Hello there Band fans....I got banded March 28th-2007.

I told myself....Bycyling would be a very good choice. Fresh air, muscles working for the sake of "Cardio". After one week passed--in April. I purchased three new bikes for me and my two sons. I have defeated many things doing that. No more not riding with my children--we ride as a crew (family). We could not conquer the hill on my street. We used to stop 3 to 4 times before getting to the top ( I did). So now the wheels have turned. My kids ask me---"Daddy can we stop--our legs are burning". Thank God I am doing well now. Now with 21 pounds gone---but just riding bikes. I am ready for the next Journey...The 1st fill--I am looking forward to the next 4 to 6 weeks--maybe 12 or 20 pounds gone...who knows...:faint: this is how I feel on many days after my ride. Today--(8.5 miles) It was walking, riding around the fair in my town--but that is what my speedometer said when it was all over...

How fun. I am thinking of joining a club around here so I can have people to ride with. The club rides at the metropark where I like to ride so that would be cool.

Funny thing is other than my bike being messed up I think the whole fall thing was pretty humorous. I have no idea how I did not get hurt (must be that 07/07/07 luck). The people who saw it were pretty concerned but I was just cracking up. I wasn't even upset about walking home. I didn't have a choice, I had to get there and I had no phone. Just another fun story to tell everyone once I finally got to work.

To add onto the comfort bike thing I foudn this description:

Comfort bikes

Relatively new on the bike scene, comfort bikes keep their riders as comfy as possible. That means suspension seat posts (yep, they actually cushion the bumps), gel-filled seats for happy bums, upright handlebars and soft grips to reduce hand and wrist fatigue, easy-to-read gear indicators, and wide tires to cushion the ride like mountain bike tires do, but with smooth centers to speed up and quiet down the ride. Comfort bikes sort of look like mountain bikes and sort of look like hybrid bikes — sometimes comfort and hybrid bikes can be hard to distinguish. The big difference is the wheel size. Comfort bikes have 26" wheels, putting the rider’s center of gravity closer to the ground than hybrid bikes (which have larger, 700-centimeter wheels), making some riders feel safer. Most comfort bikes can handle just about any sort of terrain, but since they’re built for comfort they’re not exactly built for exacting performance on or off road.

BG

I'll tell you, club riding is really motivating. You also meet some great people and learn more about the sport. Check it out!

I love a good, "I made an ass of myself" story! Yours qualifies to be sure.

BG

I'll tell you, club riding is really motivating. You also meet some great people and learn more about the sport. Check it out!

I love a good, "I made an ass of myself" story! Yours qualifies to be sure.

Definitely. This is the second bike I have broken (the first being when the crankshaft fell off and I had to walk 4.5 miles home lol). The worst part is that it was a fricken bee. Now if I were swerving to miss a small child, or a spare tire, or a ferret, then it would be more acceptable.

I am definitely going to check out the club. It is only $10 a year for membership and that includes the whole family. If I hate it I will have only wasted 10 bucks, right?

aweeeee babygrl...I am sooooo glad that you were not hurt!!! How scary. I don't have a helmet yet either. I know, that is just dumb, but that is the way it is right now. If I would

of flew over my handlebars, people would of thought that a land whale was in their midst!!!!!! God, how embarassing...poor you!!!! I think I would of just died!!! At least you were not hurt. Thats the important thing. How long before you will be able to get your bike in to the shop? What did DH say????

Juli, does your GF have a road bike too?? You will have fun either way, at least you are spending time together...and its active....not at a restaurant pigging out!!!! LOL....have fun!

Dh looked really confused when I got home. He was concerned but we laughed a lot about it once he knew I was okay.

The eyewitnesses were probably thinking "Thar she blows" as I was flying through the air. I think the best visual I can give is when Willy jumped the barrier wall to get to the ocean. The latest I will get it to the shop will be on Monday. I am just bummed because I was going to try a 20 mile ride tomorrow morning. That was my deterant for not drinking at the wedding tonight. Now I might jsut reward myself with a drink or 17.

As a side note I just found my bruises. While I was sitting down on the toilet might I add lol. On my upper left thiegh I have maybe a 4x4 inch area that has like 6 rows of perfectly parallel scratches and next to that are about 3 one inch diameter bruises. I do not bruise easily so I must have hit pretty hard. Heehee.

BG,

I'm sure you'll find more bruises... Tomorrow when you wake up and feel like you were hit by a truck you'll feel today's fall. Add to it a nasty wedding reception hangover, you'll be a mess!

The GF has a hybrid that she bought before I seriously took to road biking. She's insisting on staying on it this year but will buy a road bike next year.

GET HELMETS EVERYONE.

It's only your brain you're protecting. Lecture over.

Thanks Juli, I am going to get a helmet today!!! I have been riding without one since I started. I just feel like I sweat so much and get so damn hot now, add a helmet on my head and I wont be able to think!!!..

Babygrl, so you did get hurt, just didn't realize it. Hopefully the bruising wont last long and you won't find anymore.

Juli, I thought maybe that was the case of the bikes, since you were talking about the different scenarios that you and GF like to ride in. Well, at least she has a bike to be able to go with you....Thats a plus!!!

Oh on a side note...has anyone had carpal tunnel surgery and now get numb fingers from the pressure on the handle bars???? I am having a hell of a time with my left hand the end two fingers are driving me nuts....they go numb and stay numb for hours after I am done riding. I had the surgery over 2 years ago and for some reason just since riding my bike I have noticed this terrible numbing. Thanks all, happy riding!!

No carpal tunnel problems yet....though it does run in the family. I do get numb hands riding though. Gloves have helped the problem but I still get tingley

Wow, sorry about your accident, that just plain ole sucks!!!!!

Juli, I went to a bike store today.....really shouldnt of done that..LOL

We had just rode almost 8 miles( 7.55) and I thought what the heck. I rode a Trek hybrid......yea, well......I may be giving this bike to my 16 year old..LOL

But before I do, I am going to several bike shops to see what they have and ride them and see how they feel. I like it becuase the guy said he would fit me to the right frame, etc......and I dont know, it just felt different. It actually had smaller tires than my current hybrid?

But we did get our ride in this morning and it felt allot better than gravel.....

be safe today everyone......and have fun...

Yeah, if you don't want a new bike....DON'T GO TO THE BIKE STORE!!!! They are so much more comfy, but really good for long distances. If that is what you want to do . I bought a Schwinn hybrid and then within a month got my Raleigh....The difference is so amazing. I could never of done 20 miles on the Schwinn and been walking. I actually had a hard time walking after 20 miles at all!!!! Aren't teens great for handing off stuff to them. Thats what I did too!!

P.S. We bought helmets today..not too happy about it, but we did.

lol.....we just got back from another 5.5 mile ride.....I REALLY WANT A DIFFERENT BIKE!!!! What kind of Raleigh do you have

It is a Raleigh Venture 3.0 It was right around $300.00

thanks

I will look at those too....we rode again last night...can't even believe we were almost at 13 miles.....un real....LOL

Have a good day

$300 seems pretty reasonable for a bike. I am saving up to get a new bike next summer. I want to makes sure I still enjoy riding before I drop a lot of money on a new one.

So here is the big news.....Guess who fixed her bike???? ME!!!!!! Well DH helped. We took the wheel from the other bike and put it on mine and tightened up the brakes and straightened everything out. I went to the store this morning and bought my helmet. And I did my 20 mile ride. Well actually I know for a fact at least 15 because that much of the trail was posted with the miles as for the rest I don't know for sure. It had to have been at least 5 miles though. I have to get a metropark map book and check to be sure. But it was a solid 2 hours of riding. My ass is on fire but I feel great. And you know what? Riding with a helmet was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. In fact I did not even notice it was there. Does anyone else have problems with sore upper arms when they ride for a long time? I think I must be locking my elbows or something while I ride because it is killing my triceps to bend my arms at the elbow right now. They are slowly loosening up but does anyone know how to stop the elbow locking?