Were you athletic as a kid?

[Eden]

They put me into remedial PE when I was in elementary school. That's back when they had funding for that sort of thing.

Eye-hand coordination, ball sports, not my thing. I'd ride my horse all day and hike through the woods. But because they put me in a "special" program I always believed I wasn't an athlete.

Until I bought a bike 6 years ago.

Can't really say I was in remedial PE - but I've always been the smallest - so as far as school and organized sports go I certainly was never the one picked first (or second or third...) and ball sports have never exactly been my forte. I was always the one who could climb all of the way up the rope, do the most chin ups and I could always impress the bigger girls by leg pressing the whole weight stack.... (to tell the truth I don't think I could do that anymore). Cycling has always been ideal for me since endurance is my strong suit, but few teen sports are based around it, except perhaps swimming and cross country. By the time I was in high school I was doing long rides - I had a favorite 70 mile loop, but most other teenagers don't exactly have an understanding or much of an appreciation for it. Mostly I got asked what's wrong with your hands because I had bike glove tan lines. I certainly never though of myself as an athelete until very recently when I took up racing and found that I'm not half bad.

[SouthernBelle]

I've always been around sports and was one of the few girls in my neighborhood. When we played football in the backyard, I was q'back and developed a nice tight spiral. Can't throw that anymore. Played a little basketball, swam team.

Learned to ride a bike when I was 4. But cycling was not on the horizon as a sport in my life. By jr. high, none of us had bikes. Had one in college which was promptly stolen.

But when I came back to cycling, riding itself was not difficult. I could jump on a bike and ride away, even after 30+ years. And the changes in equipment are a boon once mastered. Still not queen of the hills though.

And Paul was mine.

[HappyAnika]

If there is a positive correlation to being an athelete growing up and taking to cycling easily, I may be the exception to the rule. I rode my bike around my neighborhood as a kid, then to and from school in Jr. high. Otherwise I was a lazy couch potato. I abhored PE, I used my asthma as an excuse to get out of doing as much as I could. I hated team sports because I sucked, was always last to be picked, and was frequently ridiculed for my ineptness. In college I used my same old 10 speed bike to get to and from far apart classes. I took an occasional aerobics class. Then my first year out of college I had a skiing accident and tore up my knee. After recovering from surgery I really liked my PT, it made my knee feel so much better. When I was discharged from PT I got a gym membership and have been working out ever since (aerobics, weight lifting, jogging, some stationary bike). I took up hiking and golf. The hiking became an obsession and in order to improve my cardio capacity I thought I’d take up cycling. I took to the bike quickly and easily. The only thing that I thought was hard (other than going up big hills) was reaching for the water bottle, but I got that with some practice. I think I rode about 3 or 4 weeks before going clipless. I was terrified at the thought, but I practiced on the trainer, then took off and have never looked back. Did I mention I like going downhill, FAST! I hit 35 mph within 2 weeks of getting my bike. Right now my record is 42.5, I hope to break that this summer.

So while I was definitely NOT athletic as a kid, I did ride a bike off and on, and I think riding the 10 speed made the road bike feel natural instead of foreign. I absolutely LOVED the lightness and speed of the bikes when I started test riding. So once I got my own bike last year I totally fell in love with riding. I rode every single weekend in addition to my weekday rides, whereas I only went hiking 2 or 3 times. I know I still have a lot to learn in terms of bike handling and descending techniques, among other things, but I would say (and others would agree) that I picked it up quickly.

[ACG]

I tried out for every sport in school. Never made the team. Even in highschool. I started walking during my first pregnancy. Then continued thru the second. Dabbled in jogging. Loved to ride my bike as a kid, enjoyed the wind in my hair and the speed, etc. Got into cycling 4 years ago only because that was something I knew how to do. Now I'm hooked.

[SalsaMTB]

I was athletic as a kid. Started out playing soccer at a young age, then played volleyball in middle school. I played both sports in high school, then played volleyball in college.

The transition to biking was pretty easy, although a little damaging to my ego

I always excelled at sports, so my first time on a mountain bike (after taking a good 2 years off from sports in general) was a bit of an eye opener. I thought I would tear it up, in reality, I sucked, especially compared to my then bf now dh who had been riding for a good 10 years!

[pepe6599]

I've played soccer since I was 5 and I have been into sports. When I was in high school I was one of the very few girls that was a 5 sporter; played soccer, volleyball, judo, wrestling, and track. When I graduate from high school and went off to college I joined the university women rugby and rock climbing team. Even through I was very active as a youngser don't make cycling easier for me infact has made it harder.

[mimitabby]

so far, it looks like bicycling is a bit of a leveler. Many here were athletic, many here were not!

[li10up]

I always excelled at sports, so my first time on a mountain bike (after taking a good 2 years off from sports in general) was a bit of an eye opener. I thought I would tear it up, in reality, I sucked, especially compared to my then bf now dh who had been riding for a good 10 years!

Sounds a lot like me. I can usually pick up a sport pretty easily. I'm usually above average but have never been the "star" on any team - but was never a bench-warmer either. I had no problem riding again; no problem shifting gears, etc. I started out mtn. biking and my "teacher" said I had a lot of guts...I would ride a lot of downhills that most beginners would walk. Then I became more of a roadie. But it's been hard not being able to be at the front of the pack on the road rides and being dropped on the hills. Maybe it has to do with trying to be "competitive" (more like just keeping up) when you're middle-aged with 25 extra pounds of body weight. But I guess that's why I like cycling so much. I see little improvements all the time. I do think having natural athletic ability helps you pick up a sport more easily. Now if I just had some natural musical ability I might be able to learn to play that acustic guitar I bought 5 years ago.

[Dianyla]

I was raised to be very athletic. Or else!!

Swim team, running, hiking, biking. In some ways I'm really grateful for this because I think it has helped me to have more athletic skill for sports I picked up in adulthood (skiing, for example). In other ways I wish things had been different. Overtraining at the critical pre-pubertal joint development age for me caused Osgood-Schlatters disease in both of my knees which still causes me problems today. Not to mention that my parents approach to athletics bordered on abusive.

My dad was into marathons and being a jock, and we were all enrolled in 5Ks, 10Ks, etc. growing up. The only vacations we took were bike tours or backpacking trips. While I remember being stunned and enthralled with the beauty of the Sierra Nevada, I also remember being 8 years old and being forced to keep pace with 4 older siblings and 2 adults while climbing Mt. Whitney. Always pushing past the point of tears til I would get an asthma attack or vomit, and being humiliated for being the "slowest" and "clumsiest". Being berated for being an inconvenience to everyone who had to stop and wait for me to recover so we could push on. Dad's offer to go cycling with me daily after school in Jr High was because I was the "fat kid in the family" which he was tactless enough to say to my face.

Issues much?

Anyways... uh.... Sorry for the whole overshare but I really have mixed feelings about childhood athletics as a result of my experiences. Granted, I now have a very high level of physical and emotional endurance whihc has served me very well in adulthood. But, what price childhood?