# Old man finds nice bike. Now what?



## karmrd (Jun 25, 2005)

Hi all,

I am 46 years old and haven't experiance very much bike riding in in past 30 years or so although I do own a vintage Yamaha RD400 twin cylinder 2 stroke that I refurbed and ride quite a bit. 

I bought a my bicycle at a yard sale and thought that maybe I would try to work off a few pounds so I decided to get it out and look it over. It is a Cannondale CAD1 H200 and that is all I know about it. Can anyone tell me more about that model? How much would that bike in excellent condition be worth?

Thanks

Karmrd


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## Bryan (Sep 19, 2004)

Are you planning to ride it, or just thinking about selling it on ebay? Take it out for an afternoon spin and enjoy. You may get hooked!


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## karmrd (Jun 25, 2005)

Bryan said:


> Are you planning to ride it, or just thinking about selling it on ebay? Take it out for an afternoon spin and enjoy. You may get hooked!



Funny you should ask. I guess it couldn't hurt to enjoy it a little while first.


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## RodeRash (May 18, 2005)

Cannondale H200 gets listed on Google. I didn't open the links. 

What to do? 46 is not "old" . . . 60 is not "old" these days. I have a mother who is 80 and she's not "old." 

"Now what?" calls for setting some objectives. 

Joe Friel in "The Cyclist's Training Bible," "Cycling Past 50" and on the web site: 

http://www.ultrafit.com/librarypub.asp?p=library&s=Other

Friel talks about "training objectives" -- You may or may not want to "train" but you can set an objective. You talk about "losing some weight." There you go! There's an objective. 

Find out if you're interested in riding. You must be somewhat, having bought a bike and looked up, joined, and posted to this discussion forum. 

Step one . . . get on the bike and ride it. Spend some time adjusting the saddle height, ensuring that the brakes work, wheels are straight/true, tires inflated to correct pressures. Oil the chain, derailleurs, brake pivots, etc. If you're clueless and no mechanically inclined, a bike shop can tune your bike for about $50 -- more or less, depending on what it takes. If you use a shop, ask for an estimate and a list of what they're going to check for you. 

Pick out a decent pair of shoes for riding. "Running" shoes have flared soles that don't fit well in the pedals. "Decent" would be a light athletic shoe with a sole that fits the pedal, reasonably stiff sole so your foot doesn't "fold" over the pedal. 

Pick out some decent pants/shorts . . . Spandex if you have them, sweats work. You want to avoid seams, ridges in the butt/crotch. 

Get a helmet! This is non-negotiable. You can pick up a Bell at Wal-Mart for $15. A "helmet" meets ANSI or SNELL specs. $15 -- about three pints of microbrew beer these days at the pub. It can save your life. 

Get out and ride. 15 or 20 minutes at first. This will let you "shake down" things. If the bike needs adjustment you'll figure it out on a ride. If you're entirely out of shape, you'll figure this out too. Don't go far from home! Pick a 20 minute route with options for cutting it short if you need to. Around the block a few times is much smarter than "out and back." If you get stuck going around the block, you're close to home. If you get "out" and can't get "back" -- I don't need to explain. 

"Lose some weight." Is this the "5 or 10 vanity pounds" you hear about in the Propolene ads on TV? Or are people discovering that it's easier to jump over you than to walk around you? Do you block out the sun when you bend over to tie your shoes?  

Get some sort of idea what kind of shape you're in and what you're capable of doing as exercise and go from there. At 46 you may want to get an OK from your doctor. But if you're reasonably active and don't start riding long, fast, and hard, you're probably fine just to hop on the bike and ride. 

20 or 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. That's going to get the pounds off. Notice that this range of activity goes from a low of 60 minutes a week to a high of about two hours. You need to find out what's comfortable, what you can manage both physically and in terms of your schedule. 

If you go all out, hawg nutz on riding, you'll burn out and the bike ends up being part of YOUR garage sale . . . Just take it easy. Enjoy the ride, see where it takes you. 

In about a month you will figure out what the routine is, what's comfortable. You can extend from there about 10% of your time. I like to look at time in exercise rather than distance. Increase time about 10% maybe every two weeks thereafter until you're riding where you want to go. 

Friel has books. "Cycling Past 50" is for "older" riders and is aimed more at general cycling fitness training rather than racing. It's about $12 at Amazon Books. 

Besides riding, you can hang out in this forum . . . check out the LBS (local bike shop), see if there are groups in your area doing rides. 

OK, that should keep you busy for now. Keep us posted. That's why this forum is here.


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