How I Prepared

I started simple and slow, just by pedaling around the neighborhood, 1-2 miles on a cruiser (Walmart brand, big seat)  just having fun, getting used to riding a bike again.  My confidence in stopping, getting on and off, turning, was VERY low.  Hell, I still can’t jump curbs!  After about a couple weeks fooling around, I decided I wanted a bike with handbrakes, and so I sold the cruiser on Craigslist, bought a Mountain Bike for 30 dollar difference and off I went.

I found a couple trails and on weekends would go with a friend to do maybe 3-5 miles total.  After a month, I made a goal to bike 5 miles everyday in February.  I met my goal and knew work was only 8 miles one way and was slowly building the idea of commuting.  Only problem was that though I felt my strength was growing quickly, I realized I was pedaling harder, but not getting much return.  It felt like I was pushing and getting no where.  I set my next goal:  change my bike and plan my commute.

 

Bike and Setup

I decided to get a hybrid bike.  It’s like a mountain …