biking and self esteem?

[bikerchic]

Wow this is a great thread, I've really enjoyed reading what everyone has written, and I thought I was the only one who felt so strongly about cycling.

Spokes asked:

so... anyone else feel better about yourself since taking up biking? any other interesting results? dump a jerk? get a better job? tell your mother to lay off? re-paint your kitchen? buy sexy underwear? share! share the stories,

Well lets see.......I started serious cycling at age 48, up till that time I was busy raising five kids. Watching my boys do BMX-ing was a blast and really gave me the cycling bug. I was so envious of them, it looked like so much fun! I was just overcomming fibermyalgia and if anyone back then had told me I could ride a bike a block let alone do century rides I would have never believed them. It made me physically stronger and helped me to heal even my doctor was in disbelief at my abilities to do that!

I've dumped a jerk.......(or two).

I moved/divorced the jerk and started a new life on my own, my own business and yes I think I did tell my mother to lay off. LOL

humm sexy underwear......well I won't tell all but lets just say Victoria Secret and I are very close.

I recently married a wonderful guy and even though he's not a cyclist he loves the fact that I have something I like to do and supports me in it. He laughs at the fact that I insist on keeping my bike in the house he thought they belonged in the garage, LOL.

I started cycling when my life (as I knew it) was falling apart, it was cathartic, it gave me something to believe in, it made me believe in myself. I discovered I was a very strong woman inspite of being beaten down by my X. There was nothing more inspiring than being on a long, loney stretch of road becoming one with my bike to make me fall in love with life. It gave me purpose again.
Many of those reasons aren't the same for me now but cycling is something that centers me and keeps me humble and wanting to improve, not only in my cycling but in everday life.

Yes cycling has changed me, saved me even and made me a stronger person. I am certain that I will always known as a "bikerchic" a name I earned and was given to me by my cycling buds.

I do live to ride and ride to live!

Thanks spokes for the walk down memory lane.

Kate

[spokes]

i guess they don't start a discussion board for people who are *kinda* into cycling!!

if only they made sexy underwear suitable for sitting on a bike.. .damn scratchy lace...

it's true you know, if we could get people to feel like we all do when we're biking, the world would be a better place!!! something to dream for...

[Irulan]

spokes, you aren't supposed to wear underwear when you bike.

Irulan

[MightyMitre]

Knickers no, but I was on a cycling holiday in Itlay in May and one of the guides was a very slim, blond Italian woman. She used to wear a pushup bra under her jersey which had a long zip.

At coffee stops she'd open her jersey a bit to cool down and she looked great. So glarmorous, not at all tarty like it might sound. To top it off she was a totally fanastic rider....

The best I can do is a blue crop top.....bring on the glamour

[Irulan]

silly, I meant underpants!!

The lace peek a boo thing sounds cute and like a great attention getter but I dont' like how regular bras feel when they get all sweaty.

Irulan

[laura]

Wow, these are some of the best stories I've read in awhile. Thank you all, you've brightened my day. It seems like a lot of women have been pulled out of their lows through cycling and even more, been propelled to heights they didn't imagine. I feel the same has happened for me. I never thought a middle aged woman like me would ever feel like wearing that sexy pair of tight jeans with pride. But cycling has given me a whole new outlook (and body). Here's to a long life of happy cycling!

[ChamChick]

I bought my first bike, a Giant Hybrid, last year and after putting over 900 miles on it I decided to step up to a "real" road bike. In August I bought a Trek 2200 WSD. At first my husband thought spending that much money on a bicycle was crazy, but he quickly figured out I was determined to get one anyway.

I have logged 800 miles on her and my family thinks it's great. My personal goal this season was to do a 50 mile ride and I am pleased to say I did it last Sunday. It was so cool to call my daughters, 28, 25, and 21, to tell them I met my challenge. They were so excited and proud of me. My youngest enthusiastically screeched, "Mom, that's so awesome!" It's so rewarding, at 47, to know that they admire me for doing something as physical as cycling.

Next May I gonna do the Horsey Hundred!

PS: I guess that my husband decided that if he was going to spend any quality time with me he needed to buy a bike. Well, he has about 400 miles on his Trek 7500 and is wondering if maybe he might need a "real" road bike. ...wonders never cease.

[laura]

Chamchick,

That is awesome!! You go girl! Isn't it cool when not only do you accomplish your own goal but you suddenly find you are a role model for others. That is a great feeling.

[rosie]

What wonderful stories! I'm pretty new to all this, but hopefully I'll have my own to add eventually. In the meantime, thanks for the inspiration.

- rosie the lurker

[paintgirl]

It is good to hear so many people talking about cycling in words I sometimes feel. My younger brother Pat, and I used to race each other home from school on our bikes, I still remember the smells and feel of autumn rides, rushing to get home when the gang of farmers were there bringing in corn crops. I was a farm girl, still am at heart. Pat died 2 years ago after a 10 year valiant battle with brain cancer. Sometimes when I ride, especiall at this time of the year, I can hear his giggle and laugh. Always, I feel his spirit with me when I ride, and thats one of the big reasons I will ride until I die. Freedom, vitality, strength, happiness, joy, all of these emotions cycling brings to me.

[doorah]

I realize that this thread is almost 2 years old, however as a new rider myself I found it to be touching and motivational like nothing else I've read here or anyplace.

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you wonderful ladies for the inspiration & information I receive on this forum.....I am a lone biker and you are all my cycling buddies in spirit

I hope other new riders will enjoy this post as it is timeless in my eyes...

~doorah~

[latelatebloomer]

Very cool to see this - I teared up more than once. Thanks. And it's all true. The bike is teaching me that I ask more of myself - and do it - and then ask a little more - and do it. My self-respect has grown by leaps, and there is a sparkle in my eyes that was never there before. And you all help to keep it going.

And I can't wait for the right time & place to do the sexy bra thing.

[SnappyPix]

I missed this thread the first time round, so thanks to Spokes for starting it, and to Doorah for reviving it.
It's just so wonderful to be among people who understand. Whenever I'm surrounded by a group of cyclists, I always feel like I'm with "my people"!!
It's wonderful to share something so fundamental and know that others feel it to. To not have to explain that feeling of exhileration and empowerment that a ride can bring.
I ask friends sometimes what their passion is in life - what gives them that thrill-factor, that feeling to be alive. Most can't answer as they don't really know.
The great thing about cycling is that it doesn't matter how good you are, how fast you are, how good you look - it's personal, it's freedom, it's you and your bike and the great outdoors.
I'm so grateful to have a passion, to have something I get such a kick from, something that drives me and makes me feel alive.

[bluerider]

What a great topic. No doubt, physically, I've never been stronger or in better shape. But more importantly, my sense of self has grown as well. It's true, I feel like "superwoman" when I'm on my bike and that confidence carries into other aspects of my life.

I bought my first road bike this year because it was a "reward" to myself for making a huge step in my career. And it was my bike that saved me in those first few months when I lost confidence because I had no idea what I was doing or felt I was in over my head. I remember one night I came home sobbing because I was so stressed out but after a bike ride that night, I suddenly had the answers to my problems and most importantly, felt my confidence re-building with each pedal stroke to face another day.

It may sound cheesy but had I not had my bike during those first few months, I would've likely quit or had a nervous breakdown. I owe my bike so much. It's given me more than a healthly body, it provides me that confidence boost when I've temporarily lost it.

[margo49]

Wonderful to read all this because I think I was born to ride. In my youth I toured New Zealand, Highway 101 of your USA, France (toute seule avec mon velo et mon tente), Switzerland and Germany, and worked as a messenger in London for 2 years.
Since I moved to Israel I rode whatever there was .On the basis that whatever you do on your bike has been done in the 1930's by an English woman on a Raleigh Sports with 3-speed Sturmey Archer gearing and a canvas pup tent . Then I bought a Raleigh commuting bike for my 5 year free of breast cancer anniversary .I rode the agricultural tracks around the kibbutz and the shores of the Sea of Gallilee. Then 2 years ago an incredibly close to fatal tractor accident left me with a right arm full of medical reconstruction metal (2 plates, 12 screws and a "kebab stick") Even after 18 months of physical therapy I thought I would never be able to ride again. But my son gave me his Trek 820. A bit of adjustment (twisted the handlebar to off center to accomodate the unstraightenable arm) and I am now riding 3 or 4 hour trips .I love the international border military "road" where I can see the prints of the night animals and the early birds in the sandy roadside. Today a flock of migrating storks flew right over me.
You know, Lance, it *is* about the bike