Nice to find this thread!

I too am an avid cyclist. I lived on my bike when I was a kid and into early adulthood. I went everyehere on my bike till I got a drivers license. I still rode it several times a week. My bike was also my cure against boredom. Nothing to do, get on the bike and go do something. I used to consider a 20 mile ride a short one.

Then I sold the ol' tank. No joking! It was a Schwinn "Varsity", all steel and was built like a tank! It weighed about as much as one too!! I had that bike from 12 or 13 till I was 22. Went through 2 or 3 rear tires and at least two front ones. Never did a lick of work to the bike, other than minor crash repair and routine maintenance. I took that thing on road, off road and underwater, twice!

When my DW and I started dating, there was no time to ride a bike....young love...well not so young, mid 20's....I still rode to work once in a while though, about 8 miles one way. Since I had no bike I rode hers, a road bike made by Zebrakenko (sp). A light, alloy framed, skinny tire bearing foo foo bike, compared to my old Schwinn.

Her bike was swiped one day and we never replaced it. Then I got fat.

That was the end of my riding days for a spell. Once I started on Atkins, I went out and started looking for a bike. We have 2 bike shops within 4 miles of my house, and there are a lot of good bikes to choose from.

Well, DW see's that I am looking for a bike and I end up with a Huffy "Stone Mountain" Mountain Bike. She really tried, and was beaming when I went to the garage to see what she bought.

Honestly, it is a good bike, but I will never get the use out of it that I got out of my Schwinn. I have added a rear rack so I can haul duffle bags and groceries etc.... and a front cooler pack for water, cd's an personal CD player etc...

I figured I'll just wear it out and get a new one. The damn thing won't freaken die!

I have my eyes on a new bike at the local Schwinn shop. Adam has Schwinn and Giant bikes. I will go and get a good mountain Hardtail for all around use like I do now. Some roads, some trails some stuff no man should attempt to do on any bike, any time....

I can honestly see that I will end up with at least two, maybe 3 bikes as one really is not practical to do it all, and do it all well.

I am getting interested in more serious off road type biking and will probably want a good, full suspension job for trails to careening wildly through, over and a round stuff that would make most people wince. I want one like that mentioned above and I am really digging the idea of this job for serious road and paved bike path use.
http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin...Bike=1112195609

Now, I would not mind a nice road bike, but the bending over the handlebars kills my back. The stooped posture wreaks havoc on me as I have spina bifida. It is not really a bad case of it, but the bending and stooping posture for 20 miles on a bike makes me walk like a duck for days. And it is painful.

So I'd enjoy a recumbent or a touring type bike for road biking over the typical road bike.

Oh, as to eating, maintianing energy etc....I eat some protein before, nothing special, and some carby stuff while riding. A few nuts, some berries, that sort of thing. I also have a protein bar with me and lot's of water! I will also drink an Energy drink along the way as well. (XS, Caffene Free) I may have a protein shake afterwards if I really got a good workout on the bike.

Never an issue with wiping myself out, or running out of steam unless I am pushing my limits.

Helmets, helmets, helmets! Wear your helmet! Always! I went over the handlebar last week and donked my head on the side of the front fork and a second shot off a rock on the ground. The helmet got a paint smudge and I had a great laugh about it as I lay in the spongy, wet grass.

I went and found out that you can go down the big sledding hill in the park, just fine. It is when you hit the grass at the bottom that is waterlogged and your tire sinks in about a foot or two at a decet speed, I found out that it will stop a bike dead, and that I cannot, in fact, fly. I plummet. The flight of the Dodo bird!