Why did you start biking?

[Brandi]

I started because I quite smoking 4 years ago feb 15th. Tried running. Didn't like it much. Walked for years but that wasn't enough. Got my first real bike 2 and half years ago and have never looked back (unless I drop something). Now I have my first real real bike and I am sooo excited.
Do I talk to much at this forum?

[Dirt Girl]

I got tired of sitting home alone while DH was off on the mountain bike and decided to try it. Fell in love immediately. That was in August 2000. Last spring I bought a road bike to help me aerobically on the MTB and to better enjoy some local paved trails. Riding sparked a lifestyle change that I hope lasts me the rest of my days. It's a huge part of our lives and a major social network.

Yeah for you Brandi for 4 years smoke free!

[Trekhawk]

I started because I quite smoking 4 years ago feb 15th. Tried running. Didn't like it much. Walked for years but that wasn't enough. Got my first real bike 2 and half years ago and have never looked back (unless I drop something). Now I have my first real real bike and I am sooo excited.
Do I talk to much at this forum?

I started because my husband liked cycling and I thought it would be something we could do together. Well with three little kids we still havent managed that first ride together but that doesn't seem to matter. Cycling is now something I do for me. I ride my road bike on my own and love it and Im training for my first century ride in June. Since I started in June 05 I have also taken up mountain biking and ride with a friend its fun and a little scary all at the same time.

Do you talk too much on this forum? I dont think thats possible is it? Perhaps Im not the best person to ask as recent TE stats show I like a good chat.:D

[tprevost]

Hi everyone~

I started riding 15 years ago with a friend mostly to maintain weight, loved it. We rode (we were the tortoises!) many metric centuries together... then I got married, had two kids; she retired and moved, and things just fell by the wayside. This past year I have gotten back into hiking (another passion pushed aside) and had just (literally - I had done 2 or 3 very short rides) gotten back on my bike when I broke my arm. I was so bummed out - my first thought as I sat on the street looking at my arm was "Da**!, this means I can't ride in Palm Springs!". Anyway, it was at that point I found this forum and I have been enlightened!!!! I have been doing what I can for exersise until the cast comes off but as soon as it is feasible, I will be on my bike. I may actually try to do the 22 mile route at the tour de borrego on my mtn bike (since it is more upright) with a splint on. They changed the cast last week and I couldn't even move my wrist though so I don't know if riding 3 days after the cast is off is very realistic!

I am training (or, will be) for the same century as TrekHawk in June and am so excited that I am driving my DH CRAZY!!! Plus, I've got a new bike and I am READY to rack up some mileage! I also just had DH's old trek powdercoated and put back together so I can do some mtn biking too - it really helps me build leg strength - plus its fun!!! :D

You ladies are fabulous and I thank you all for being so welcoming and encouraging!!!! (see Brandi, I talk more than you do!!! ;) )

the jabberer...

Tracy

[Lise]

Rode as a kid in Illinois--very happy memories of riding my bike to swimming lessons one summer. Rode out of necessity in HS and college. Got fat and depressed. Had chronic pelvic pain. Got divorced.

Then one summer, I signed up to do a triathlon because a friend wanted someone to do it with her. Rode a rusty, falling apart Schwinn, borrowed a "real" tri bike for the race, and got hooked. I'm no longer fat, depressed, or in chronic pain. I ride for joy, and to get better at it. I ride to get around, and did I mention for the joy of it? :D Looking forward to warmer weather, and getting back out there! (Temp at noon in Chicago today = 1. One degree. ~1!~) My first tri of the season is May 21, only 91 days away!

[Brandi]

I broke my wrist once it is not nice at all. Did you do it biking? And welcome back to the world of riding! I am glad so far you girls don't think I post to much. I just love tis site. I get excited in the morning when I turn on my comp to see what everyone is up too.

[RoadRaven]

Well, the kids showed a bit of interest, so partner bought 'he and me' a mtn bike each.

He found it didn't hurt his knees, and was so wrapped he went and bought a road bike. He'd used to run marathons til he wrecked his knees and so was thrilled to find something he could use as an endruance sport. He has often said if there had been seal to the gate he probably would have ridden bikes not run, although he loved running. (We got tarseal to our gate in October last year, though the road up to his parents house a km up the road is not sealed yet...)

I rode on my mtn bike with the youngest kids in 10km fun rides and partner saw I was liking it so he found a near new Scorpio RA300 for me... and of course the chat has evolved in the house to revolving around bikes and training and racing and everybody's enthusiasm has grown and feeds of everyone else.

Now my motivation is my changing body (fitness and shape)... I don't look like that 18 year old I used to 22 years ago, but I am fitter than I have ever been in my life... and that feels damn good :)

[tprevost]

Actually I broke it rollerblading (a bad attempt at crosstraining :rolleyes: ) The break is just above my wrist though so my hand is casted at a very strange angle. I did have a full arm cast on for the first five weeks and when that came off and the short cast went on, I got an idea of how bad it was going to be - plus, my elbow was pretty bad as well.... ugh! Let this be a lesson to all - USE SAFETY GEAR!!! ;)

Lise, 1 degree?!?! I would last 1/2 of a nanosecond! I bet you are excited for May to come!!!

Tracy

[AuntieK]

Great question, Brandi!
I didn't start biking as a conscious decision... was more lead to it. I used to go to the gym for step aerobics. One day my knee had a total blow out during step class. There was a lady I knew who told me to start coming to the spin class instead. My reaction was, "No way, it sounds like the instructor is trying to kill everyone in there!" She was like, "If I can do it, so can you." (She's in her 70s). So I tried it out, and loved it. Well, one thing lead to another...got the shoes, got the bike. Now I'm hooked and hope to love cycling forever! :)

[Brandi]

So awsome! All of your story's are very inspiring!

[DeniseGoldberg]

Is it OK to say "just because"? Or "I really don't remember"?

I started riding many many many years ago - as in soon after I graduated from college and had my first full-time job. I did some riding on my own, some riding with a club. I continued to ride on and off, but back then it was never an "all of the time" activity for me. That really changed when I started touring, and when I really accepted my own riding style - which admittedly is slow in comparison to a lot of the gals here on this board. I started going on supported tours back in 1988, and I started to ride more and more so that I'd be in shape for my tours. I switched to solo self-supported tours in 1998, and my riding became more a part of my life.

But why do I continue to ride? Because it makes me feel good. Because I love the quiet, the opportunity to see things along the way - including animals who aren't scared away by a silently rolling bicycle. Because it gives me the opportunity to travel in new places and to meet people along the way. It's amazing how many people will stop and talk with a lone cyclist clearly traveling through the area... Because for me, cycling is magic...

--- Denise

[Brandi]

Wow! Love it! I see some awsome animals on my rides too. I take tis one road that takes you through very open farm land. Seen several different hawks, fox,coyote, deer, lot's of bunny's, skunks and ton's of cow's and horses. And I ride a lot by myself too it's very pieceful for a mind that is always going.

[snapdragen]

I was a gym rat, complete with $$ personal trainer. A friend had completed the California AIDs ride twice, his enthusiasm convinced me to try too. Trainer boy decided to do it too, helped me shop for a bike, and start training. Bought my bike in Oct 1999, rode CAR7 in June 2000 :eek: . I was not prepared, but I finished, with only one day SAG because of my knees.

I've trained a couple time for other AIDs rides, but circumstances prevented me from riding. One day I realized all the training and stress I was putting on myself was taking the joy out of cycling for me. Now I ride and train, on my terms; I enjoy my bike so much more!

[jobob]

And I ride a lot by myself too it's very pieceful for a mind that is always going.
That's the aspect of riding I enjoy the most. I like to ride by myself, and even when I'm with other people I'm more likely to just drift back and be on my own rather than, say, riding side-by-side and chatting with someone (granted, considering some of the people I ride with, I have no choice but to fall back, heehee).

I especially love my early morning rides, they're very meditative for me. Ohhhhmmmm :D

[Bike Goddess]

In June 2003 I was diagnosed with degenerative arthritis in my knees. I had run for 26 yrs (marathons, etc.) and was experiencing excrutiating pain after the 1st mile or 2. (I thought it was knee splints) I wanted to continue my exercise program. There was a hybrid bike in the garage that I had seldom ridden. Out it came and the rest is pretty much history!

In the past 2 1/2 years I have ridden over 10,000 miles- including the Seattle to Portland ride twice and the SF/LA AIDS ride last year. I started out with a Jamis Quest (did you know that Jamis is run by a woman????)and have recently purchased an all carbon Scott CR1 which is now my preferred bike.

I am only able to ride distances 2 days a week due to my job, but on those days I do metric centuries. As it gets lighter in the morning I'll start doing my 5AM rides. I also started working out at the gym a year ago to strengthen and improved my cycling.

I continue to meet and speak with wonderful people in the cycling world- not only all of you on this forum but also my cycling club and the Bike Journal (I'll actually meet some of them on the Death Valley ride in 2 weeks). Cycling has opened up a new world for me and since I love being outdoors it has been a great match!

[Brandi]

I am so glad you are all sharing it's wonderful to read what biking does for all of you! This seems to be a good post.

[fixedgeargirl]

because that's what you do when you get a bike for your 6th birthday! I've always had a bike. I grew up in a very small moutain town which is one of the birthplaces of moutain biking. Most folks there use bikes for their every day errands. It's a safe place to grow up, and kids had a lot of freedom with their time. I have specific memories of riding with a friend out to Peanut Lake, a mile out of town, when I was about 7 or 8. One of our 7th grade field trips was a 20 mile round trip dirt road ride to a lake :p . Our teacher was a little ambitious in planning that trip, but I was happy to be at the front of the pack on my ten-speed :) !

Even when I was a too-cool-for-exercise teenager making not-so-healthy lifestyle choices, I always had a bike. I was a very unhappy teen, and often took off up dirt county rodes and jeep tracks to blow off steam and get some solitude. I progressed to being a 20-something who still liked to have a good time, though more wisely :rolleyes: , I guess. By this time I was self-righteously eco-conscious, living in a small city, and got around mostly by bike. It was around this time that I bought a mtb because that's what all the hip college students were using for commuting. Then I started trying out some of the trails around town. Then I wanted more :D ! I moved back to the mtb mecca, started getting serious about mtb, started dating a frame builder, and, well the rest, as they say, is history!

[Duck on Wheels]

Don't know if I've actually started. I tell myself I'm just testing the waters. 'Course, I've biked since I was in grade school. Idea was to use sabbatical year to get in better shape: bike-commute and weekend tour the area (weather permitting), walk come winter, work out at a gym. Then Trek420 put in a wish for her b'day present -- Cindy Classic 30th anniversary jersey -- and wow, what a beautiful jersey it is! So I asked if she thought I could get in shape to ride that too, and here I am trying to do it. If I finish, then maybe I'll feel I deserve a jersey for myself too. ;) Anybody who knows me sees the irony: Me, of all people, getting serious about biking (or any other sport), and all for ... fashion?!? :rolleyes: But, hey, any reason to get in shape has gotta be good, right?

[traveller_62]

I've loved cycling since my Dad gave me my first bike...which he picked up at the local junk yard and fixed up for me. I always loved the sense of motion and independence that riding gave me as a kid. I have terrific memories of going on long bike rides with just me and my Dad.

Cycling helps to keep me healthy and happy and it is a great way to meet the most amazing people.

[tatormc]

Hubby got into cycling when he was about 14. When we started dating he wasn't riding since he'd just graduated college and moved to Houston and was getting used to a new lifestyle of working all day. But when we got married 4 years ago he started riding again and said he wanted me to get involved. I didn't play sports growing up and wasn't involved in anything athletic. Wasn't sure if I'd like it but it's really caught on. This is now my third year of riding and I'm going to work really hard this summer and get with some groups and maybe even race next year.

[DebW]

Guess I've been biking for most of my life. In my early teen I was doing 15-20 mile rides on a single speed Schwinn. The independence and the thrill of getting to the quiet roads alone sucked me in. I'd ride past the farms and the woods and see the wildlife and experience the landscape. This was Missouri, north of St. Louis, and you'd ride the big hills until you came down that last hill and found yourself in the flat bottomland of the Missouri River. Then it was all farmland in the bottoms - now there is development there subject to flooding. Anybody who's ridden a bike through there knows where the floodplain starts and how the land should be treated. Well, at 16 I got a summer job in a bike shop. It was 1973 and there was a bike boom on. Sometimes we worked 60 hour/week and took home wheels to build in the evenings. I became the new bike expert, setting up and adjusting and test riding every new bike we sold. The shop owner was a racer who made it to the Olympic Trials in 1976. I hung out with racers and other bike freaks. Still did most of my riding alone. Then went away to college in Massachusetts. Explored the surrounding area by bike. Did bike repairs for all my friends. Made some good friends that way too. I've been doing science for 22 years now, but I still miss the bike shop and the reward of using that skill on a daily basis. My riding has ranged from weekend tours to commuting to fast recreational rides. So, guess it's not so much a question of why did I start riding, but why can't I stop.

[aka_kim]

I started cycling when I was 32, a complete couch potato and very out of shape (although really skinny) - so out of shape I couldn't last 5 minutes on an exercise bike. I'd just moved to NoCal, with a bike path about 1/4 mile away from my home, and on weekends saw everyone out riding and enjoying the weather and beautiful scenery. It looked like so much fun I thought I'd give it a try. At first, 6 mile flat rides seemed pretty darn hard, but I loved the exercise and being outdoors, and have kept riding for 13 years now and never plan to stop.

[newfsmith]

Our farm road was gravel and not very friendly to biking when I was a kid so I didn't do a lot of biking until I went to college. I had an old English 3-speed with rod activated brakes. My brother was killed in a mine accident the summer between my freshman and sophmore years. Long bike rides were a great help in coping then. When we were grad students in married student housing I used to irritate my husband by riding up the hill that he was never able to conquer. It really got to him when I passed him with a toddler in the carrier on the back. Once we moved east I pretty much stopped riding until 2000. At that time the animal hospital I had worked in for 17 years was sold to a corporation, that closed it within the year. When I found a new job only 8.5 miles from home I started bike commuting. That was what I called the "chro-moly lining" to the cloud of losing my job. After the first couple months I knew that I had to find a bike to fit my 5 foot self and got a Terry Flora. She was wonderful, but gave me the bike buying bug. I'm currently riding a Specialized HardRock for the winter, Terry Madeleine as a 3 season wet/hauling bike, and a Felt70 road bike for week-ends.

[makbike]

I started cycling approximately 25 years ago thanks to my older brother. He had been awarded a scholarship to study in France. He elected to ride his bike across the UK and then south across France to his work assignment on the Mediterranean Sea. In his journey is bike was stolen and due to shortage of funds he purchased very used and tired bike. When he returned home he sold me this bike for $12.00. I rode that piece of junk for a couple of years until my brother found me a gently used Univega tourning bike (I'm still riding this bike today!). I purchased this bike and continued to cycle to help relieve the stresses caused my college chemistry classes. I often commuted to campus on my bike, panniers packed with books, clothes, etc so I would not have to hassle with the parking nightmares that existed on campus. I also rode to keep in shape for at the time I was an avid raquetball player. Once I graduated from my masters program the bike was put away for my new teaching job quickly became my top priority. Two years ago I decided it was time to make time for me, to pull the bike out and get my a** back on the road. Shortly after making this decision I met my BF, he is the service manage for a LBS, and I become even more determined to ride and get myself in shape. Last year I logged over 4,000 miles, completed two centuries and found myself in the best shape I've been in since my college days. I purchased a trainer this year so I could ride during the cold, snowy months and hopefully maintain some of my fitness. I'm looking forward to the return of spring, warm weather and being outside exploring the beautiful countryside and relaxing on my bike.

[Nanci]

I rode all the time when I was a kid. Bought mountain bikes when I was married, but just rode on paved trails, hardly at all. Got divorced, moved to Florida in 1998 to be where I could cave dive every day. Was doing the kind of dives that require excellent cardiovascular conditioning in order to be able to decompress safely/efficiently, as well as needing to be in shape to walk around with 130# of gear on my back. All my diving friends were MTBing, so I bought a $1200 Mongoose on sale and learned how. Fell in love. Took two week-long vacations to North Carolina every year to MTB. Lots of good trails in Florida, too. Built up a trail system at a new park. Did a couple 50-mile off-road events. Started trail running. MTBing fell off to a day a week. Found out I liked the "long stuff" the most. Did one road marathon, a few trail marathons, a 50k. Switched job positions, didn't get off at 1PM, didn't have time to train for the 50 mile race I really wanted to do, got diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome which was why it always hurt for the first 45 minutes I ran, signed up for surgery, doc had a heart attack, by the time he was back to work, I'd chickened out. Rode BF's GT MTB with road tires for 37 miles of a Century a year ago October, just to have something to do while he was doing the Century. Had to walk the hills. Had a blast. Resolved to be able to do a Century the next year, 2005. All winter, ran a teeny bit, barely rode, did a mini tri in April, my first one, then Wickham Park marathon Memorial Day weekend (Google it- you won't believe it!) rode the GT a little bit in the summer, got pneumonia in July, found out I almost had diabetes, decided to actually really lose weight, (although I'd _hardly_ been what you'd call inactive the previous many years!) rode the heck out of the GT, soon 50-60 miles was easy, really wanted a road bike, bought my Trek 2100 WSD on eBay the last week of August, when I was on vacation, rode her every day, traveled all over FL with her, riding paved trails, did a sprint tri Labor Day weekend, Three Gap 50 in September up in the Georgia mountains, my first Century here in Gainesville in October, the Horrible Hundred with _no_ walking in November, thought I'd try a 200k brevet in January because I couldn't find a Century, then the 300 in February, survived, and am now training for the 400k in March. I love doing Centuries as training rides! What a feeling of, I don't know, unreality, that what was a year ago an unknown, feared distance is now a comfortable friend. Who knows where it will go from here? My MTB friends all hate me, BTW, for switching to road biking...

Nanci

[LauraPaura]

I also started riding after i quit smoking almost two yaers ago. Tried just walking at first (nordic walking, if you know?, with poles..) but it wasn't enough for me. In the summertime I generally do/did about 3 times a week a 20-30 km ride on roads. Now in the wintertime (temp at noon -13 degrees celsius) I just do spinning+body pump about six times a week. Feel great, look great and am happy to eat whatever I feel like eating :D
Can't wait for summer to come, got my new shimano pedals waiting for me:cool: It's been good practising with the cleats with spinning bikes first though. Still a bit anxious about that first fall you promised... :o

[alpinerabbit]

Bikes are much more an everyday means of transportation over here than in the US. I have always had a bike for going to school, college; only my boyfriend really got into it as a means of exercise and I got sucked in after a while.

What can a girl do, eh?

[betagirl]

Ok I gotta give the ex-boyfriend props here :) About 10 years ago I dated a guy who was into mountain biking, so I tried that out. I figured out pretty quickly that that wasn't what I liked as much as road biking, so I switched out the tires on my mountain bike and rode that 4-5 times a week. I never was really serious about it, did it more for the exercise and the fun of it. Then I moved out to the suburbs, which afforded a bit more rural roads to ride on. I think what made me go uber crazy about cycling was my crohn's diagnosis. It became something that tied me to my "healthier" days. And lets face it, cycling is a great metaphor for independence which I was determined to not lose to any illness. Secondary things from it are being in great shape, feeling good both mentally and physically, and the enjoyment I get from watching people's mouths drop open when I tell them I rode 160 miles across Indiana in a day.

So that's why I ride. Oh and for the GREAT tan lines and en vogue clothing of course. :cool:

[Lise]

Oh and for the GREAT tan lines and en vogue clothing of course. :cool:
Hey, yeah, can't believe nobody's mentioned the fabulous tan lines yet! What a bizarre look. Yet, you can't fake it...well, I guess you could, but WHY?! Tan from ankle to mid thigh. Not to mention legs all banged up from tripping on broken sidewalk while running, and skidding across the gym floor on my knees in volleyball...this look says "I'm a 45 year old professional!" professional goofball, maybe! :p L.

[DirtDiva]

Got my first two-wheeler on my fourth birthday and haven't been without one since. :D (Well, there have been the odd few months when I've been in a different town/city/country from my bike.) I've always used a bike to get around on - it was agony not having one when I first came to London - and I'd bike-commute in a heartbeat if I had a regular place of work (I'm a relief/supply/substitute teacher). Folks here put me to shame in the serious cyclist stakes, but in the last couple of years I've been having plenty of fun taking my bike out to play in the dirt at the weekends.

[nancielle]

I used to cycle all the time as a kid. Kind of had to if we wanted to go anywhere :) . Since I suck at most other things athletic :( , this was one of the few things I could do. Fell away from it while in college. When I met my s/o about 11 years ago, he was into cycling (his primary means of transportation, other than the Metro) so I bought a mountain bike. A friend of mine and I started cycling together (nothing impressive, just the local bike trail.) With grad school and working, there never seemed to be any time to actually get out there. Even after graduation it seemed that everything else took priority. Then last January I had a serious fall during a snowstorm (snow covered ice :eek: ) and my left knee twisted and bent in ways it just isn't supposed to. It didn't heal properly and I ended up having surgery. When I went to see the orthopedic surgeon for my follow up visit after surgery, he recommended cycling to build up the strength in my leg (after relying on crutches and a cane for 1/2 a year actually walking on my own
was, believe it or not, a little scary.) Using the mountain bike was painful so one weekend my trusty crutches and I head on out to the LBS to check out what was available/affordable. They fit me and outfitted the car so I could take it home. Began building up strength again in the leg (crutches have been in the trunk of the car for months!) The weather here lately hasn't been conducive to riding but once it warms up again we're headin' out.:D

[roughingit]

I never learned how to ride when I was younger and I just walked everywhere. Then I landed up moving somewhere that caused me to have a two hour long walk to work. Now, the walk itself wasn't that bad really...it was mostly the knowing I was still going to have to walk home after an 8 hour plus day (at a pet store no less, so I was on feet all day as well). I gave my ex money to go buy me a tricycle, and he came back to my work with a three speed *bi*cycle. Only good thing that lout ever did was teach me how to ride. Now I ride all over the place and love long rides and touring. Here I have to wait till it's not so cold and icy-like though to ride.

[Crankin]

I rode a lot as a young teen on my Raleigh 3 speed, in a suburb with many hills. I had various 5 and ten speed bikes in HS and when I first started working, but never seriously saw cycling as an activity I would do. A few times, my husband would mention that he used to ride long distances as a kid, and would go out on his bike, but it was rare. When my youngest son was 13, he rode his old Huffy about 10 miles one day and came back and said, "I want a mountain bike." He saved his babysitting $ and got a really nice one. He started riding to school and then my husband got a mb and they did some serious mountain biking. Then we sent my son on a 3 week cycling trip from Vermont to Maine the summer before he started high school. Right before he left, my husband decided Scott needed a road bike for this trip. We bought it and in the interim, my husband bought a road bike and all of the gear. I just laughed at the lycra shorts. When Scott came back from his trip, they started riding together and Scott entered his first race. He came in 3d, so he joined a team and was training seriously. All of this time, I had been a gym rat, since about the age of 25. I taught aerobics for ten years, but just at the time they started cycling, I was a bit heavier and bored with the gym. I had walked for years, but never really exercised much outside, especially when I lived in Arizona. After about 3 years of my husband riding, he was determined to get me out on a bike, so he set up his mountain bike for me, with slick tires and went and bought me shorts, shirts, etc. without me knowing. My first ride was in Oct. 2000, about 5 miles and he had to push me up a short hill with the back of his hand.... I realized I had become really out of shape and started doing spin at the gym that fall. In the spring I started riding regularly, I remember my first ride was about 15 miles. That was it, I was hooked. I bought my first road bike in Sept. 2002 and my Trek 5200 in July 2004. I am now a trip leader for an outdoor club and just about all of our vacations revolve around cycling.....

[annie]

I think I've biked most of my life....... starting when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old? My dad found a used bike, spray painted it silver, ran behind me until I could balance myself and then I was free!! Well, sorta free....... I was allowed to ride to the end of the block (a long block, at least) and back. I swear I remember to this day the sense of freedom I felt, being able to just take off and go away from home, all by myself. :) As I got older, if I wanted to go somewhere, I rode my bike. It was my transportation for a long time! To school, to my first job. It wasn't actually something I did for enjoyment. I did it to get places. One of my brothers, however, got into bike racing! Very exciting! I'd watch his races whenever I could. Always thought, in the back of my mind, that I'd try it someday....... But I got married, had kids, biking slipped into the background. Until one day, on a short ride around town with my sister, we saw thousands of bike riders riding the opposite direction as us. We found out that they were RAGBRAI riders arriving in town at the end of the ride. I was amazed at the sheer number of riders and the thought that they'd been riding for 7 days and crossed the state. I told her right then and there that I was doing that the next year. She could come with me if she wanted, but I was going. And we did!! I've never looked back, as far as biking. That was 22 years ago! I've had two more kids since then, but I've never taken much time off the bike. I feel more alive on a bike than any other activity I've tried. I can't begin to list all the good that has come to me from biking. Health, happiness, friends, joy, beauty, and so much more! Could I survive without biking? I hope so....... but I don't know. It is so much a part of who I am. I've been off the bike from injuries occasionally. People ask me : How can you keep riding after that accident? I ask them : How can I not? It is so wonderful to have a place to visit here at TE where I know others share the passion for biking that I have. Thanks, ladies!

[MomOnBike]

I didn't start riding until I was almost in Jr. High (I think, it's been a while). My dad got me a blue, single speed, coaster brake Schwinn, (those of a certain age know exactly the bike I'm talking about). He then taught me to fix my own flats - a chore that involved wrenches back then.

After that, if I really wanted to go somewhere, I walked, rattled there on the Schwinn, or bummed a ride. I didn't drive a car until I lived in the middle of nowhere with an infant daughter.

Backing up a bit, for our first anniversary, DH got me Walter, my 10-speed Raleigh, then he needed a better bike to keep up with me. (He rode that Schwinn to work today.)

The roads were too bad, distances to far, and child-type responsibilities too pressing for me to ride while the girls were little.

When we moved back to civilization, I was out of the habit of riding, until one day at work I had my friend the nurse take my blood pressure just for grins. She turned white, and sent me home with instructions not to stroke out on her. Not my idea of grins, actually.

I started riding again & in the process, I discovered that Walter, as much as I love him, is probably not sized well for me. I just can't ride for long without my hands hurting - not to mention other parts. But, but, but, that's My Bike! We have History! What to do?

A different rehab specialist convinced me that I can actually own more than one bike, & that a recumbent might be good for me. I'd never seriously considered either option before that.

So now I ride (mostly) the 'bent, and my weight, blood pressure & stress are more controlled. Life is good. I want to tour.

[bikerchick68]

It's been fun reading thru all these... we're all so similar in so many was... :)

I started riding about 3 yrs ago... the ex-husband decided he wanted to get a road bike... in an attempt to have something to do in common I said I wanted one too. His response was that I wouldn't stick with it... in other words why bother? :mad: Yep, ya tell me I CAN'T do something and it will be my single handed goal to prove otherwise. LOL... more pride than sense sometimes...

thank goodness for the ex... his attempt to put me down led me to a hobby that has brought me more self-confidence, self-esteem and sense of self-worth than just about any other hobby I've tried, ballroom dance excepted! I'm not a natural athlete so every ride is a bit of work for me... but this is the one gift that the ex gave me that I will be forever grateful for... an introduction to cycling. :)

I'm proud to say I've become a decent rider... I ride for the sheer joy of feeling the sun on my skin and the breeze in my hair (yeah, going thru my helmet! LOL).... for the cameraderie... and because cycling has made me believe I CAN!

[bcipam]

I have just never not rode. Have been riding since a little kid. I think it's because I could get farther and faster away from my mother... yes I probably need therapy as well but for now, a bike does me better! I started riding sortof serious about 30 years ago and real serious (like doing centuries and week long rides) 5 years ago. I see me doing alot of cycling once I retire and can travel. It's easier on the body than running or even walking. Plus I can still get away farther and faster!!!;)

[Geonz]

Welp, I moved to Richmond Va. from Culpeper and told my mother "It's flatter here. A person could ride bikes." (I was 31.) That Christmas, there was a bicycle under the tree - a ladies' Schwinn 5-speed that was great for tooling around.
When I'd tooled around for one season I invested in a $400 hybrid from a bike shop, and still was just tooling around. There was this guy I was silently smitten with; he'd guided me through teaching the INtro Guitar elective at school and we'd even gone to a concert together, so I summoned up all my nerve and then some and called to see if he'd let me take him out to dinner as a thank you... his obviously no-longer-ex girlfriend answered his phone.
I decided that was the week to get out and meet new people, and every saturday, even in February, the bike club has its Breakfast Club ride. I didn't think about what kind of people ride in February, and fortunately there's a group of militant tortoises there who didn't mind an extra and gave me lots of encouragement & tips. One thing led to another... that hybrid has over 20,000 miles on it now.

[Eden]

I'm with the gals who seem to have always been there. I remember every bike. It all started with a red tricycle.......
I remember being terrified on my little red one speed with the training wheels and coaster brakes going down the "big hill" with my feet up in the air because the pedals would go around to fast for me to keep up (I'll bet if I went back there today I would laugh at myself over that hill!).
I started touring with my mom on a heavy steel blue girls style bike from Sears. What we didn't know in those days! Jean and tennis shoes were our gear of choice!
I finally got tall enough for a real bike! It was a beautiful red and black Trek with 21 speeds! Boy was I ticked when that one was stolen my first year at college.
The replacement was a powder blue and pink Trek of the same model that served me faithfully for many many years on two continents- until I figured out that it really was a bit big for me.
The current steed an '05 Fuji Provence that has let me find speed and power I never knew I had - this year I've joined a team and will be in my first mass start race in a few weeks! (I did a hillclimb timetrial last year - I came in 6th!)
The dream bike - I'm working on selling some things to afford this one soon - a Specialized Ruby - Its the first carbon fiber bike that I've seen that comes in my size!!

[ACG]

Like bikerchick 68 this sport has brought me more self-confidence....I can't say I've become a decent rider, but I can agree with the sheer joy of it all.

I tried out for every team in grammer school and high school. I could never hit the ball over the net, over anyone's head or catch any ball. Never made any team. I biked on a sears bike for about 2 years in the late 80's, bike was stolen, had a baby and it took me to the year 2002, to think, hmmm maybe I can ride a bike again. I was at the time lacking self esteem. I started with a mountain bike, put road tires on it, bought a road bike, then another. My 3 bikes are the only things I've ever owned that are all mine. Cycling gives me sheer joy, freedom from stress and a few pounds too. I ride to live and live to ride.