How old are you? How long have you been riding?

[OakLeaf]

I've wondered though, why do so many return to cycling in their middle years?

I've told my story here before, but the answer really isn't about why I returned to it, it's about how I burned out. If I hadn't had that burnout, I would've been riding continuously since childhood. A retreat that I went to for reasons completely unrelated to cycling rekindled the love, and made me realize I'd been away from it long enough that I could enjoy it again.

As far as running, yeah, I've heard that from other people, but actually I'm also running now more miles than I have in a very, very long time, and the running I'm doing is faster and more "serious" than ever before. So none of that here.

[tattiefritter]

I'm 34 and thinking about it, I got my first bike (solid tyred, with stabilisers - training wheels) at 3 and owned a bike of various types all the way up until I was 24 when my first MTB was stolen I used to use them on lots of short distances and for transport, I didn't learn to drive until I was 24 either.

I bought another MTB three years after the first was stolen and really got into riding for fun, so I've only really been without a bike for a total of about 6 years of my whole life.

[chicago]

45... soon to be 46, next week

I've been riding since last summer... but don't let that fool you... I've been an athlete my whole life. Grew up with 3 brothers who didn't hear of dolls... only baseball, and sports. I've played just about every sport, and was on an women's ice hockey league in my 30's which rocked ... and was running marathons before I turned cyclist...

I had no choice in being a tomboy... it was picked for me while still in the womb

[OakLeaf]

I had no choice in being a tomboy... it was picked for me while still in the womb

That's funny Chicago. Because my identity as an athlete is my identity because it was the one thing that wasn't picked for me in the womb. I think part of why I love physical culture so much is because it's something that my parents never valued at all.

[hermitclub]

Rode as a kid to get everywhere. Got a bike in 1996 to use as primary transportion from 1996 to 1999. Got back into biking in 2004. Bought my current bike in March 2006 and got the bike bug big time.

Broke my leg, on said bike, May 27, 2006. Couldn't ride again until late July 2006. Found this TE site, read a lot, posted a little. Did a ton of gear shopping as I kept my leg elevated in a cast for 2 months.

Now I ride year-round, weather permitting. Just started commuting to work again April 2008, 10 miles each way. I am hooked!

[mimitabby]

why do so many women turn to biking at middle age?
Oh, that's easy. it's good exercise with low impact. If you never ran before you were 50, it's probably never going to happen. But bicycling? you can pick your speed. you can amble, or you can race. You can just do flats or you can MTB your way through hills and rivers.
I've considered Soccer, but didn't want to get slammed, i guess there's a lot of body contact. And organized competitive sports just don't do anything for me.
Then bicycling has another side to it. Not only is it fun exercise, but it's practical transportation as well!

talk about win-win!

[chicago]

That's funny Chicago. Because my identity as an athlete is my identity because it was the one thing that wasn't picked for me in the womb. I think part of why I love physical culture so much is because it's something that my parents never valued at all.

funny how different we are huh?... my Mom takes credit for both my sister's and my athletic ability. We are good skaters, and my Mom says "that's because you're mother was always a good skater"... actually it's quite cute... and we adore her for it... but then I will say "Mom, does my playing sports my whole life have any contribution to my success as an athlete", and she'll say "well okay... maybe some", LOL!! Actually it is quite genetic... I have 50 cousins on the southside of Chicago, and I believe every one of them is athletic. We are all 5'4 (at least all the women), no hips and no boobs, LOL... all built the same, LOL!!

[elk]

why do so many women turn to biking at middle age?
Oh, that's easy. it's good exercise with low impact. If you never ran before you were 50, it's probably never going to happen. But bicycling? you can pick your speed. you can amble, or you can race. You can just do flats or you can MTB your way through hills and rivers.
I've considered Soccer, but didn't want to get slammed, i guess there's a lot of body contact. And organized competitive sports just don't do anything for me.
Then bicycling has another side to it. Not only is it fun exercise, but it's practical transportation as well!

talk about win-win!

plus bikes are such sexy looking machines and they purr just like cats...;-)

[emaline]

I'm 26, have had a bike most of my life, rode a lot when I was in middle/early high school, virtually none in college (tiny campus) and this year I decided to give up my car, bought two bikes (1990 Terry Chrom and 2007 Novara Pulse) and have been happy ever since. It's been six months. I don't anticipate being on four wheels again unless I'm pulling a trailer on a tour

[shootingstar]

why do so many women turn to biking at middle age?
Oh, that's easy. it's good exercise with low impact. If you never ran before you were 50, it's probably never going to happen. But bicycling? you can pick your speed. you can amble, or you can race. You can just do flats or you can MTB your way through hills and rivers.
I've considered Soccer, but didn't want to get slammed, i guess there's a lot of body contact. And organized competitive sports just don't do anything for me.
Then bicycling has another side to it. Not only is it fun exercise, but it's practical transportation as well!

talk about win-win!

+1 Even in my lowest times and after not cycling because of snow, therefore becoming cycling unfit....I always feel better...even after a slow, short ride. At least i got around..somewhere! The effort for cycling at any speed over whatever terrain, expected and unforeseen, is like a great positive metaphor for life.

The latter has kept me on the bike this long so far in life.

Cycling gives you many more possibilities in life travels...metaphorically speaking.

[Cyclo Kitty]

Rode all over Chicago as a kid with my dad-- school, parks, and for errands as a teenager (say, 10 years).

College I walked, mostly. Grad school, I rode for a year. Bad bike fit was my enemy. Got a bike for my birthday from a boyfriend (who asked me to move out two days later-- now that I had a way to leave??). That fit a little better, rode for about 6 months until I got a job that required hose.

Got married, and started riding again, and eventually spent some of the money we'd been saving for a new car on a bike. We rode for 4 years, until DS was born.

Started riding again two summers ago (June, 2006) because I was desperate for exercise, and DS was able to ride to camp drop off. Now I ride to work and for errands every day, and longer rides on the weekends. Our mechanic told us not to buy a new car---waste of money, he says. We buy gas once a month and use the car only for grocery shopping and errands where we can't take a bike. We're thinking about a Surly Big Dummy, or the Kona Ute to replace the car; all the utility shopping here is uphill coming home, so it takes some training and some thinking to haul food or ice melt or lumber home...but it could be done.

[Jiffer]

I guess I'm in the majority so far, age wise. I'm 39 and I've been riding for almost three years. First the tandem dh convinced me to ride with him, then a year ago, my own single. Not counting the bikes I rode as a kid, of course, or the hybrid dh bought me about five years ago that I lolly gagged around on a few times.

[sfa]

I'm 39. I rode everywhere when I was a kid, then after college spent a year touring Europe by bike. When I got back, I still spent a lot of time riding around for fun and exercise.

Then life got in the way--grad school, marriage, work, kids. The usual. Three years ago I decided I *had* to get myself back in shape, so I started running. It worked well to get me in shape but I hated every second of it. Then a few months ago, when I noticed I was avoiding running with all kinds of lame excuses, I remembered that cycling was always fun, even when it was exhausting and miserable. So I pulled out my 18 year old bike, got it fixed up and just got it back last week. I think most of my cycling is going to be commuting right now--it's a perfect way to work exercise into everyday life.

Sarah

[newfsmith]

I learned to ride as a kid, but it took me 3 years to do it. I rode a lot in college, especially after my brother was killed. When we moved east I basically stopped riding until 2000 when a new job let me start bike commuting. Regular riding made me realize I had never had a bike that fit, so I got a new bike that turned me into a "fanatic" according to my family. Now I love going for all day rides.

Oh, yeah, I'm 61.

[7rider]

I'm in the 35-45 age group.
I've been riding since...um...1991 or so. I lost a lot of weight and started walking to keep it off. My sister gave me her old Fuji road bike (waaayyy too small for me), and got a hybrid when I moved to Massachusetts in 1992. In 1995, the hybrid was stolen at a friend's house on Cape Cod and the insurance money bought (half) a new road bike. Picked up a mountainbike in 1997...and well, the addiction began and I've been riding (and buying) bikes since!
And there, in a nutshell, is my cycling history.