I just found this group

[TexasProgresive]

I hope this doesn't annoy any of the others but I would like to post about my rides and tribulations on the bike and save them to my journal. It seems the only way to save to your journal is when you post in a forum or group. If any bicycling group subscribers or hosts object let me know by either replying to this post or PM.

Thanks

My cycling has a sporadic history. I began seriously riding while living in Hampton, VA. I was dealing with a lot of personal problems and they seemed to melt away on the bike. I loved that bike. It was a Fuji that weighed about 23 pounds. After I moved back to Houston I was still riding regularly until the day my boys tacoed the front wheel while I was at work. Times were tough and it never got fixed.

Fast forward to 1993 when this fat white boy was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I knew that I needed to do something so I bought a Raleigh Technium bike from a pawn shop for $60.00. HaHa I just saw one just like it on EBAY asking $342.00. I was soon riding 100 to 150 miles per week. When the weather was inclement I used an indoor trainer. My sugers normalized and I dropped 55 lbs. Riding was such a joy. At the time I worked the graveyard shift and that gave be mornings to ride. The Raleigh became my commuter bike that I would ride weekly if possible to work 23 miles one way. I installed mud guards, super bright head and taillights and a rack for my work clothes.

I then found another Reynolds steel frame Fuji much like the other one. It was my fun bike. I would ride it in various fund raiser rides, doing 50 miles, never tried a century. I would be completely blown at 50 with jelly legs. I ended up selling the Fuji and buying a Cannondale mountain bike. Mostly because part of our road wasn't paved and it was a pain walking the road bike through the gravel. I only took it once on a very technical (to me anyway) course at Bluff Creek Ranch Warda, TX.

I was forced off the midnight shift (believe this if you want) to day shift and it became increasingly difficult to ride. Consequentially, I began to lose the good control I had on Diabetes. That brings us up to the present.

I became retired at age 65 in March, 2015. Sometime in April I dragged the Cannondale out of the shed to try and put it on the road. Amazingly the tires were in very good shape but the rear tube was leaking at the valve stem. I replaced the tubes and rebuilt the cantilever brakes (I may be upgrading to V-Brakes). I replaced the rear shifter cable which was a real lesson in index shifters. And I was back on the road.

My first rides were 1 mile. I had no legs to speak of and was unable to stand and pedal. We were having a lot of rain but I managed to get a ride in most mornings. I began increasing them bit by bit. This morning I road 7 1/3 miles in 40 minutes averaging 11 MPH with a max speed of 19.5. I admit that was downhill. I did a flat sprint to 18MPH and one uphill sprint reaching 14.5 MPH.

The Raleigh required new tires and tubes and new brake pads. It has Shimano SPD pedels and I had to a problem with my shoes. If the glue holds I will be riding it every other day.

Thanks for your patience, signing off.