Newbie's question: What are you riding for?

[emily_in_nc]

I forgot to mention that last week at the physical therapist's (rehabbing after my cycling accident / pelvic fractures), she asked me "Do you play any sports? You're so athletic!" My reply: "Nope, I just cycle".

Yep, that's why I ride.

Emily

[wingsonwheels]

Cycling is my stress-buster, my way to enjoy the magnificent outdoor creation (when you ride, the sky is your constant companion), a way to improve and clean out my physical body...

and my alter-ego. I teach middle school, and I love the surprised look on my students' faces when I meet one riding. I want them to know that some adults do exercise, and play outside with their friends.

[Grog]

I had biked my small town roads as a kid but I must admit it didn't play a role in my starting to ride seriously. I always had a bike because I live in the city (Montreal) and it is so much more convenient than driving, but I never actually spent money on one, just picked old busted bikes at yard sales. Sometimes I rode them on the long bike path that winds by the St-Laurent river but honestly I was always ashamed because the old bikes rattled and made awful noises... I checked out the racer bikes as they zoomed past me, but I never thought this was accessible to me... Cyclists - real ones - were from another planet.

Then I started going out with a guy whose parents had become big roadies in their early 50s. My BF himself was into mountain biking, but did take his mountain bike on the road once in a while. I thought cycling together would be a cool thing to do because you don't have to go out of town to do it, we have plenty of nice places to ride around here. We were at some outdoors store for something else and I dragged him downstairs to check out the bikes. I was a bit disappointed that he was not that enthusiastic, but I felt like getting one for myself anyway so I bought a Trek hybrid on sale. I didn't want to spend more than 500$, so for that price I got a bike that was a bit less expensive but with clipless pedals and shoes. Honestly, I'm nearly sure that those pedals made the difference. I was physically hooked the first time I took the bike out and in one month rode about 500 km, which was a lot for me.

Then came the road bike, which I traded against some work on a bike manufacturer's web site. The 18-pound baby just grabbed my heart and won't let go now. I've kept on riding 500 km/month and I can feel myself becoming a better road biker.

And you know what? I'm currently breaking up with the mountain bike guy, which is sad after two years of living together, but I feel that this bike thing is one of the best gifts that relationship has left me, plus riding is my way to remain sane during the breakup. (And he just got a road bike too. *sigh*) And even a 3000$ bike comes cheaper than Paxil!!!

The feeling of flying on the road is what I love best about cycling. It IS close to nirvana: I just ride and ride and ride and stop thinking, totally. I love the speed. Being self-propelled also feels like a statement to me. The health benefits are a good point too, as my family has a history of heart disease and various cancers. Plus, I too love the legs and butt, and am learning to live with the tan lines. I kinda like being pointed out as a cyclist now, and maybe it has taken me to another planet...

And finally it has allowed me to meet - virtually or in real life - tons of new cool people. And that's another great reward! Thank you girls I love chatting with you on this board.

Keep riding!

[mjv007]

Hey my cycling sisters!

just a casual question tossed out at random sparked something I think. I may save it for later. I love reading/hearing people talk about their passions! Cycling is so freeing and it makes us so happy! Like back to childhood happy, pure and simple happy.

Thrilled to see some 40-somethings answer! I am 45 (yikes) but hey that is still younger than Madonna!

I don't yet have the miles under me that some of you do. I did do a sprint triathlon a few years ago, though was cool. My knees have become tempremental (sp) the last 2 years-this I relate to an overuse injury that I did not recognize as such and did not treat it until weeks after the fact. But my DH has a pretty decent cycling resume (MS 150 century, RAGBRAI) and competes in tri's as a hobby. So he is always a source of inspiration.

Anyway, I like this board and I'll drop by later. Special hello to those residing in North Carolina, I'm down on the coast by Topsail, just got here in April.

-MJ

[MomOnBike]

For the beer?

DH and I have been going out to dinner and a drink on our bikes for a while now. I think I've learned the location of all cycle-friendly dining establishments in Lincoln. I'm not really joking when I say that William is "bar broke". I limit myself to one drink, though, I don't want to wobble on the way home.

I ride because a year or so ago, I asked a nurse at work to take my blood pressure, just for grins. She turned white and sent me home. Not good, no grins.

I ride to the drug store to pick up my meds. It just seems counter-productive to drive for blood pressure medication.

I ride because we are a one-car family, and the teenager seems to always have the car.

I ride because I love to bomb down hilly roads at night. (Yes, my guts/brains ratio is pretty high)

I ride a recumbent because I don't like the way my hands feel after a mile or two on my upright.

I ride a recumbent because I like to look around. Even on an upright, I'm always trying to be too upright. I figured I'd better be honest and get a bike that's built for looking around on.

I ride a recumbent because I love the way bad-*** dudes say "cool bike" when I ride by. God, I love that.

I ride because touring the country on a horse just isn't feasible in the 21st century, but it is on a bike.

I ride for mental health. Even super-frugal DH admits that bikes are cheaper and more effective than psych docs and meds.

And don't forget the beer.

[emily_in_nc]

Thrilled to see some 40-somethings answer! I am 45 (yikes) but hey that is still younger than Madonna!

Anyway, I like this board and I'll drop by later. Special hello to those residing in North Carolina, I'm down on the coast by Topsail, just got here in April.

-MJ

Hi MJ, I'm in the Piedmont area of NC and 44 years old. I can honestly say I am in far better shape than I was 10 years ago, all thanks to cycling. I am constantly mistaken for someone 10 years younger, too! So much of it is attitude, but a lot of it is how I walk (well, at least how I used to walk before my accident!) and my trim figure, thanks to cycling. So many of my friends really started letting themselves go in their 40s, and that's the decade where lifestyle choices really do start catching up with you and showing. I definitely feel WAY younger than 44!

And you're right, we're still younger than Madonna.

Emily in NC

[geochick]

Because it was time to get back on......

When I was a kid, we always rode bikes all over the place - living in rural SW Michigan with 2 working parents, that's how you got anywhere. When I was 14, my family (mom, dad, big bro, little sis and I) joined a group of folks from the area - people my dad worked with and members of their families - and started riding "seriously". We trained for RAGBRAI (rode it 2 years) and several other organized rides over the course of a few years. The last year my dad and sis did the Iowa trip, while my mom, bro and I stayed home (neither he nor I could afford to take the whole week off of work from our summer jobs). That week, he was riding his bike and a car struck him from behind. He was about a mile from home, wasn't wearing his helmet and suffered massive head trauma which led to brain death.

He was 18, I was 16, and for nearly 19 years I was afraid to get back on a bike.

My hubby's dad turned 65 in Feb and I'm not sure who made the decision, but it was determined that "we" (pop-in-law, me and hubby, and his sister and her husband) would all go back and do RAGBRAI "one more time".

It was somewhat intimidating at first, but when my bike came into the LBS and I got out in the parking lot to try it out and make sure the sizing was right, it was such a great feeling. I had forgotten how much fun it is to ride.

Now, I'm riding for a bunch of reasons:
- spending time with hubby
- training for RAGBRAI
- training and being a part of a team for the MS 150 Ride to Jack and Back
- getting my legs and butt and even my arms in better shape than they've been for YEARS!!!
- and, very importantly, losing weight and getting healthy so that when hubby and I start trying to get pregnant this fall we'll hopefully have an easier time (This one's somewhat of a catch 22, as I've discovered that riding is not a recommended exercise during pregnancy. Looks like I'll be spending A LOT of time on the trainer.)

I ride because I can have fun, exercise, see new places, meet amazing new people and constantly challenge myself mentally and physically. There's always something to celebrate at the end of a ride: whether it's completing a loop a minute faster than yesterday or making it up that hill without stopping, every ride is an accomplishment. And it's something that I can do for myself where the only limitations are those I impose on myself.

[PurpleJADE]

As a kid I loved to ride. And I saved for that yellow Schwinn Varsity 10 speed and remember ridiing it 31 miles around my neighboorhood the first day! A series of life events had me pretty much inactive till my late 30's A friend convinced me to do a team triathlon where I would swim when I got out of the water and handed off to my bike rider I realized I wanted to do my own triathlon. A few small issues like never ever running and not being on a bike in 20 years needed to be addressed in order to do that. I bought a Hybrid and was soon on the path to a road bike. I realized that my childhood love of biking carried over and I still love it. I returned to the same triathlon a year later and did the whole thing!

[Barb]

I started really riding again at 40. Hmmm, yeah I guess I rode cuz I turned 40. oh yeah and one more thing....WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

[jobob]

Thrilled to see some 40-somethings answer!

Oh, there are a few of us here

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=922

[LBTC]

Zen

when I ride
there can be nothing else

(I have the scars to prove it)


Namaste,
~T~

[ladiebug]

As I was reading all these replies, I was wondering if anyone has any small children. You all seem to have all the time in the world for biking. Gosh, I have a hard time squeezing it in. But...... my response to why I bike.... because I want to keep up with my kids! They want to do SO much. Their eyes are wide and the world is still brand new to them (ages 6,8,9). I guess that just boils down to wanting to have FUN!!!

[BikingAt50]

My husband had been riding for a few years and was now in excellent shape. In August, I was under so much stress, I felt I was losing it. Funny thing, I am a therapist. I started riding slowly and rode longer each night. I wanted to get some of the benefits I saw my husband obtaining. One night, I just kept going. It was as if the stress was being blown off of me! It became my therapy. I tell my friends that over the last year of dealing with so many things, I lost me along the way. My bike helped bring me back home to me. I owe my health and my emotional well being to my bike! When I am on my bike, nothing else matters. It becomes "all about the ride"! Now hubby and I ride together. He rides for speed. I ride to ride!

[nuthatch]

It became my therapy. I tell my friends that over the last year of dealing with so many things, I lost me along the way. My bike helped bring me back home to me. I owe my health and my emotional well being to my bike! When I am on my bike, nothing else matters. It becomes "all about the ride"! Now hubby and I ride together. He rides for speed. I ride to ride!

Yes, yes, yes! Well said!!

[wabisabi]

I went riding the other evening, and was thinking more about why I ride....

I ride because I can ride; because I am healthy enough at 55 to ride 100 miles in one day, for which I am grateful. Still look pretty good, too!

I went the other evening after work, and there was a big headwind and it was overcast, and it was a lot of work, but I could do it. Earlier in the day, I recalled that I had an old law school classmate (we're talking 30 years ago) who live in the Bay Area. When we were in school, there were not many women, and one's girlfriends were really important. We used to joke that we could all fit into the women's room, which was not that big. We were all pretty idealistic too. Well, when I looked her name up (it is pretty distinctive) in the Ca. Bar, next to it was the word "deceased." I can't tell you what a shock I felt. I took a ride, to help to take it in and to just be with my sadness--over her, over the mothers of GI's I talk with, all of the sadness. And, to celebrate being alive and being here, and having a body that works pretty well, and for those who can't ride.