Steve, our house backs to an open space/greenbelt.  There are bike paths that run all over the place - they go under the roads so we never have to ride near traffic and we can go for at least 10 miles.  I made the mistake of trying to ride it for the first time, out in the street in front of the house.  After my &quot;visit&quot; with the neighbor&#39;s lawn, Greg suggested the back would probably be better.  We do have a gate from our back yard, right onto the path, so that was a much better idea.  I have picked out my new bike online so after church, we will go to Walmart to see if they have it.  It is a mountain bike, but is only &#036;89.  I don&#39;t want to spend a bunch of money and then decide I don&#39;t want to ride it anymore.  For the most part, it got great reviews...the only drawback seems to be the seat is too hard, but I will replace that with a gel seat, like Greg has, anyway.