Your Cycling Supporters

[paigette]

This is inspired by a convo I had with my dad last night. He kept asking me about my bikes & we ended up comparing cycling costs to his fishing costs. After the convo, he was like "It's pretty cool you found something that interests you this much".

Anyway, I have a family who understand that I love biking, but most roll there eyes when I mention how much it costs to do it. LOL, my mother went insane when I told her that I paid $50 for a headlight......and even more crazy when I explained $50 was the low-medium end for lights

Who mentally supports your love of cycling?

[Bikingmomof3]

This is inspired by a convo I had with my dad last night. He kept asking me about my bikes & we ended up comparing cycling costs to his fishing costs. After the convo, he was like "It's pretty cool you found something that interests you this much".

Anyway, I have a family who understand that I love biking, but most roll there eyes when I mention how much it costs to do it. LOL, my mother went insane when I told her that I paid $50 for a headlight......and even more crazy when I explained $50 was the low-medium end for lights

Who mentally supports your love of cycling?

My DH, my three boys, and the wonderful women here. Everyone else thinks I am nuts.

[NJBikeGal]

Despite lovingly referring to me as his "Bike Dork," my DH completely supports my insane love of biking!! He's actually really excited that I will be racing with a women's team in the spring and he'll be able to come to the races to watch...although this may have something to do with a lot of women in spandex pants....hmmm..

[SheFly]

LOL, my mother went insane when I told her that I paid $50 for a headlight......and even more crazy when I explained $50 was the low-medium end for lights

Tell your mom that my new light was $299 - that should floor her .

I've stopped sharing that kind of info with my parents - they just don't get it. Unfortunately, cycling is such a big part of my/our life/lives that it makes it difficult for us to have conversations sometimes. It can also lead to big disappointment.

This summer, my parents were visiting and before they came had mentioned that they were interested in watching us race. We had a crit on the Sunday of their visit (at least that's somewhat more entertaining to watch than a road race), so I asked them to come. The response I got was that it was too early for them. They stayed home, and DH and I went off to race. I was pretty upset by it.

Thankfully, DH is as addicted as I am, so he totally supports my habit . My teammates and friends are also supportive, as are all the women here at TE!

SheFly

[GLC1968]

I've stopped sharing that kind of info with my parents - they just don't get it. Unfortunately, cycling is such a big part of my/our life/lives that it makes it difficult for us to have conversations sometimes. It can also lead to big disappointment.

Mine too. My parents live off one of the deadliest roads in Florida and they just can't fathom that we feel safe biking on road where there are cars. They were supportive of the big MS ride...but they don't 'get' the century/long ride thing and I haven't even told them that I commute yet. It's just too much for them. I can't even imagine how they'll react to my desire to race! I basically just leave it out of our conversations altogether.

My friends are fairly supportive, if somewhat indifferent. We just talk about other stuff most of the time. Coworkers get the cycling...they just don't get the commuting in the cold and dark.

And DH is as nuts about it as I am...so there is super support there!!

[Bad JuJu]

Like NJBikeGal's dh, mine sometimes acts like he thinks I'm nuts with all this cycling, but most of the time, he's proud to tell people about my weekly mileage and the touring I've done. I'm overweight, too, so I think he likes seeing people's faces as they register surprise that his short, overweight, 50+-year-old wife can finish, for example, a 50-mile ride with energy to spare.

Friends are supportive, but not all that interested. They encourage me, but they don't want to hear about it that much. Two neighbors used to be that way, but they recently got bikes (other than cheap neighborhood cruisers) so they're coming around to my way of thinking. It's gratifying when they come over to ask me a cycling-related question. Not that I'm any expert, but compared to total newbies, I do know a little something about the sport.

Now that I'm riding with a club on Saturdays, I'm starting to make some more cycling friends. But nothing beats the support I find right here on these forums!

[paigette]

But nothing beats the support I find right here on these forums!

I completely agree. BTW, my DAD actually found these forums when I first bought Oscar.

LOL, it's nice to see everyone's spouse is supportive & hooked....I guess this means I should patrol group rides & bike shops for a hubby (just kidding....sort of)

[SouthernBelle]

My cutest supporter is my 96 y.o. neighbor. If he sees me riding in, he'll ask about miles. If he sees me puttering in the garage, he'll come to chat.

[GLC1968]

LOL, it's nice to see everyone's spouse is supportive & hooked....I guess this means I should patrol group rides & bike shops for a hubby (just kidding....sort of)

This is my exact argument to get my single girlfriends into biking!!

1) the ratio of men to women is WAY in our favor for 'shopping'
2) you get to check out the goods in lycra before you buy
3) you can use bike cost to gauge spending habits and/or salary!

They aren't buying into my theories though....

[kaybee]

Well, you ladies are the greatest support network a girl could want! Besides y'all, there's hubby, who not only supports but encourages me. With no family within 700 miles, I have the luxury of not having to explain much, and the few friends I have locally are just as interested in staying fit as I am. As for coworkers, that's another story!

KB

[paigette]

As for coworkers, that's another story!

This is how I ended up purchasing my mountain bike.......my boss & most of my freelance writers all mountain bike! I just started this job about a month ago & don't want to be left behind!

Plus side is that my boss has a road bike, so she's already mentioned she may get more into it since I am gung ho(we are going to a woman's ride on Nov. 11)

[spokewench]

My Hubby started riding about 3-6 months before I did so he is very supportive; he understands the costs of biking and thinks it is a good investment in our health. Otherwise, we could be spending lots of money on doctor's visits and prescription drugs! I have it easy at home.

My sister thinks it is cool that I ride and even has a picture of me doing the Death Ride years ago. She is a professor and the kids that come into her office think it is cool that her sister would do something called "the death ride!" I'm sure she doesn't understand the money I spend, but she is not judgmental.

My parents are sort of supportive; but over the years, they have only come to one mountain bike race that I did years ago in California. I've been a little disappointed in their lack of support sometimes. A few years ago, I was in the running to win the State Championships and the race was 15 minutes away from their house (5 from mine) and they wouldn't even come up to watch. That kind of disappointed me, but they just don't understand. The only thing that is important to them is academic achievement! If I were a professor like my sister they would be wowed!

Some people get some don't and never the twain shall meet.

[pooks]

My husband is really supportive -- brags about my mileage (which isn't brag-worthy but he just can't figure that out!), etc. His work schedule has kept him off the bike so much that he shares the interest but not the time to be involved; I hope that changes soon.

My sons think it's great.

My friends think it's cool but we don't talk about it much.

And I have people who read my blog who actually complain if I write about biking too much. My blog addresses several different interests of mine, and people come to it usually because of one or the other, and are ho-hum about posts that don't involve exactly what they're interested in. But a few have actually complained! (Um, folks, that's why it's MY BLOG. I get to choose!)

My mom is supportive, totally. I rode my bike to her house over some busy-busy roads (with light traffic, though) and when I got there I was hot and tired. We visited, had lunch, and before I left to come home she said, "You need to do this more often," as if I don't drive over there all the time!

[Eden]

I feel really lucky too - my husband is very supportive. He started racing a year before I did, but I've been more successful than he has (I have to give him credit in that the competition among men is much more intense and there are a great deal more of them, so its always going to be harder for him). In some guys that could lead to pouty, jealous behavior, but he's been great. I got the fancy new bike and I just got a coach (I did my first coach workout yesterday, yeah!) and he's been encouraging me to do it the whole time.

[HappyAnika]

Wow, I totally admire those of you who are more or less on your own. If it wasn't for my supporters, I may never have started cycling. DH started 2 years before me, just for commuting - he never did weekend rides until I started riding. About 60% of my inspiration to start riding came from 2 of my girlfriends who started riding a year before me, then I in turn inspired the 4th one of our little group to start riding as well. Two of those three girlfriends' husbands also ride, so we've got a nice little cycling group. Road biking is huge in the work place. We jokingly warn new employees that if they don't already own a road bike, it is highly likely they will end up buying one soon.

My parents are another story. They are couch potatoes (I was raised as a couch potato), and they don't understand why anyone would do any physical activity for fun. In addition, they are always worried that I will hurt myself. They have no idea how much my bike cost and I intend to keep it that way, my Dad would flip. They also don't know that I commute, or that we go on really long rides on weekends. I'll just casually mention to my mom "Oh, we went for a bike ride" when she asks what we did over the weekend. She thinks its more like we rode along the 3 mile greenway where people jog and walk their dogs and kids. And that's fine, she can keep on thinking that. They both know I wear a helmet and that's all they need to know. The in-laws are a little more supportive, they understand that biking for us is a combination of social interaction, fitness, fun, and transportation.