Howdy from a new cyclist of Louisville, KY

You may have already read about me as the friend of this guy... I think he was exaggerating the extent of my obsession with cycling. Sure, I have other hobbies, but zCat would not be as interested in fine cigars or indie rock as I am, so I talk about bicycles. However, some obsession with cycling is there, at least a little bit. I even follow the pro tour a little (actually, I am a gigantic Levi Leipheimer fan). You see, I started life out fairly lazy. My parents forced me to play some sports as a child, mainly just little league soccer. But by the time I was ten years old, they gave up. I started to get really out of shape and gain some weight. I was becoming a pud. When I was a senior in High School, one of the most defining moments of my life came out of the blue. My psychology teacher gave us all an assignment to do something different every day for a month. I chose running a mile every day. After the assignment ended, I kept running. I ran a lot. By the next spring, I was running 25 miles a week, and dropping weight like a bad habit. Then I injured myself. Apparently with my pigeon-toed stature, I was doing irreparable damage to my legs with all that running. This was several months ago. My older brother, who is a road biker himself, suggested that I buy a bicycle. I bought a cheap bike (A Motobecane Record), and discovered this whole new form of fitness. I'm currently searching for a new frame and training for my first race, a 40 mile romp through the hills outside London, KY in September. I think this community is great, and I look forward to the tons of good advice I'm going to receive from it.