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Here's the story all about how I started bike riding. It's been exactly two years now that my best and oldest friend who now lives in Georgia was home visiting her parents. It turned out the only time we could get together to see each other was if I went on a family bike ride with them. I was definitely not comfortable with this and I'm pretty sure I even said no at first (she didn't take offense, she knows me, lol). I reluctantly called her back because I wanted to see her and the family, and grilled her with questions. Did they have an extra bike (because I didn't have one!)? Was there an extra helmet I could borrow (no way I was riding without one)? Were they planning on riding on paved paths? Were there lots of hills? Anyways, I ran out of questions so I went and ended up having so much fun. It had been so long since I had been on a bike ride, I still had memories of my papa teaching me how to ride at my elementary school's baseball field!
Here's the bike outing that started them all:
Since then, I talked my husband into getting us bikes. Really, he had been wanting to get them for a while, so I didn't actually talk him into anything, haha. After a lot of research, we opted to get bikes from REI. Before this, to me, a bike was just a bike and should cost $50-75. Turns out that's not really a thing anymore! We tried quite a few local bike shops for used and new bikes. Turns out we could get a brand new one for less than a used one, and so many of them were just ... so much bike, for lack of a better way of explaining it. I wanted something plain, simple, and that I felt comfortable on--that wasn't a thousand dollars. That's where the REI Co-op Cycles fit right in!
Hybrid Bike (not electric)
Co-op Cycles CTY 1.1 Step-Through Bike - (pictured on the left) I went with the urban cruising model. It has a light aluminum frame so it's easy to lift and has disc brakes which seems to be the gold standard now. This style is a hybrid so it's not really made for one thing or another, which I know is frowned upon in the bike world. But, I was looking for something that could do mostly paved park paths. I'm not planning on riding roads (besides around our neighborhood) or gravel (unless there's a patch of it on the bike path).
This has been the right pick for me. I went with the previous year's model because I thought it was a little more comfy and was on a slight sale. It's black with purple and totally doesn't match my helmet! I will possibly upgrade my seat at some point unless I start getting used to it fast. I have yet to not be sore after riding from the seat even on short rides. I feel like until I am riding on an even more regular basis, this is just going to happen and will get better over time. I like the step-through because it's much easier to get on and off the bike. I am glad I picked this, it's versatile enough for the leisure type riding I'm interested in doing and is a great starter bike!
Mountain Bike
Co-op Cycles DRT 1.1 Mountain Bike - My husband opted for a more specific rider, a mountain bike. I have taken it for a spin and it is much more of a bike (which is not what I prefer). However, it has much more shock absorbing capabilities and is a much smoother ride. Compared to the CTY bike, the handles are more flat so I need to lean over farther when I ride this one (which is also not my preference). It is nice that I have this as an option to ride when I am going out by myself.
Helmets
Wow, have helmets come a long way since I last had one made out of compressed foam! I am so very grateful for this, but also didn't factor all of the other essentials needed on top of buying the bikes. Well, I guess the helmets are the only absolute essential, but to go for a longer ride, there are definitely some needed accessories which I'll share next.
I tried on so many helmets. Different brands, different styles. Of course, I started trying on colors that would match my bike and styles I thought looked good, but that all went out the window when it came down to it because safety is the most important. Yes, even though I used to argue with my parents about wearing a helmet because I didn't want it to mess up my hair, I'm glad they insisted, and now I get it. After trying on the ones I thought would be good (they unfortunately didn't fit right at all), I went with the only one I found that actually fit correctly.
Bontrager Circuit WaveCel Bike Helmet - (featured in cover picture) I ended up going with this one. It's in radioactive yellow which is an additional safety feature in itself, haha. It features WaveCel technology which is a newer, alternative to MIPS. And, according to this article from Outsider Magazine, "WaveCel is significantly more effective than MIPS in reducing both linear impact forces and rational forces on the brain." The one I got also has a magnetic spot for a camera, so who knows, maybe you'll get to see some of my leisurely rides!
Smith Engage Mips Bike Helmet - This is the one that fit my hubby the best. It is hard to find helmets that comfortably fit the larger head sizes we both have. He got it in matte black and it has a nice visor I'd prefer on mine actually! It also gets good air flow. Per REI's product page, it contains "Zonal Koroyd coverage for lightweight, energy-absorbing and ventilated impact protection; Koroyd absorbs more kinetic energy on impact than traditional protection materials." And, it states, "The addition of Zonal Koroyd® for 2023 complements Mips® Brain Protection System for energy-absorbing impact protection in the event of a crash."
Biking Accessories
There are certain things that have always been standard bike features to me while growing up, but everything is a la carte now. Kick stands, water bottle holders, all of it. We were automatically going to get a kick stand added until the sales person shared pros and cons with us. The big con being they can come down on their own when doing hills/uneven mountain riding which makes it dangerous. And, even though we all know now that this is NOT the type of riding I plan on doing, I don't want it to get in the way of anything or to even have that as a possibility, so we opted not to get that put on. I must admit, it is weird having bikes that don't have a kickstand. However, I am really surprised by how well they stay up on their own with just a little lean against something, so that is nice! The other automatic pick was a water bottle cage but we opted not to get these because then it is just a standard size water bottle that can fit in there and sometimes we have smaller ones, sometimes we have bigger ones. However, we did end up buying something else specifically for our bikes: an optional velcro pouch to put it in!
Water bottle / Snack pouch - We liked this idea because we're mostly going on short rides and won't need a water bottle. However, when we go on longer ones, we can easily attach this to the handlebar stem on each of our bikes and it has other pouches - like for snacks!
Bike pouch - I also got a fanny pack style bike pouch that I attached to the front of my bike (see in picture mounted on back of vehicle below). I can't seem to find the exact one on their website, but it is similar to this one. I also like that I can take it off easily and use it as my purse when we're out and about riding. All the essentials fit in it!
My water bottle - I got this in the color "tofu" (about the only thing I like called tofu, haha).
Hubby's water bottle - He got the same one in the color "real teal" which is really just a pretty blue color. Both of these bottles have SO many parts (I didn't know that before buying). It's okay, just takes a little longer taking it apart to wash them before I spray them with a little EC3 MSS (affiliate code: SATIATEDBLONDE).
Bell - my hubby thought this would be a good idea for both of us so we each got one. They are nice to have, especially since I like to alert people that I'm around them and if I'm walking and someone is biking, I prefer the bell to someone yelling, lol. These were a good pick!
Sunglasses - Okay, if you know me at all you know I DO NOT WEAR SUNGLASSES. I think I burn quicker when I wear them. My hubby and I were talking about how it would be nice to have some kind of eye protection - from rocks, dust, bugs, etc... We searched for a while, and found these. They include four different shade options. I was okay with even wearing safety goggles, but the four options gave me what I needed! They come with interchangeable shades of:
Polarized lenses
Normal sunglasses
Yellow tint
No tint
It's easy to swap out the polarized lens (but wore it for fun here) that was attached when we got them, and I can use the transparent lens instead. I'm excited to wear these for our next ride!
These didn't work for my husband. He needed something to more comfortably go over his glasses. I'll be sure to update with what he picks for this!
Turns out both bikes didn't fit in out car and we took two trips to REI to get each of our bikes, carefully placed in the back. We knew we wanted a bike rack, but had to do some research first.
Transporting Our Bikes
Recently we ended up getting a trailer hitch on our car - I was asking everyone what they knew about them, their opinions, etc... It was funny but we found out a lot of good information from our friends this way. Did you know you can have a trailer hitch put on at U-Haul? That's what we did and it was a quick and easy process. If you are new to this like we were, there are different sizes and we went with the 2 inch, no wires (since we're not planning on pulling a trailer). Apparently it's much easier to do when no wiring is involved. My hubby was able to get the bike rack on with no problems after the hitch was installed.
Kuat Sherpa 2.0 2-Bike Hitch Rack - This is the bike rack we ended up getting, recommended from another friend. It's great because we can still easily get into our trunk with it on, even when the bikes are loaded up! What?! It has an easy to press pedal that lowers the whole system up and down. So, we'll keep it on for bike season and then just take it off during the winter! Check it out in the picture below.
So yes, if you've been wondering... we're REIding bikes, now (haha, couldn't help but put that pun in there). Another pro about buying our bikes from REI (as stated on their website), "All bicycles sold at REI include free adjustments for one year after purchase date—as many times as you need. Included: derailleur and brake adjustments, lateral wheel truing, hub and headset bearing adjustments, tire inflation and chain lubrication."
If you enjoy reading about my hobbies, you might like these other posts:
From Layups to Aces: How I Mastered the Basics of Basketball and Tennis - From restoring old tennis rackets to how my hubby taught me how to shoot three pointers!
Sit-On Kayaks: A Review - Read about all the different kayaks we've tried.
Pickleball (post coming soon)
I have a feeling I know what the next hobby sport I'll be sharing about (ahem, pickleball), so make sure you're subscribed to my email list so you don't miss that post!
What's your favorite bike to ride? Must-have accessories? Tell me in the comments. Stay up to date with my rides, hobbies, and everything else in my stories!
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