After riding different bikes from different shops, I decided to go with the Gary Fisher Cobia. It had everything I was looking for taking into account my size (300ish lbs). The other contender was the Specialized Rock hopper Expert, but the front air shock of the Cobia sealed the deal. Well, that coupled with the rapport I had built with Paul Harrell of Harrell's Bicycle World really helped my decision too. :thumbsup: He wanted me to get out and ride something/anything, whether or not it came from his shop. Super guy.
FF to Saturday and the maiden voyage....went with some friends and my wife for a 7.5 mile trek around the area which included very light trail rides that everyone could handle. Had a great time as I'm trying to nudge the wife into riding. Beautiful 70 degree weather...couldnt ask for anything more. We get back, have lunch and part 2 of my riding starts with my buddy Kyle.
Let me give y'all some background on my riding history. 99.9% of my riding is on hard, mostly smooth surfaces. During the last summer it was 20 miles twice a week. I was getting better and stuck with it (something I rarely do) and then the time changed and I was done because I didn't have the proper gear and was a wennie about riding at night. :madman: Talked with one of the guys around Christmas and he told me I would be fine w/o lights to start, just come back out. So I did with my old bike and had a great time with it. It was now an Urban ride, 22ish miles of concrete walking paths, little bit of road and just a really good time.
Now I told you all that, so I could tell you about Saturday afternoons 8.5 mile sandy/hilly/trail/mt biking ride at Sesquicentennial State Park in Columbia, SC.
OMFG that kicked my butt! I thought (obviously in error) that some of my past months training would have helped a little :nono: .....not some much. Don't get me wrong, I had a GREAT time, it just kicked my butt. Completely different from my urban fun ride. At least the bike worked perfectly. The 29er tyres made the root climbs noticably better.
Even though I got a little lost, ended up doing half the loop again and coming up the back on a soft sandy road, I cant wait to do it again :thumbsup:
FF to Saturday and the maiden voyage....went with some friends and my wife for a 7.5 mile trek around the area which included very light trail rides that everyone could handle. Had a great time as I'm trying to nudge the wife into riding. Beautiful 70 degree weather...couldnt ask for anything more. We get back, have lunch and part 2 of my riding starts with my buddy Kyle.
Let me give y'all some background on my riding history. 99.9% of my riding is on hard, mostly smooth surfaces. During the last summer it was 20 miles twice a week. I was getting better and stuck with it (something I rarely do) and then the time changed and I was done because I didn't have the proper gear and was a wennie about riding at night. :madman: Talked with one of the guys around Christmas and he told me I would be fine w/o lights to start, just come back out. So I did with my old bike and had a great time with it. It was now an Urban ride, 22ish miles of concrete walking paths, little bit of road and just a really good time.
Now I told you all that, so I could tell you about Saturday afternoons 8.5 mile sandy/hilly/trail/mt biking ride at Sesquicentennial State Park in Columbia, SC.
OMFG that kicked my butt! I thought (obviously in error) that some of my past months training would have helped a little :nono: .....not some much. Don't get me wrong, I had a GREAT time, it just kicked my butt. Completely different from my urban fun ride. At least the bike worked perfectly. The 29er tyres made the root climbs noticably better.
Even though I got a little lost, ended up doing half the loop again and coming up the back on a soft sandy road, I cant wait to do it again :thumbsup: