My new toy

Work has left me chompin' at the bit to take her out for a true ride - but she is pretty and easy to roll with. Found her on CL a few days back. She's a low end MTB but will do beautifully for me as I am a newbie so fits nice. Plus the price was super right! Still going to the gym but wanted something outdoor - something new, different, and this fit the bill. Plus I've always been a rider. I was a late starter, didn't learn to ride til 9 years old, but I was off ever since. What a sense of independence my first bike gave me.

I always had wheels from 9 on. It may have been a butchered banana seated bike crossed with a bmx, that was my first - or perhaps my brother's Raleigh 10-speed that was way too big for me. I literally had to rest on car bumpers to "reach" ground when I wasn't moving. That lead me to my first 24" 10-speed which I then, finally, grew tall enough for the normal 26" road bike.

I didn't learn to drive til I was well over 18 - I had my bike. Didn't need to drive. So now, at 40, I take on mountain biking. I am really looking forward to getting going and seeing how it feels. I look even more forward to having to upgrade the week-ass shocks that come stock on this bike. They will be white - which will really pop against the racing red with white trim. That will be a true indicator of just how bad-ass I become at MTB. Challenge!!