What got you into biking?

[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.