My husband I bought bikes several years ago. I weighed somewhere between 350 and 370 lbs at the time.
I don't ride very often or very far. My balance isn't always very good, and sometimes my reaction time isn't what it should be, but that bike is a symbol of freedom and self-confidence to me. Proof that I can (eventually) do whatever I set my mind to, even at my current weight.
My goal for this year is to eventually be able to ride my bike to the asian grocery and then the larger grocery store near our home. The distance isn't so much of a barrier as the fact that I might have to share the road with other traffic. I still don't feel confident in my reaction time. When I can get the mental training wheels off, I'll actually be able to use the bike for transportation, not just for exercise.
For now, I ride my bike around our apartment complex (a several block area). It's large enough that I can make several laps without it being too obvious that I'm circling each parking lot and avoiding the actual streets (although the first day I got it out, I spent most of my ride, circling the garages in our parking lot, a block of 12 garages).
Yes, I feel like the world's largest 8 year old, but I've recaptured some of the magic of being 8 years old, too.
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