Were you athletic as a kid?

[mimitabby]

I didn't have any stability issues starting out on a mountain bike with wide slicks. Shifting wasn't a problem then because the shifters on this old bike had numbers on them. Going clipless was more of an issue because I didn't take the time to practice and figure out which foot to clip out on. I fell over many times, I'm embarrassed to say, and at least once took another rider down with me . When I got my road bike, I recall the shifting learning curve being rather great. I have Campy shifters, and I had a hard time remembering which did what. I threw chains going uphill. I didn't downshift before stopping. Then I started to ride behind DH and mimicked his shifting and cadence. That helped. Putting my bike on a trainer and WATCHING what each lever did was probably the thing that helped most. After awhile - like driving a car - it became second nature. I still look down at my rear cogs sometimes to see where I am, but most of the time I just know where I am by the way the bike's handling. It all takes time and practice.

5'one i am RIGHT behind you! but i am still afraid of falling down. This spring if it ever gets here, I will go clipless hahahha.

and Eden
YOU are my hero! climbing the rope AND pullups!! wow!

[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.

[indysteel]

I wasn't much of an athelete as a young kid, at least not in an organized way. I was crazy about my bike, horses, roller skating and swimming, but I didn't pursue anything competitively. My parents were way too self involved to shuttle me from thing to thing and I wasn't attracted to any of the competitive sports offered at my Catholic grade school (does anybody really like kickball?).

Then, for some unknown reason, I became a crazed runner. I joined the track team as a freshman in H.S. and went a little nuts. There was one spot on the Varsity distance team, and I decided that I just had to have it. I desperately wanted to ultimately be a four-year letterman (a big deal at my H.S).

So, I started to training and competing like crazy. I think I ran in at least three meets a week through the season, despite injuries, vomiting (from the exertion of a full-on 800 meters), sleeplessness (I became an insomniac because of my training in the evening). I made it, though, and set some school records in the 800 meters. I can't say that I enjoyed it, but I did it all the same.

My sophomore year, I joined the cross country team and again ran through some injuries but set some school records in the process. Unbeknownst to me, I had a stress fracture in my foot. Instead of sending me to the doctor, my coach would just tape my foot up really tight and send me on my way. After the run, he'd then make me stand in a bucket of ice to deaden the pain. I walked on the side of my foot for a good three months before finally going to the doctor. I wish I could say that this was in the dark ages of training or something, but it was 1985.

I spent the off season on crutches. By the following spring, my body started to really give out and I was going to physical therapy for one thing after another, until my doctor told me that I was essentially running myself into the ground. Burnt out and terribly unhappy with what seemed like a monumental failure, I quit the team and never returned. I've always kind of regretted it, especially since I still don't enjoy running. It did help me recognize that I have a somewhat obsessive personality about certain things that I have to reign in from time to time so that I don't ruin something that I love. With cycling, I've remained motivated but not crazed about it. It helps that it's not as hard on my body.

[five one]

5'one i am RIGHT behind you! but i am still afraid of falling down. This spring if it ever gets here, I will go clipless hahahha.

If I'd had known about the TE forums when I was learning, I wouldn't have fallen nearly as often, and my poor bike wouldn't have so many scars (where can I get celeste touch up paint??). You've already read all the good advice: practice on your trainer, start on grass, etc., etc. You'll get it quickly, I'm sure. Start with your old bike, though, just in case .

Ummmm, I thought you said spring was already there in Seattle - rose bush pruning, flowers blooming, yadah, yadah, yadah. No excuses now !

[five one]

Roller Skating!!! I'd completely forgotten about that. I had those heavy metal things that clamped onto my shoes (and tore off a few soles!) and a skate key around my neck. Man, I could just TEAR down the sidewalk on those!

All these waves of nostalgia...sigh.

[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.

[mimitabby]

Roller Skating!!! I'd completely forgotten about that. I had those heavy metal things that clamped onto my shoes (and tore off a few soles!) and a skate key around my neck. Man, I could just TEAR down the sidewalk on those!

All these waves of nostalgia...sigh.

me too! in Newark we had wonderful slate sidewalks. Except for the cracks they were completely smooth!!
i LOVED to roller skate, but it seems to me we spent a lot of time re-affixing those things to our feet.

[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!

[aicabsolut]

My sophomore year, I joined the cross country team and again ran through some injuries but set some school records in the process. Unbeknownst to me, I had a stress fracture in my foot. Instead of sending me to the doctor, my coach would just tape my foot up really tight and send me on my way. After the run, he'd then make me stand in a bucket of ice to deaden the pain. I walked on the side of my foot for a good three months before finally going to the doctor. I wish I could say that this was in the dark ages of training or something, but it was 1985.

Well in 1995 I had a stress fracture in my left tibia from horrendous shin spints (MTSS) and was on my way to trashing my right. Got it Xrayed too soon (didn't show up), and my doctor was clueless as to why I continued to be in pain weeks later. My coach had me get taped up and I also had to stand in ice buckets and take massive amounts of ibuprofin. It got so bad my ankles started to give out. I couldn't walk up or down stairs--couldn't put all of my weight on one leg at a time. I have nice scarring and the tibia have remapped themselves from that stress such that parts look porous like I have osteoperosis.

My Xrays now look pretty crappy. And running, though not competitively since then, has trashed one of my ankles which may or may not be good as new if I feel like getting a cartilage transplant (from my knee), which I don't want to do. So yep, my running days are over too.

So I had to start doing stuff with no weight bearing or impact. I started cycling indoors on spin bikes. I eventually got bored and wanted to do something competitive again. So I got the road bike. And it's fun! Though i'm going to be far from competitive come spring. That's the hardest thing for me to get used to after being an athlete. I'm not used to sucking so much at a sport I enjoy.

[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?

[Geonz]

Hyperactive klutz, here. Really, really lousy at coordination things... hated loathed and despised p.e., but needed exercise. On swim team in the summer and then year-round when I turned 13, but always, always bringing up the rear. Swam with younger age groups so I wasn't dead last all the time. However, got *lots* of support and positive feedback for working hard, got lots of good instruction, and learned how to learn difficult things (took five years to figure out butterfly, and now I could teach anybody).

So... after 40 *years* of always being "okay, I like sports and exercise, but it can't be really about winning unless there's a *lot* of strategy" (that co-ed v-ball team was fun for that), a few sportsmanship trophies and twice (count them) coming in just ahead of somebody else in a competition, albeit nowhere near first place but he, *we* were racing, and I'm not sure but one of those the judge might have given it to me... do you *know* how sweet it has been to actually *win* the indoor time trial? It took a long time for me to believe that no, I was pretty good at this (they weren't just being nice)... and I only got convinced when I thought about how long it takes to convince some of my students that they are NOT stupid... they keep saying it... now I understand how hard it is to *believe* it when so many years of not-being-good have laid that groundwork