I’ve been spoiled
I don’t just ride my bikes for fun and relaxation, I ride them for exercise, for the cardio .
The last couple of months I’ve been riding my early 90’s Schwinn Cross bikes that I’ve been rebuilding .
One of them , my Crosscut , I upgraded to 3x8 gearing using a 11-32 8 speed cassette. Now it is the smoothest shifting , easiest peddling bike I own . It has spoiled me .
Today , the rain held off and the roads dried enough for a ride .
I pulled out my black Electra C1 , pumped up the tires and started out riding around the neighborhood. After a little over a mile , my knees and legs were telling me I should have grabbed the Crosscut .
I stuck it out for almost two and a half miles and had to swap bikes .
With the hills in the neighborhood the single speed wasn’t going to cut it .
I love riding my cruisers , but for mileage and climbing hills I own better alternatives.
I ended up riding about 6 1/2 miles .
Once the weather gets to where I have more opportunities to work on my bikes , I’m going to try to convert my single speeds over to 7 speed derailleur system .
I have a Shimano 3 speed Nexus wheelset , but I’ve never been able to get it set to where it works right . I need to give it a try again too.
With my 70th birthday just over a year away , I’m thinking I’m going to need gears to keep riding .