Well, I have been riding my garage sale bike casually for a few weeks. I have found it difficult to find safe places to ride my back that are away from traffic. This morning, I found an area that had many cyclists and few cars. The hills and valleys on this road reminded me of being a kid on my bike - it was awesome. Can you say - weeee as you coast down the hills- oh the memories! I live in a very flat area and was excited to have a few challenging hills.

As I said the bike was a bargain and my tires went flat twice. I kept circling my car every 1.5 miles to air up the tires. I was thinking - it is a better workout with flat tires. LOL.

I am off to the bike shop to see if I should upgrade. The bargain bike stays in gear 7, only has one padded handlebar, only a left hand brake, 2 flat tires, etc. Aside from this, it is a good bike. LOL. I wanted to wait to upgrade until I had committed to riding on a very regular basis BUT I just signed up for a charity ride next week for 17 miles. I am excited but without a 1/2 decent bike, I think the fun may get sucked out of me.

Any advice for a first time purchase of a road bike? I would also like to get a mountain bike but the budget won't allow for both now.