On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:39:16 -0400, Bob wrote:

Questions:

a. I can't read the psi inflation info on the side.
I seem to remember about 90 psi.
Does this sound about right.

90-100 is what my tires take -- I have, of course, no clue about
yours. Pump them up to what you think is right, then drop the bike
from about an inch up and feel how bouncy the tires are, and listen
for rattles. (You should bounce your bike before every ride, to find
out about things you'd rather not find out about a mile down the
road.) If the tires don't squash too much when you mount, and if you
are not at risk of cutting the inner tube with the rim when you bounce
over a pavement flaw, they are hard enough.

But if your tires been sitting around unused for twenty years and you
can no longer read the labels, take a close look for cracks and
alligator skin. If they are brittle, replace them before you get
past the circling-the-parking-lot stage of resuming activity, lest
they fail you when you are a mile down the road.

After you pump the tires up for the first time, let the air out again.
Repeat inflating and deflating until you don't hear any crackling and
popping as wrinkles come out of your inner tube, and places where the
tube has stuck to the casing come unstuck.


b. The bike is really heavy. Steel frame, probably.

No sweat -- you aren't carrying the bike, the bike is carrying you. If
you get into hill climbing you'll want less weight -- but odds are
that the weight you can take off the bike is a small fraction of the
weight you can take off your body. And you can always get off and
walk when the going gets tough.


Are the new Road bikes, certainly not not "racing" bike styles,
meaningfully lighter ?

Yes -- and also meaningfully more expensive. If you have a bike that
works, don't buy a new one until you've ridden enough to know what you
like and don't like.


How about the Mountain Bike styles; significantly lighter ?

They look heavier than road bikes; I haven't paid them much attention.
They also look easier to mount, and I'd been fearing that I'd have to
get one when I could no longer mount my road bike, but I've got the
hang of mounting (knee first getting on, foot first getting off) --
and crank-forward bikes have come onto the market. I wouldn't be able
to ride a crank-forward bike any farther than to the nearest grocery
store, but when I've gotten to the place where I can't ride a road
bike, I probably won't be going any farther than that anyway.

The crank-forward bike looks perfect for the person who can walk, but
not very far. But I haven't asked my sister to try one (she lives on
a gravel road that's regularly fluffed as if for the express purpose
of stopping bikes, so there is no point), and I had only six feet to
ride forward and back in when I tried one in the showroom. (But you
*can* back them, which I consider a big plus in a pedal-powered
wheelchair.)


c. Guess I should also get a helmet.
Was in Sports Authority, and saw a Giro "Indicator" model for
about $ 35.
Is this a good brand ? The reviews in Amazon for the Indicator model
seem a bit mixed.

A helmet is an optional extra -- if you bump your head, it's probably
a good idea to have some foam on it, but what helmets *mainly* protect
against is getting yelled at. A properly-fitted helmet is also a good
place to hang a rear-view mirror, and mine holds a linen scarf in
place when I need sun protection but don't want anything tied around
my neck.

How you wear it is more important than the quality of the helmet:
fasten the chin strap, fit the helmet so closely that it doesn't shift
on your head at all, keep the brim level so that the parts that need
protection are inside the helmet, etc. (A good bike-shop should be
able to help you with this.) It should *not* be possible to get your
helmet off without unfastening the chin strap or making something
bleed.


Other suggestions, and opinions would be most appreciated ?

Watch the knees -- when in doubt, use a lower gear, so that you spin
faster and don't push very hard on the pedals.

Start off really, really easy -- one lap around a small parking lot,
then at least an hour of rest before trying again. Increase your
distances a little bit at a time -- and don't stop increasing them
until you feel that you are spending too much time on the bike. Even
then, your distances will creep up, because you'll gradually be able
to go farther in a given amount of time.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/
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I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.