Hi everyone,

I am looking to buy a bicycle in the near future and am wondering if any of you have any recommendations? I would mainly be riding on streets and paved trails but would like one that could also go on dirt trails on an occasional camping trip, etc. Also, my booty is quite large still, so it needs a comfortable seat.

Another question for any bike riders out there: How heavy were you when you started riding? I have been putting this off forever because of my size and am still a little nervous about it, but thought that I need to start living life and maybe it would even help me on my journey.

Thanks for any advice!

Well today was my 2nd day of biking to work so I say go for it (I don't do it every day but my goal is 3 times a week for a round trip of about 14 miles). I got my bike for $40 off of Craiglist and it's like 30 years old or something but as a large girl I feel way more comfortable with an old school heavy duty cruiser bike. They sell bikes as cheap as $80 in our local walmart but I've heard some people say they tend to fall apart if you're heavy. Downside is my bike weighs a metric ton and doesn't shift gears but I figure that's a weight loss advantage for me since I have to work harder at it. Plus the old school seat is really cushy and it's not too tall.

Honestly I say go for it. You might have to stop and walk every so often but keep it up and you'll be biking all around in no time! As for style and comfort I would say try to get to a store when it's kind of empty and pedal around for a bit. See how the seat feels, sit on it for a while. A specialty bike store will have more options but as heads up the specialty bike store in my town had some lovely cruisers on clearance.. for $500. Ouch!