Day 2

I rode my bike for about ten minutes. I'm getting used to the hand brake and I practiced starting, stopping, doing a wide turn. I tried out different gears. I like the high gear right now, because I feel that I have better control of the bike. It will also be a better work out for my legs. I need to practice properly sitting on the bike seat.(Can you say gel seat and padded pants?)

I am very satisfied with this bike, it's a smooth easy ride. Seems to be the right size for me. The only problem I had was I intended to pull the gear lever to do an adjustment and I pulled the brake instead. Yes, I could dismount quickly and safely from this bicycle if I needed to. I was concerned that the bike was too big, but it seems that it's ideal for my height of 5' 4.5". It's a good size for me from the seat to the handle bars too.

My bike is a women's Schwinn Ridge front-suspension 26 in mountain bicycle.
*Schwinn Women Specific Hydro-Formed 6061 Aluminum Alloy Frame
*Women specific wider padded saddle and shorter top tube
*Women specific smaller grips and brake levers
*Shimano ® 21 speed rapid fire shifting
I was looking for a bike that would be good off road as well as on. I do plan to go to bike trails and ride on the roads close to my home, but I do not plan to ride on the streets. I paid $200 for the bicycle. I called several bike specialty stores and found out they didn't have a bike for less than $350, the car rack they sold was $100 and their selection of helmets started at $40.00. I paid $200 for a bike, $8.00 for a helmet and $35 for a car rack. Although I learned later the front wheel comes off easily like the seat, so I could have saved the $35. My dilemia was purchasing a bike then getting it home. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to put the car rack on the car and load the bike properly. I bought the bicycle at Academy Sports and the sales guy was so nice. He made sure the bike was properly attached to the car. I'm sure I'll use the rack in the future and I may soon want a better helmet, but this set up will be fine for now. It's been many, many years since I drove a bike and I agree with the quote "you never forget how to ride a bicycle."

My New Bicycle

My new Schwinn mountain bike.