Who got you started on cycling?

[Melstar]

Hey everyone. New here to the forums, so i thought i'll just post to say hi!

I'm wondering, how did ya'll get started on cycling? It seems most of the time its the guys introducing us to the sport. Is that the usual case of things?

And yes I come under the category as mentioned above.

~E~

[GLC1968]

Actually, my OB-GYN got me started (though he is a guy...so I guess that counts). I was trying to lose weight and my flat feet were cramping my running ability. He suggested a bike (as an avid cyclist himself) and I listened!

Two weeks later, my husband went out and bought a bike so that he could join me. So I like to say that I got HIM started.

[Lenusik]

Yep, you are right. My hubby introduced me to cycling and now I am hooked. I started on an old LeMond made for men, something that we bought of our friends. It was a purchase to check if I like the sport. Last year we got me a WSD Treck Medone SL 5.2. I love it and I do love riding. I am also pleased that my husband is proud of my accomplishments. Even our honeymoon was a biking tour in CA. We still ride mostly together, but there is no way I will stop riding if my hubby suddenly decides to stop.

[limewave]

Me! Well, actually, it was the Eco-Challenge. I used to be very sedentary and one day I watched this really cool race on TV. I kept thinking I wanted to do that. So, I dusted off my old mountain bike and started riding it on trails and out to the beach to kayak.

And then I met DH. In our first conversation we discovered we both like to mountain bike. Little did I know at the time that there is mountain biking and THEN there is MOUNTAIN BIKING. Later learned that DH was state mb champ. He introduced me to full-suspension bikes, clipless pedals, and padded bike shorts! I thank the TE woman for letting me know about the Terry Butterfly.

And from mb we went to road riding. So, I got myself started but DH did bring to the next level.

[SalsaMTB]

yep, dh (then bf) introduced me to the sport!

[caligurl]

what.... not who.... i dropped a bottle of wine on my toe and couldn't do my other forms of exercise.... so started riding.... now it was hubby who made the "mistake" of saying "if you keep this up... we'll have to get you a road bike".... (i was riding my old walmart/kmart bike that has been hanging in the garage for years!!!!!) well... i did... we did.... and now i put on more total miles than he does!

[Eden]

My mom is the one who got me started. We had always as long as I can remember gone out every once in a while on the weekends and rode our bikes, but when I was about 11 or 12 my mom decided she wanted to try bicycle touring. We did a few weekend trips and then we did a week in Nova Scotia.

When I was in middle school I was in an after school bike club, when I was in
high school I did my first orgainized ride. I have only vague memories of it, though I do remember it was 70 miles and I used the route many times again.

When I was in college and met my husband it was me who convinced him to buy a new bike - his was a ridiculously small hand me down from his mom- and we started doing some touring together. We also did a lot of riding on weekends and I even did some commuting for a semester or two.

After we moved to Seattle we still did some riding, but mostly just weekend rides every once in a while. New jobs, new old house - lots of things to distract us. At this time I was working at the VA hospital as a photographer. They had been sending a team of disabled riders on the STP every year and I decided that I would go with them to photograph the riders. So we started riding and training more seriously again.

About 2 years ago now we took a trip to Spain and did a 2 1/2 week bike tour, when we came home from that my husband decided to give racing a try. He raced for a year and then convinced me to give it a try too. I joined a racing team this year and I've been having the time of my life.

[ACG]

It was me, myself and I.

I never was good at sports in school, never made any of the teams. Knew that cycling didn't involve catching a ball, throwing a ball or hitting a ball over a net or a green. So anything with a ball is out.

As I have a big butt I figured I'd use my biggest asset!

[Kalidurga]

Santa Claus (Mom & Dad, of course) got me started. Ever since I was little, I've always had a bike, the first one being a Christmas gift. When I was a kid, there was no thought to it. I just got on my bike and pedaled around the neighborhood or to and from school. As I got older, I started hitting the local bike trail (the W&OD trail in Northern VA was just a mile or two from home) for some solitary adventure. As I approached adulthood there were periods when the bike sometimes got a little dusty, but about 4 years ago I kind of "re-discovered" that feeling of solitary adventure and the freedom that comes with it. At that point, my biking became a more deliberate thing. Now I plan for it, I read about it, I watch races, I set goals for it... I'm now on my fifth bike in 41 years and more serious about pedaling than I've ever been. It's still one of the easiest and most fun ways for me to just plain escape from everything.

[FreshNewbie]

Eden, that's a very good story!!!
As for me, my bf got me into it, now I am more posessed than he is !!!

[Geonz]

Sort of my mother - I said, "hey, I've moved to Richmond, it's flat here and a person could ride a bike!" and she put one under the Christmas tree.

What got me into club riding and down that long road of addiction was the guy I called to ask out to dinner to thank him for helping me teach a guitar class. His clearly no-longer-ex gf answered. I decided that it was time to meet new people, so it was the weekend I'd try that "year round all-level" weekend ride.

[Lise]

My dad. He put me on my first tricycle when I was 3. I promptly fell off.

I tried again at 7, on that classic blue Schwinn. Rode to school, rode all over. Got another bike in HS, rode to school, had some classic wipe outs on dirt and ice. Bike got stolen in college.

Really started riding again 4 years ago on a piece of crud Schwinn my mom's friend gave me. Mom had taken up road riding in her 60s, and had this whole group of biking pals. I wanted to do a tri, and "trained" on this broke-down rust bucket. Borrowed a friend's "good" bike to do the race.

Got hooked, and here I am, Bianchi and Larkspur in the basement, and more biking gloves and water bottles than any one person ever needs!

[hurleygirl]

what.... not who.... i dropped a bottle of wine on my toe and couldn't do my other forms of exercise.... so started riding....

Okay, now that's a great story.

[caligurl]

Okay, now that's a great story.

lol! and i forgot the add... the wine (and bottle) were just fine!!!! phew!

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hi melstar - welcome to the forum

I'm with ACG on this one - I got myself into riding. Actually I've introduced a few partners to riding rather than vice-versa.

One of the biggest things, maybe the biggest (besides not having a job, scrubbing the tub, and not needing to do taxes) thing I missed about being a kid was riding my bike.

After doing lots of swimming in high school and running later on.....I thought about it a lot and finally decided that I wanted to ride again. That was in, hmmmm, let's see, around 1998ish.

Bicycling is the one activity that never feels like work to me, never feels like a chore, or something I 'have' to do (the way running or jogging does). Even though I'm working out, getting exercise, etc - I always have fun.