Hi there - Newbie to the forum!

[MKRookman]

Hi everyone!

I've been poking around this forum for a little while now and finally decided to join up because you all seem so fantastic!

I'm sorta kinda newish to cycling. Like many of you, I cycled as a kid everywhere I could, loved it. Then college came and I stopped cycling . Last year I just had to get back into it, I had a walmart bike that I got while in college that I had ridden a couple times but just was very blah about it all. I got riding again because I was lucky and had nice trails by where I lived. I started avidly researching stuff, and bikes. I couldn't take the cheap bike anymore and got a Trek (after a year of going in, petting the thing, trying bikes out, and annoying the staff). I adore my bike (road cycle), it lets me go where I want to and makes me feel at peace.

Sadly, I dropped off from cycling again this past fall (got a new job, moved, moved again b/c I bought a house etc etc life stuff). I biked sporadically in the winter on a trainer looking at the feet upon feet of snow (upstate NY lol!) and this spring got back on the bike. This past month I have logged about 160 miles and could not be happier about it!

My biggest problem is the lack of friends I have to cycle with. I have only found one group up where I live and they are a bit elitist sounding (stating if I don't go at least 18/mph I will get dropped etc). The nearest nice "lets all go for a ride and have a good time" group is 2 hours away by car. So I started looking online for a virtual bike family (people who wouldn't look at me like I had two heads when I tell them I want to eventually do centuries and even a little racing), and I found all of you!

So that is my story. Thanks all for reading it and I look forward to getting to know you all

[westtexas]

Welcome!

You'd be surprised where you can find other cyclists to ride with. Because of my work, I never can make it to the big group ride on Wednesdays from my LBS. But on my solo rides if I see other riders I catch up to them and chat. Sometimes we hit it off and I have a new friend to ride with. Also, hanging around your LBS you might meet some other people who are going in to buy tubes, have their bikes serviced, etc. who might be interested in a "no-drop" ride.

There are a lot of closet cyclists out there, mostly you just have to ask! (Or bug a friend into getting a bike too!)

[marni]

Or you could go my route and become enamored of solo biking and the occassional bike shop ride. Bugging your BFF to become a "workout buddy" could work too, especially if you set some simple, achieveable goals. +1 on chatting with any biker you meet out on the road, plus check out the local charity fund raising rides, good way to meet people. Join a local bike advocacy group and get involved in their activities.

Enjoy the adventure and welcome to the group.

[jordanjustgo]

Welcome! So excited about the virtual bike group as well... I can't get anyone to ride with me... (and there's no way I could come close to 18mph at this point)... I'm still hovering around 12... The closest cycling group is an hour away from me and my group of friends don't seem to be interested in joining in on my new cycling obsession :P so, I'm just soloing for now...

I wish you the best of luck in finding nice people to ride with and let me know if you figure out a good way to meet them!

[Tri Girl]

Welcome to TE!!

This place is a plethora of information, and helped me return to cycling a few years ago. LOVE my TE cycling friends!
Keep on riding, and you'll find someone to ride with. If not, that's OK, too. Riding solo has it's place and can be tons of fun, too.

[Dr.Doo]

Welcome from another forum noob.

Learn to cycle solo...I ride solo 99% of my time in the saddle. Your iPod is your friend. I'm working my way through Lord of the Rings and all the Harry Potter books - just one ear bud in so I can also hear what's going on around me too.

Happy pedaling

[jlnc]

Welcome! Have you considered starting a group on meetup.com (or searching to see if one already exists)? I bet there are other folks around who wish there was another option besides an 18mph group! Meetup was how I found my beginner group that I ride with. Good luck, enjoy your rides!

[MKRookman]

Thanks all for the great welcome!

Sadly my bff lives on the other coast (literally, I'm in NY she's in OR lol). And my husband and I have only been living up where we do a little under a year. The people I've met so far have no interest in biking with me (and of the three bike shops in the area one is exclusively bmx one 90% mountain biking and the third has the group that demands 18mph). So I do ride solo 99.9% of the time. Every once in a while my husband will come with me, but not usually and his eyes kinda glaze over when I talk about cycling hehe.

I like solo rides, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it would be nice to have friends to go out with. I have seen a few people biking one of my "reg" routes and have chatted a little with them so hopefully who knows. I'm also gonna try and go to the women's rides that are two hours away as I'm on summer vacation now (I work in a school) and see if maybe there are other riders from up by me that drive down there that we could for our own group.

As for meetup.com I've never heard of that site! I'll have to check into it.

You all have been awesome for your great answers!

[KatzPajamas]

I'm new also to biking...since beginning of May. Most of my miles have been with my hubby, Jay. He's been showing me the ropes and we have been having fun. We chat about our day and discuss rules of the road, and I ask a million questions or we stop for a snack somehwere. He's been training for a 75 miler on July 9th so goes off without me too. So I ride alone and I really enjoy it too! It is very relaxing for me. I have an extremely stressful job with long hours. I get home and take off on a ride immediately. It is like a mini-vacation every evening! It is such a different world from the seat of a road bike. Different pace, wonderful outdoor fresh air smell, wild and unusual flowers blooming along the trail, little critters crisscrossing in front of the bike, greeting other people enjoying the outdoors. Alone or not, I am thrilled to be out there, free of some of the usual cares of life, ABLE to do this at my age. Sometimes to beat my max or avg speeds, sometimes just lazily rollilng along! Enjoy it while you can, when you can, where you can, and with whom you can!

[Nick]

Welcome, MK! I'm also a newbie to the forum from the upstate NY area. We do have quite a few organized bike groups here, but I have been biking solo except for a mtb skills clinic I did last weekend. I'd be happy to meet up to ride sometimes if you are in this area. I am more of a forest and park biker than a roadie, but willing to broaden my horizons...

[MKRookman]

It is very relaxing for me. I have an extremely stressful job with long hours. I get home and take off on a ride immediately. It is like a mini-vacation every evening! It is such a different world from the seat of a road bike. Different pace, wonderful outdoor fresh air smell, wild and unusual flowers blooming along the trail, little critters crisscrossing in front of the bike, greeting other people enjoying the outdoors. Alone or not, I am thrilled to be out there, free of some of the usual cares of life, ABLE to do this at my age. Sometimes to beat my max or avg speeds, sometimes just lazily rollilng along! Enjoy it while you can, when you can, where you can, and with whom you can!

I so agree with the stress relief. My job has a high burnout rate and a lot of times I'll come home from work so tired I could just cry, but I hop on my bike instead. My husband will also tell me if I get particularly stressed "Stop what you're doing go take a ride" lol! It's just so nice.

[KatzPajamas]

So I do ride solo 99.9% of the time. Every once in a while my husband will come with me, but not usually and his eyes kinda glaze over when I talk about cycling hehe.

My husband will also tell me if I get particularly stressed "Stop what you're doing go take a ride" lol! It's just so nice.

Interesting things that you say about your husband. This is exactly how I was with my husband for the last 7 years in regards to the subject of cycling. My eyes glazed over when the subject turned to cycling and I was always encouraging him to take a ride. I could see that it had a great positive effect on him. He enjoyed it and it relaxed him. Ha Ha...look at me now! I am experiencing the same effect myself and there are people whose eyes glaze over when I speak. I am not even sure how I crossed over into this other world, but am sure glad I did and wonder what took me so long! Often on a ride, Jay will say, I still cannot believe that you are out here with me. I am glad you decided to join me....Just saying

[Mako]

MKRookman,

Just wanted to say hi.

I'm new to the board too. I hope you manage to meet some people to cycle with. I do most of my cycling alone also, but it is always nice when someone wants to come with you

Bribery can work too I've found

[owlice]

Welcome, new folks!

What you need to do is grow your own biking companions... have kids!