What got you into biking?

[maillotpois]

Bates - 86 - 90

So close! Funny. small world.

[GLC1968]

Very small world - it seems to get smaller as I age, too!

Oh, and that roommate of mine with the Trek? Yeah, she was from Marin County.

[Veronica]

So funny. If I had stayed to go to school in Maine, I probably would have ended up at Bates, Bowdoin or Colby. But I just had to get away at that point in my life. I'd have been class of '89 like MP.

Yeah, Thom and I have been thinking we needed to go back to Henry Coe. It's amazing what a little strength and confidence will do for you.

Veronica

[PamNY]

I bike because it's fun. I thought it would be a good social outlet, too, but the group rides I've observed don't look safe.

[hirakukibou]

I am 47 years old and had never been an athlete, until now. Growing up I was more interested in poetry than sports. I was a member of the literary club in high school snubbing anything as physical as football or running. However, I knew, a year ago, when I fell in love with David that a lot more exercise would come into my life. What I didn’t know was that it would change me profoundly. David is an avid cyclist and has been for twenty some odd years. I was an avid couch potato without the slightest interest in anything that could be called exercise. But, I liked being with him and he was on the bike.

I remember the first time I rode from Arlington to Bedford on the Minuteman Bike Trail. I had to stop at every large rock to rest and catch my breath. When my energy flagged and my pedaling slowed, he would come up behind me and rest his hand on the small of my back and give me a push. I needed those pushes, like the small child on the swing who can’t quite get going. I made it to Bedford and back. That was three and a half years ago.

Since then, I have cycled about 15,000 miles. I own six bikes. I work teaching bicycle riding at The Bicycle Riding School. I am a ride leader with the NEBC Women's Ride. I ride with two clubs. I have done the Harbor to the Bay AID charity ride twice and will do it this year as well. It is a 125 miles in one day. I do a lot of my own wrenching. I am learning to build wheels. Our apartment looks like a bike shop -- we have no kitchen table but instead have a work stand. I have lost weight and am more fit than I was in high school. My life has been consumed by all things bicycle. It has a life of its own and I have made it my own. Now, I can't imagine my life without cycling.

[TrekTheKaty]

At 30, I was overweight. Although I'd never been athletic, I took up running to get in shape. After a few years of slow marathons and half-marathons, I hurt my back. Chiropractor said to pick a new sport! My sister had just started riding after digging a bike out of the dumpster. I took my old hybrid around the block and discovered it didn't aggravate my back. DH was relieved--he'd done a lot of riding and had tried to get me started while we were dating. The rest is history--3 years and counting..........

[Lakerider]

Everytime I start out on a bike ride I say, "This is so cool!"

[Crankin]

My DH and younger son got me into cycling. I had really enjoyed riding as an early adolescent and rode everywhere on my 3 speed Raleigh, on some tough hills, too. I loved it because as far as other sports went, I am a total failure. I was in remedial PE as a HS sophomore and I have horrible eye hand coordination. Don't like competition too much, either! But, when I was in remedial PE, I found out that I like fitness oriented stuff and I have good endurance. This was in 1969, when individual sports were not popular and there wasn't much out there for girls.
I rode until I moved to Miami and no one rode or walked. I had a couple of cheap bikes, later, in AZ (5, 10 speed Univegas) in grad school and when I was first married, but I never rode more than 5-10 miles. I distinctly remember riding the *wrong way* down Rural Rd. between Elliot and Chandler Blvd. in south Tempe, and having a bad experience with a car, and never riding again for a long time.
In the meantime, I got into aerobics/step and became an instructor. Basically, after 10 years, I got burned out, and while I still went to classes, it was in a half hearted way. I started gaining weight, my cholesterol went up, and I wasn't feeling too good about myself. During this time, my son started running and then mountain biking, in 1999. MY DH bought a mountain bike and started going with my son. I had been encouraging my DH to do something because he was getting FAT and the tennis he played wasn't helping. When my son signed up to go on a 3 week tour from MA to Maine, Vermont and back, we bought him a road bike. As a surprise, my DH bought a road bike while he was gone and started going out to practice riding before my son came back. I didn't know my DH had ridden as a kid, like 50-70 mile rides. Well, my son came back from that trip a riding monster... he went out and did a century with a group of adults the week he came back! He started racing that fall and pretty soon my DH couldn't keep up with him.
Around this time I got serious about losing weight and started walking and seriously going to aerobics again. In the fall of 2000 my DH refit his mountain bike for me and bought me shorts and a jersey. He took me out on a 6 mile ride where he had to push me up a small hill with the back of his hand. Even though I was humiliated, I was hooked. After all, I was supposed to be the fit one! I rode that bike for 2 years and in September 2002, I bought an entry level Cannondale road bike. My son (and by this time we had our German exchange student living with us, who was also a racer) went out with me at 6 AM on a Sunday and taught me to use my clipless pedals!
Pretty much I haven't looked back since. I'm on my 3d road bike and also have a hybrid and mountain bike. I became a bike trip leader for AMC, but I have kept that to a minimum, since I was starting to burn out on that, too. My DH has mellowed a bit and we ride together all of the time, even though he is faster than me. Our goal is to ride off into the sunset on our bikes when we die...

[Hub]

Lance- by proxy-

He inspired my brother - Pscyclepath- who introduced me to Lance (at least the books & such).

[Jen72]

I started cycling July 3, 2009, three weeks ago. I just turned 37 and I'm way overweight, high blood pressure, scared of becoming diabetic, and sick of it all. In addition I moved to Washington not long ago and haven't really made any friends.

My aunt and I joined weight watchers and started walking on the Centennial Trail nightly as I looked at the cyclist speeding by me I thought about how much fun I had as a kid riding my bike and pretty soon I was eaten up with the idea of getting myself a bike. After some trial and error I ended up with a Specialized Dolce and I love it. In the short time I've put over 300 miles on my bike and climbing. I cycle at least 15 miles a day now and today I rode 26 miles which is the most I've ridden in one day. I've lost 10 lbs and my weekly weight loss is picking up speed.

I'm having so much fun now and feel so dang good everyday. I can't see myself going back to the lethargic lifestyle I had before. I'm thinking I can reach my goal weight in about 7-8 months. I feel a freedom now in not letting food take control of my life. It's an addiction for me that I'm working on and getting better all the time. I made a sign to put on the Fridge saying nothing tastes as good as being thin as a reminder and it works. I really just want to be healthy, look good again, have more self confidence instead of always being so shy, and feel strong. I really can't get over how much fun I'm having now.

[crazycanuck]

Sorry for the long post

(I think I had a bike when I lived in Edmonton but not sure what it was..I wasn't into cycling but certainly remember cycling to work in the early parts of winter.)

I think it was 2004...We were living in Auckland & I had a trip planned to visit family back in Canada & knew I wouldn't have a job when i returned. Anywho, ventured back & upon return to NZ, I suggested to Ian, I'd like to buy a bike. We were both overweight & oddly enough the gym that we were members at moved & I wanted something else. So, we bought cheap bikes as we had no idea if we'd enjoy it or love it. We started cycling to work & thought we'd die when we had to cycle 10km. Ended up discovering Woodhill in Auckland (fairly new then) & of course Rotovegas , sparking our love affair with dirt..

Crap bikes were stolen(someone did us a huge favour!!!) & ended up with new bikes that were too big (we didn't have a clue at the time..). We were transferred to Perth a year later. We are heavily involved in the mtn bike community & have a good crew of friends who do dirt as well.

We've gone from couch slobs to riders active in mtb club races, enduros, 6hr & 12hr events.

Road doesn't do it for us-great training tool for dirt though!

I've attached an old photo from 2002(prior to cycling & getting my thyroid under control) & one from our quick visit to NZ last christmas. Ian often opens old photos such as the first one i've posted to stop me from whining about my weight.

[sundial]

CC, your story is inspirational.

I went through stages of exercise as a kid. I lived near canals so I explored them by bike. Later I turned to running--it was the thing to do according to Jim Fixx. Then aerobics was the hot trend. Then weight training. As I got older and my knee joint continued to deteriorate my orthos encouraged me to swim or cycle. I picked the latter. I bought a mtb and slicks and rode my heart out. Then I became intrigued by the reviews of a Terry bike and bought one with the money I saved from my first real job. The rest, as they say, is history.