding!

[quint41]

Hey, Chil! Welcome!!

It can't be said too many times: PLEASE GET A HELMET IMMEDIATELY!!!

I bought a mountain bike 10 years ago (after my divorce) to ride around the neighborhood with the kiddies. It mostly sat in the shed until two years ago, when I took it on our local trails. I weighed 179 then (5' 3 1/2" tall). I was in horrible shape. I joined Weight Watchers and a gym, and road a little bit on the trails when it was nice out. Once in a while.

The following summer (last year), I was down to about 159, had quit WW, but turned up my gym workouts and took the bike out more often -- still on the trails, mostly by myself. But I was itching to do more, just didn't know how to do it (and hadn't found this site).

This summer, I had gotten down to the 140's -- hooray!! I joined a group of active adult single folks and went on a bike ride with them on THE ROAD -- gasp!!! I was scared of the road!! But ... now I'm riding twice a week (about 50 miles per week) with this fantastic group of people. They have taught me all kinds of stuff about road riding, and I'm no longer afraid. I LOVE IT! And, I just ordered myself a beautiful LeMond road bike!! The groupies laugh and tell me I've become a cycling sicko -- wait til I get that road bike!! Twice a week won't cut it anymore!

And, the best thing of all is, I'm about 139 now and hard as a rock! I am in such better shape now than I was 20 years ago when I was younger and before having kids. So, you just KEEP IT UP!!! It would be great if you found a small group of like-minded people to ride with. You can do what we do -- regular rides followed by a healthy meal and a glass of wine!

This is a great forum. Have fun!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Let's just face it- we're all BERSERK here about riding our bikes....