Introducing myself

welcome!  the best way to get involved on this forum is to jump right in on the daily workout threads.  you'll find everybody is supportive and we tend to motivate each other here.  i'm interested to hear about your bike goals there are a lot of us that are into biking and triathlon here.

 Right now my biggest goal is to just get back out on the road.  I haven't completed a Century yet, so that's one thing I'd like to do.  And actually thanks for reminding me of that.. I think I'll shoot for the Door County Century in Northern Wisconsin on September 11.  I've got a large (5 kids) combined family, so finding time to put in the miles is going to be a challenge.

Back when I was cycling before I did a lot of group rides and organized rides put on by my local (then) bike club down in Lansing.  The highlight was riding DALMAC, which is a multi-day camping tour of about 335 miles total.  My first year I had managed to put on about 1200 training miles...that was a great year.  My next year I worked more over-time at work than I trained and that was difficult (esp. for my rear end) and told myself I wouldn't ever do it undertrained again.

Last Spring I bought a new Giant Avail and I love it.  Really looking forward to forging some routes up here.  Most of the cyclists around here are mountain bikers, so road cyclists are a rare sight.  My family out here is concerned about motorists and me out on my bike, but I don't see me waiting for the bike path to get completed in a couple of years.  If I have to I'll put a flag on the back of my bike.

awesome, i have the same issues with family worrying about me on the roads here in GA.  i just bought a giant defy a couple of days ago, hope to get it out on the road for the first time this weekend.

Welcome and congrats on finishing your first 5K.

Welcome!

 You will soon figure out quickly, if you already haven't, that in order to propel yourself forward whether it is by biking or running, the lighter you are the easier it is. That said, you will strive to lower your weight not for the sake of a number on a scale or a dress size BUT instead, to make yourself into a better endurance athlete, effectively taking the sole purpose of losing weight for weights sake out of the equation. It is a fun and rewarding journey that is only limited to what your mind thinks is possible and what your heart is willing to do.   

  And -that- is exactly what I'm hoping for.  To be strong, powerful, lean and fit.  Reaching a number on the scale doesn't have any tangible rewards.  But a race, ride, or event is a repeatable experience.  Constantly striving to better myself.  I want to redefine myself as an athlete... and not a dieter -- as I have been all of my adult life.

Welcome Frances, make yourself right at home... Cycling is for wierdos!!!

 Can I get a jersey that says that??  :P

The below is a Google link for biking roads...
I've used this link before to find bike trails. Don't know if I've copied and pasted right??
Happy trails...
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Crystal+Falls,+MI&rls=com.micr osoft:en-US&oe=utf8&rlz=1I7HPIA_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=C rystal+Falls,+MI&gl=us&ei=-SqATZ-yCojGsAP7uNGDBg&sa=X&oi=geo code_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ8gEwAA