What got you into biking?

[Trigress]

Well, I've always hated cycling, ever since I was a kid and did it out of lack of alternative transport. But I never liked it.

I've never liked any endurance sport, really, being a sprinter I prefer exercise like weight training, martial arts and so on. However, a bit of stamina never was a bad thing, and after reading an article in Elle ( I know) I began running. Or jogging, really. And I loved it! So much in fact that I contracted the inevitable runner's knee. It came and went repeatedly, and I began looking for alternative workouts, and cycling was the most obvious, fulfilling my criteria of possible to do outdoors and good endurance training. It took me quite some time though, as I truly did hate cycling. But I'd tried triathlon and loved it, despite the horrid cycling leg, and I decided to buy a new bike. I was going to buy an MTB, but then out of the blue my cousin told me that he had a friend who imported road bikes and that he could get one cheap for me. Nine months and a lot of oatmeal later I was the proud owner of a bright red Italian carbon road bike and I have never looked back. This was in 2005, I've sorted out my runner's knee by now, done two half ironmen and are about to really take the plunge - I want to let the little sprinter in me come out and get to those mass sprints!

My DH is a road cyclist, I don't think he ever imagined how fond I would become of both cycling and my little red bike, or that I would join a cycling club and even become a referee!

[pinkbikes]

I grew up in a small seaside town and rode my bike to school and generally get around. Then I was sent away to boarding school and riding stopped. I immersed myself in waterpolo and martial arts with a bit of middle distance running thrown in.

I got more serious about the martial arts and was at university and training for my second dan when I injured my inner thigh. No - not doing a high flying kick or anything serious - but doing the cancan in the lounge room with my dad horsing around! Needless to say, with the stupidity of youth, I kept rushing back into training and re-injuring the offending thigh, so returned to swimming to stay fit while I recuperated.

Somebody noticed I was a pretty decent swimmer and thrust a leaflet for an all women's triathlon at me and suggested I enter. This was 1983 and triathlon was pretty much in its infancy here. I borrowed my cousin's old Peugot 10speed which was too big for both of us, trained for a few weeks and gave it a lash. A lifetime love affair with the triathlon was born and I never returned to martial arts.

I bought my first road bike in 1984 and still have it to this day. My first date with DH was a ride on our road bikes in 1986. We continued to ride in many triathlons over the years, sometimes as an individual and sometimes in teams. While we were paying off a huge mortgage with monstrous interest rates in the late 80s cycling was our entertainment, our exercise, and our social life with our friends.

We dabbled in early mountain bikes and hybrids around the time we eased out of triathlons and then had our DD. I carted her around on the back of my rigid MTB and then on a trailgater behind the hybrid as she grew, but it was mainly social. I put on weight and took up tapdancing.

Once a year (regardless of how fat I was) I pulled down the beloved roadie and competed in the corporate triathlon. It is a shortcourse tri where teams of three each do a full tri as a relay. I could always pump out a pretty good swim and then slide backward through the field doing ok on the bike and crap in the run! I suffered terrible bike envy (as much as I loved mine) looking at all the beautiful new machinery. But I would convince myself there was no point buying a new one if I only used it for three months of the year to train and ride in the little tri.

A couple of years ago, I put in a stirling effort, lost 10kg and put a bit of extra effort into training and then kept riding after the tri was over and really was enjoying it. A bit of money came my way for filling in for my boss at work and I decided to buy a new roadie. I spent a few weeks agonising over specs and eventually bought my Shogun Ninja, which is a boring but nice, 105 equipped bike with carbon fork, seatpost and seat stays, and it was "a bargain as long as you like black" since it was about to be last year's stock! I have ridden it and loved it immensely and DD has her beady little eyes fixed on it with hopes that she will grow into it soon!

Of course this opened the biking floodgates at our house once more. DH followed me out of the store the day I picked it up with a MTB to ride in our local forest. Shortly afterward I bought a MTB so I could ride with him. We discovered a whole new bunch of friends and connected within our neighbourhood through riding in the forest 1km from our door! Other roadie friends joined us in the forest and we started doing a few endurance MTB races.

I bought a better MTB! DH had bought and sold two in this time! We decided to try cycle touring and bought a tandem so DD could join us! DH decided it was time for him to re-discover road biking, so he bought a used Giant TCR to ride. He loved it but wanted something more touring-style, so bought another relaxed roadie. DD started to ride in the forest with us, so we sold her cheapie girlie department store bike and bought her a little Trek MTB. It's just gotten out of hand. I have now done the bike leg for a couple of olympic distance triathlons for a team and really have the bug for a nice 40km TT, so would like a nicer roadie! Maybe when DD grows into that current roadie!

Riding is now back to being a HUGE part of our lives as individuals (we each have our own circles for individual rides) and as a family. We even manage to get the odd ride in as a couple too! Touring on a tandem with DD has a been very special and has helped us communicate very well as she enters that tricky time of adolescence.

I have used cycling to increase my circle of friends within my colleagues at work (even got the boss onto a MTB, into a race and tore skin off him) because there just seems to be something about engineers and bikes that go well together! I even take a bike to work to ride around town to meetings. It clears my head and I just enjoy the feel of freedom (however brief) immensely. I love bikes. I love the way they feel, the way they make me feel, and I can see myself riding them forever given the choice!