jmls1994

Hello All,

I'm 46 years old and about 6'3" 220. Just looking for a way to lose some lbs. and get back into shape. Have been doing some walking but it is just so boring! As a kid I loved riding a bike and still enjoy renting a bike while on vacation on the board walk. So I've been kicking around the ideal of buying a bike for well over a year now. Just a few questions I have. I live in a rural area so my biking would have to be done on the public roads. There are some rail trails in my area but they are 20 - 30 minutes from my house. So for the most part it would be riding back country roads for me. Just how safe is that? Do you recommend that? I'm thinking a fitness hybrid would be my best bet as far as a bicycle for now. I could ride both roads and rail trails. Any advice on that? If so, what brand? Money is tight as I have sent my oldest off to college. I've been looking at CL forever and just never seem to find something that would work. So I'm going to start looking at new bikes. Any help is appreciated.

Pamestique 

Check with your local bike shop to see if you know where to find a good used bike. You really need to settle on what style of bike you what... at a fairly low price point (you didn't mention but I assume less than $500) brand really doesn't matter. Just try and find what fits you best and you feel comfortable riding. Are the rail trails paved or gravel? If paved then I would like for a bike with slick tires probably 28" up to 32". You might consider the purhcase of a hard tail mountain bike or what I call a mountain-style bike althought it doesn't appear you need any suspension.

Best thing, go to shops and demo bikes. Once you figure out what you like (what I like is not relevant), then think about brands and models... at that point you can ask our opinion.

Welcome to C & A! Good luck on your journey!

BTW with the walking - why is that boring but cycling would not be? If walking, learn to vary terrain, locations, hiking versus walking etc. Same with cycling - same ole same ole can get boring... variety spices it up!

linnefaulk

Make you sure you and your bike are well seen. Ride early morning when there are less people on the road.

IBOHUNT

Welcome.
If you can't find something on CL then, as suggested, visit as many bike shops as you can and demo bikes - as many as you can and ride them more than once to see what may suit your needs. At only 220# there isn't much you can't ride.

As for riding 'back country roads'... I think safety on any roads depends on the area, time of day and type of area. When you are out in your car pay attention to the traffic and see if that particular road would be safe for you. Do you see other bikes in the area? What area(s) do they travel. Ask bike shops if they have shop rides and which routes they take. Any bike clubs in your area? Ask them what routes they use.

For me, rail trails and along the canal (C&O in my case) gets real boring real fast. It was good when I started because any incline sucked the life out of me but now they are only good for recover 'daze'.

Good luck looking.

chasm54

Cycling, even in the big bad USA, is remarkably safe. Just pay attention, ride in accordance with road conditions, and make yourself visible. I recently saw a stat to the effect that 39% of cycling fatalities in the US happened between 6pm and midnight, so avoiding riding in the dark seems a good idea. Another significant percentage is accounted for by kids riding unsafely - against the flow of traffic, that sort of thing. So if you simply ride with care and avoid roads with really busy intersections, that sort of thing, you don't need to be afraid.

Willbird

I can usually ride 25 miles on back roads and not get passed by a single vehicle, my normal ride takes me two miles down a state highway with wide shoulder, I get passed there .

i starred riding at 280lbs and my 2001 7200 trek multitrack has taken me 1600 miles so far.

the goid parts of that bike, or goid qualities would be non suspension , but Fuji makes some bones that would do just as well. 1600 miles since June, and controlled calorie intake since May has me at 223 lbs today.I'm 5'8" so I have another 63-83 lbs to go yet :-)

Willbird

A lady my wife knows from work rode clear across Iowa in a week on a Fuji 21 speed bike that retails under 400 bucks :-), it is a flat handle bar bike not terribly different than mine really.

Cychologist

I ride paved country roads; generally safe.

For a bike, I suggest you shop for a bike shop first and then buy from them. Getting a used bike from a good bike ship will be a road worthy ride. Also, if you are going to be riding paved surfaces, go ahead and get a road bike. As for tire size, I mainly ride 23s and would probably recommend 25s for a newbie.

EZgoing11

Welcome to the forum. As far as safety you want to be sure you are seen by cars. I would recommend a good bright tail iight and flashing headlight even during daylight hours. The Nightrider Solas and Cygolite Hotshot are two of the brightest at a reasonable price ($40-50). I would not recommend the walmart cheap lights. I also have a Cygolite headlight for early mornings and it has a daytime strobe flash for daytime. Also get bright green/yellow shirt/jersey. Overall I think back roads will be safe to ride. Have fun!

mrodgers

Back country roads, that's where I live. People ask where I live and I tell them, 40 minutes from Walmart. I'm right smack dab in the middle of 4 areas with Walmart, directly north, south, east, and west, all 40 minutes away by car at 60 mph.

I ride the back country roads. I ride the dirt/gravel roads. I ride on the smaller State route roads. There's just not many people around here, and those that are, are getting on the one main State route that heads south to town, or they are coming back north from work. I see very little car traffic, maybe a total of 5 cars in a 20 mile ride.

The one beauty of riding out in the country with very little traffic is, you can hear the car coming behind you for a very long time. There's no other noise pollution going on to mask it. I live in a very hilly area and I can hear the car behind as they crest the previous hill well before they are close to being in sight from the hill I just crested. Because it is so hilly, my average speed is way down compared to what most folks around here report as well as my uphill speed is tremendously reduced. If I'm trudging up the hill at 4 mph and I hear a car coming, I sit out in the middle of the road so they see me ahead as they crest the hill and approach. When they get closer (watching them in my Take-a-Look mirror mounted on the helmet) I can move over to the very edge and they can easily go by, and I'm back out towards the middle of the road again in just a moment.

jmls1994

All great suggestions. I'll guess I'll get used to riding on the roads. There is not much traffic and as mrodgers said you can usually hear the cars coming both ways. I think I am going to give up my CL search and start visiting the bike shops and see what I like. Thanks!

Nikon shooter

Nothing is more fun than visiting bike shops. Congrats on your decision to get in shape.

linnefaulk

Get a good rear view mirror. You will learn to listen for traffic but it is still nice to be able to see quickly behind you.

jmls1994

I visited 2 bike shops and checked out and rode the Specialized Sirrus and the Trek 7.1. I'm also going to check out the Giant Escape. The one shop did not have one in my size but were kind enough to order one in for me to check out early next week. I really thought that was nice. They said no pressure to buy. If I like it fine, if not, no hard feelings. I'm leaning towards buying at that shop just for their service and good attitude.

Null66

As measured by induced mortality, the 2 most dangerous things in the US are the couch and TV....


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Mirrors, bright lights (even during the day) and learning how to ride in traffic radically reduce your risk.