Newbie's question: What are you riding for?

[carback]

I'm riding because:

Of the sound of whirr - it's onomatopoeic
I love the excitement of riding in a pack and taking my turn pulling
I love what it's done for my legs
It's freedom on two wheels
I often see bears and other wildlife
I've made the most amazing friends in the world through biking
I love saying "On Your Left"
It defines me
I appreciate a good pair of shaved male cycling legs
Of the smells & sights of rivers, trees, flowers, forests, towns
No matter how much I might not feel like riding, once I get myself out the door, I have NEVER regretted it
At 43 years of age, I can still pass for early 30s
I like relaying the stories behind my bruises & cuts (from mountain biking)
I can't imagine not riding

[KSH]

I love saying "On Your Left"

HAHAHA... have you seen that movie, "Spanglish"???

[BikingAt50]

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!


Wabisabi -- your 55 and can do 100 in a day! That is awesome. I am 50 and increasing my distance each week. You are my role model!

[CorsairMac]

I'm riding because:

Of the sound of whirr - it's onomatopoeic

OK - Anyone that can use AND spell that kind of word deserves the She-Ra Princess of Power Tiara for the day!!! had me in Stitches!!

Welcome to the board Carback!! If you haven't already (I always read these backwards) there's a thread under the open titled "getting to know you". Gives you about geez - what we up to now an hour or two??- of grins and giggles getting to know us and tell us a little more about you - is you're so inclined!

[PinkRacer]

My honey is super into biking and I found it a great way to spend more time with him. After I ended up breaking my foot (not bike related) it turned out to be the best rehab for it. Plus the "leaning out" factor has been super. I workout in the gym all the time but biking is giving me that "wow" shape I've been trying to work so hard for. It's just so much fun! Getting the right bike made also helped. I had a really hard time finding a bike that really fit till I went to rodcycle.com. Now I have a custom pink bike that I day dream about riding while at the office....

[CorsairMac]

Welcome to the board PR. Man are you and your pink bike gonna stir up some interest! We've got Quite a few pink riders on the board and they're gonna wanna see your bike!! if you get a chance tell us all about ya'll on the "getting to know you" thread and post a pix of your purty pink bike!!!

[Trek420]

Like most I rode as a kid, even long after I could drive and got a car. I think early 80's my bike got stollen and I never replaced it. In '96 when my GF and I wanted to get back into fitness we got bikes. She no longer rides, we also broke up but for me cycling took off.

I ride because if I was a horse they'd shoot me, from the hips down I'm a wreck. I ride on Dr's orders. My othopedic surgeon suggested cycling as a non-impact sport. He said "you have a choice of changing your lifestyle to fit your legs (he meant go sedentary because my legs are shot) or change your legs to fit your lifestyle". He probably thought "to the store" "on the Bay Trail", wasn't thinking "Up Diablo with the TE gals" "to LA twice" ;-)

I ride for the look on my coworkers face when he said "I can't walk at lunch I'm too old" and he's 30 sumthin. I said "I'll be 50 in March" and he knows how I ride. He demanded to see ID.

I ride because bikes are so beautiful.

I ride because cyclists are the best people.

I ride for the food.

[juvel01]

I started riding mtb because it made me stronger and more balanced on my horses (I ride competitive dressage at higher levels). Now, I ride with my DH (though he can kick my a$$ any day of the week off road). I'm just beginning road and I have to say, its almost a zen thing. I prefer to be on my own, just listening to the chain click, the road hum of the tires, etc. Its my time to not have to listen to my trainer yelling at me, my boss paging me, my dogs barking, my cat meowing, my DH asking where his keys are, my kids calling "mommy, can I (insert something you say 'no' to here)", bad news on NPR, my car brakes squealing.......

[chick on a bike]

I ride for several different reasons really...

For the past 4 hellish years, I have been sick with Chron's (an autoimmune disease) and was not doing well physically at all. I threw everything up as anything that went down-no matter how small-would come right back up so my muscles and body was deteriorating from throwing up for 4 years. Finally, by the grace of God, I was granted my health back and as of Feb. 6 of this year, I finally stopped throwing up. I was exahsted but oh so relieved; been 5 months now sinced I last hurled....WooHoo!!!!!

Well in the last few months that I was sick, I had started riding with a best friend as he had an extra bike. But when I'd go with him, he'd always have to wait for me because I was so slow and outta shape, (pluss having bad health at the time didn't help! :P) So I figured I'd better get a good bike to start getting into shape now that I'm getting better. I had a bike but my old mountain bike was too small and was too freakin' heavy to even think about messing with; I needed a new one.

Well I had been walking everyday after I stopped throwing up to try and get back into shape (and because it was helping my stomach digest and my intestines to work as they really hadn't for the past 4 years-and still are iffy) but I found that that was no longer going to work as it was just too hard of an impact on my knees going up and down hills (loved walking up hill). So I knew at that point I was going to have to get myself a bike as I had to keep exercising for my health, and because it was so low impact on my knees. So for the time being my girlfriend gave me her mountain bike to ride while she out of the goodness of her heart, worked to put one together for me-bless her!!!

So for a while I rode her bike and then after my "new" mountain bike was put together I rode it quite proudly! ^^ It's so ornery...just like me! My knees were feeling a lot better since I started to ride again (I used to a few years back but got out of the habbit-glad I picked it up again :P) and I realized that I was loosing the ugly fat on my legs and butt........Riding for me then became a hot motive to loose the extra pounds that I had never been able to loos over the years (didn't even loose it while throwing up, :P stupid fat! ~grumbles~)

So now I ride to keep my health in check and to keep my body looking somewhat decent. It keeps my mind in better shape as it truly is exhilerating to be out on the roads and mountain trails on a bike. I've come to love it so!!!


~Liz

[shadon]

I want to get back into shape, and I think biking is the best exercise there is.

I want to expand my horizons..I don't drive, so cycling would be a way to see more things, go more places.

I want to meet new people, make some new friends.

I rode a bike in HS and college, and I always thought cyclists were cool and fun....I want to be cool and fun!

I want to ride the Cinderella Classic! and the AIDSLifecycle Ride.

I was talking with some friends who ride, last weekend, about why cycling is a good sport, and after a lull in the conversation, one of them said "and you can drink beer!"

I'm there!

[Grog]

For the past 4 hellish years, I have been sick with Chron's (an autoimmune disease) and was not doing well physically at all. I threw everything up as anything that went down-no matter how small-would come right back up so my muscles and body was deteriorating from throwing up for 4 years. Finally, by the grace of God, I was granted my health back and as of Feb. 6 of this year, I finally stopped throwing up. I was exahsted but oh so relieved; been 5 months now sinced I last hurled....WooHoo!!!!!

Congrats Liz on starting to ride and I'm really glad for you that you overcame Crohn's. I have a friend who suffered a lot from it and he was quite sure he'd never turn 30, grew very cynical about life, but survived and now he's about 35 with a great wife and kids. I'm quite sure that exercise will do wonders on you, along the regular stuff of course... Just make sure you don't overtrain (it can weaken the immune system), but ride! ride! ride!

Cheers!

[massbikebabe]

I loved to ride in my twenties...but then babies, and life took over leaving me no chance to ride. Then in my forties a very good friend was diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis, I got back on my bike for her, to fundraise. Now I feel like every pedal stroke I make gives her one more precious step, even if it is with crutches. I am riding to keep her out of a wheelchair!!

karen

[chick on a bike]

Congrats Liz on starting to ride and I'm really glad for you that you overcame Crohn's. I have a friend who suffered a lot from it and he was quite sure he'd never turn 30, grew very cynical about life, but survived and now he's about 35 with a great wife and kids. I'm quite sure that exercise will do wonders on you, along the regular stuff of course... Just make sure you don't overtrain (it can weaken the immune system), but ride! ride! ride!

Cheers!

Thanks hon! ^^

That's great that your friend is doing well now; it's easy to be really discouraged and have a poor outlook on life as when you feel worse than butt, nothing is appealing and you wish the whole world would just go away or go die some place! *lol* :P I don't ever remember getting cynical about life, but I sure was discouraged...Though I guess I had reason to be as I had lost my last semester in 10th grade to my health; never got to finish it.

I always new while I was sick that things would someday get better...I didn't know when but I knew they had to. Though as I hit the last 6 months of being sick, I was going down hill again and really started to worry as my body was begining to shut down. I was feeling weaker and I would go weeks to a month without (parden my grossness) having a BM and my liver was causing my skin, teeth and fingernails to turn yellow. I was not in that great of shape. I realized if something didn't change soon, I was going to be in serious trouble. Finally, I got my break and I was able to heal; I stopped with the constant vomiting and my body started to get back on track.

Though now, I'm still having trouble keeping my intestines and stomach working like they should and I've been yellow too, but it's not enough to keep me off my bike; I don't dare stop riding. The riding is what's keeping my intestines moving! *lol* If I stop, they stop. :P Not good, so I'm out on the roads and trail as often as possible. I try to do it at least 4 times a week, each time going from 13.8 to 14.8 miles. The 13.8 miler I can usually do in less than an hour; anywhere's from 54 to 58 minutes. I move the fastest when there's not a strong headwind, I hate headwinds! :P My 14.8 miler I usually do in an hour and 2 minutes and both these rides I've been doing in about 80 degree weather if not a little more....I miss the cool weather! *giggles*

But training in the warmer weather does have it's advantages (aside from being easier on the muscles), it makes it easier to really fly once the cool weather is present! I have a habit of pushing myself (partially due my extreme competitiveness) but also have to be careful when I do as I can make myself sick in the warmer weather. I push because I can and in some way makes me feel better when I do. Although I did not know that overtraining could affect the immune system by making it weaker.....How does it do that??? ~scratches head in wonder~ I know it can irritate my knees! *lol* ^^ :P


~Liz

[Grog]

Although I did not know that overtraining could affect the immune system by making it weaker.....How does it do that??? ~scratches head in wonder~ I know it can irritate my knees! *lol* ^^ :P

I am no sports medic but I suggest you check this issue out in good sports medicine books, maybe especially those about cycling (I've seen a couple cited on TE but can't remember the titles). Discussing this with a friendly doctor could be an option too. Generally they worry about people being inactive, but being overactive can, in extreme cases, become problematic too.

Doing anything in EXCESS can weaken your system: if you use all your energy to get better at one thing (usually: going faster) you may not have much left to fight simple infections, for example. There are a couple of threads about overtraining and/or sickness you could read from this discussion board, too. Just make sure you listen to your body and only increase your training hours/efforts gradually (10% per week is generally recommended). From what you tell us - 4 times a week, 15-20 miles - I don't think it will be an issue for you... but cycling can become addictive!!! so who knows?

Keep riding and don't worry, I'm sure you'll have tons of fun!

[shortwavez]

i got into it because its a good way to stay in shape!