It was the summer of 2011, and I was trying to figure out a way to teach my 7 year old daughter how to ride a bike without training wheels. Its not as easy as it seems actually. I figured that the best bet would be to get a bike myself so that I could ride along with her and give her the incentive to actually ride her bike. Not wanting to put much into a purchase, I went to Wal Mart and selected this 29" mountain bike. I'm a big dude and felt silly on a smaller bike. This behemoth fit me nicely considering my 5'11" frame and 238LBS.
When I got the bike home I realized that the gears didn't change like they should...or at least I was pretty sure it wasn't operator error. Keep in mind it had been 20 some years since I had been on a bike, and was a little rusty to say the least. However, I got the tools out and managed to get it operating reasonably well. Almost daily in the month of June I had the bike out with Sierra and we practiced starting and stopping, and eventually riding around a few buildings in the parking lot. I found myself having so much fun on the bike and remembering my childhood riding at my Grandfathers, I decided to strike out on my own every once in a while. I stayed in the neighborhood and off the main roads. I would ride for about 20 to 30 minutes at a time, and covered maybe a couple of miles each time I went out.
It wasn't long before I was bored with riding in the neighborhood and decided to branch out to a main road that bordered the two neighborhoods I had been riding in. The traffic got me a little unnerved, but I managed it quite well. This became my norm in the evenings. I would go out for about a half an hour or so and ride a loop between two neighborhoods, and then come back on the two border streets.
In July, I started riding a two mile stretch to a local school and back. I needed the break when I got to the school because I would be quite tired. My aerobic engine was far from efficient. Keep in mind I was 238 or so pounds then! I got used to that distance, and was getting quicker, so I added another street for an addition four miles. I was now going eight miles on each ride. Not too bad!
My legs were getting more fit, and I wanted to go further, and further I did. I started out with 20 miles, and then went to 30 miles. This was the extent of what I could ride comfortably on a 40LB mountain bike. I had put approximately 350 miles on the bike by this point (I finally got a cyclometer), and was wanting to ride in the upcoming Tour to Tanglewood which was in September. Knowing I could ride 30 miles at a time, I figured I could participate and do the 30 mile routes.....but I had a feeling that I would need a different bike to really do well.
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