The Skinny on the Not-So Skinny

Growing up, I really didn't care about riding a bike. I had one that I would ride to school and back but I didn't love doing it. The bike wasn't very comfortable and would really stiffen me up. I would sometimes think that it could be classifed as a potential murder weapon. But, then just this past year, I had one of those DUH moments: The bike should be comfortable!

One of my best and closest friends, George, is an avid roadie and he jumps on his Trek carbon fiber road bikewhenever he can. I think he gets a little twitchy when he cannot ride his bike for awhile. Last year, he and my husband, Bret, were telling me that the bike should be fitted to you and you fitted to the bike. They were explaining that the bike should be comfortable and not cause you any pain. I probably looked like I was a blubbering fool as I didn't know that was even possible. After I noticed what a great time my best friend was having while riding his bike and competing in events such as the Tulsa Tough, I started to get that twitchy feeling. I wanted to get on a bike but I didn't know what kind of bike I wanted. I also wanted to start cycling as I need to lose some more pounds and fat and cycling is some of the best exercise one can do. I wanted to get thin again and have a body that others are jealous of.

Bret and I went to several local bicycle shops so I could get a feel for what the world of cycling had to offer. I quickly learned that I didn't like the drop handle bars. I didn't feel comfortable sitting on the bike and the concept of those type of handles freaked me out. I also did not want mountain bike style of bicycles; my husband, however, is a huge fan of them. To me, that left the comfort style bicycles, hybrids, and flat-bar road bikes. After a lot of internet research on parts and components and of course, the physical research -- the actual sitting and riding -- I finally settled on a flat-bar road bike, a Trek 7.5 FX to be exact. The first time I sat on the bike and then road it around the shop's parking lot, I was in love. After my husband and I paid for our bikes (he ended up purchasing a Gary Fisher Cobia), I started scouting weather reports and then compared those predicted forecasts against my husband's work schedule for that week and then the following week. Unfortunately, we noticed the days that my husband had off were all days that would not constitute good cycling weather.