BIKE TRAILS I HAVE RIDDEN IN ST. LOUIS

Hello out in "blogger land"!  This is a first for me, and I hope that whoever reads this will enjoy it and get some benefits from what I write.

1st I will give you some background on me, why I started riding and anything else you might not want to hear.  LOL

I have been riding a bike actively for about 7 years.  Some of you may be wondering why a guy who is 60 just started riding when he was 53.  Well a little thing like a heart attack can change the way you look at life and what exercise can do.  Yeah I said heart attack.  Fortunately in my case it was not a super serious one, but bad enough to get me thinking.  I had to go thru cardiac rehab, and even though I had been walking and losing weight, 50 pounds before the heart attack, the rehab was kinda hard in the beginning, but once I started getting in shape, I started looking for new and more interesting ways of exercising.  Walking a treadmill at rehab kinda sucked so I dug out my old bike and started riding.  This blog will go thru some interesting places I have ridden.  Hope you enjoy.

One of the first places I discovered was the bike/walking trails at CREVE COUER PARK in St. Louis County.  There is a beautiful lake and about 8 - 10 miles of trails that are asphalt.  In addition to these trails there are several roads that are flat and easy rides.  I started with one lap around the lake, about 4 miles and must admit I was totally winded and had immediate thoughts that maybe this was not a good idea.  HOWEVER not being one to quit, I went back the next day and did the same ride, and felt better.  Keep in mind I had to take it easy until I was released by the Dr, but that came soon enough.  Once released, I started pushing myself.  1st 2 laps, then venturing out to the other trails that connect and soon enough was doing 10 miles.  I know to a beginner rider, that might sound like a lot of miles, but trust me, it really is not.  There is a freedom about riding that unless you have done it you might not understand.  There is also some pain.  LOL  If you are just beginning to ride you might want to seriously consider "padded" bike shorts.  You can find these at any bike shop or online.  You will discover soon enough why you need them.  :)

The Creve Couer trails are great to start with for any beginning rider, or even more experienced riders if you just want to get some miles in.  The surrounding roads are great, although right now there is some construction going on so be careful of that.  Some have very wide shoulders to ride on and cars for the most part pass you with care.  Here is a link to the latest ride, (last night), http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1304547

Im going to be riding different trails every week, sometimes more than one and will update you on those trails and my "personal" impression with them.  There are many places here in the St. Louis area that are fun to ride, and others that are OK, but not great.  If anyone has any comments or suggestions, let me know I would love to have any comments positive or negative.