Were you athletic as a kid?

[li10up]

I’ve noticed a lot of posts with the recurring theme of people having a hard time getting comfortable on their bikes. Some just don’t feel stable; others have problems learning to shift or problems going clipless. So I’m just curious, have the people who take to all the things associated with riding a bit easier than others been “athletes” all their lives and those experiencing more difficulty new to the “athletic” world?

As for me I grew up in a small country town with a higher ratio of boys to girls so a lot of “sports” were played. If you wanted to play baseball or football, or whatever you better be pretty good at it or nobody wanted you on their team. So, I’ve been involved in sports (not necessarily organized) all my life. My mom liked the word “tomboy.” (Although that’s a whole other post. ) I played volleyball, softball and basketball in high school. I also play racquetball. So I consider myself an athletic person. After a 22 year or so absence from the bike I really didn’t have problems starting up again…other than the location of the brakes and shifters being different. And there was one fall associated with going clipless. So, as I said, I’m curious – were you an “athlete” prior to taking up cycling? If so (or not), how hard was it for you to start cycling, i.e. stability, shifting, clipless, etc.?

[bmccasland]

I wouldn't consider myself an "athlete" when I was a kid. I climbed trees, had a bike and roved hither, thither, and yon. Rode my 10 speed down dirt roads in Michigan.. Was the worst member of my high school's girls track team. Passed out while running - no-one noticed that maybe I had breathing issues . Had bike in college, and ran/walked the Par-course that was built on the college campus.
So - I stayed active, hiking, biking for transportation, but not an "athlete"

[kaybee]

You could say I suffer from "Adult Onset Athleticism." I was definitely NOT athletic as a child -- I was overweight and still don't weigh as much as I did when I was 12 years old! I also grew up in a very "traditional" family where the little girls were taught how to cook and clean house while the boys went out and played baseball or rode their horses or pretty much did as they pleased. To this day, my mom gushes when my 58-year-old brother washes a dish!

I was a runner before cycling and I still run. Hubby and I just bought bikes to have something we could do together, since his knees are shot and he doesn't run anymore. We didn't know we would like it as much as we do!

KB

[mimitabby]

I was not athletic at all. I went to ballet school to escape having my legs put in braces to straighten them, I learned to ride a 2 wheeled bike when I was 9, and i was always the last one picked in guy class.
On the other hand, I was a tomboy and loved to climb trees and tramp around in the "woods"

[caligurl]

no.... not at all... i was into dance though (but i guess some would call that atheletic) ballet til i was 18.... tap.... baton at some point.... adagio at one point..... (i got to dance with such a cute boy... too bad i was too young at the time to appreciate that!)

[li10up]

How hard/easy was it for all of you to get back on the bike?

[mimitabby]

hahaha.
My Dh got into it before i did. i tried some rides with him and my then children. while the three of them were training for a double century i decided that 5 miles was my limit for a bike ride... bwahahahaha i drove the sag van..
it took a long time before I was strong enough to enjoy riding very far. I liked coasting.
so far as the mechanics of riding itself, i had no problem with that. once I learned, I never forgot how..

[kaybee]

Getting back on the bike (I hadn't ridden a bike since I was a teenager) was much easier than learning to run, probably because I didn't think about it much and I don't take it very seriously; it's just something fun to do on weekends.

KB

[RoadRaven]

hahahahahahahahaha


nope

not at all

I was the kid who wrote herself notes at school to get out of doing PE... I got really good at forging my mum's signature

[five one]

I was active as opposed to athletic as a child.

I grew up in a time when we were scooted out the front door in summer and told to play and not come back until dinner time. We were always busy running, climbing, and riding bikes. We also had PE in school at least three times a week and were active during recess. I took ballet from age five to 12. Once I hit junior high, it wasn't cool to be in ballet and PE became a chore. My new-found love of the Beatles in 1964 kept me indoors playing records and planning how I was going to meet and marry George Harrison

I remained flexible, but was not aerobically fit for the next 20 years. Took dance in college for PE credits and rode my Schwinn Varsity to class.

Later, as a SAHM, Jazzercize was my escape 10X a week. When I went back to work, I began walking, then running, on my lunch hour, but it wasn't much fun and I wasn't real consistent about it.

I was 50 when I began cycling almost five years ago. I didn't have too much trouble getting back into riding. Started with my son's old mountain bike (which was horrible) and when I was sure I was going to keep riding, got my Bianchi. I'm sure that I am more fit now than I have ever been post adolescence, and I plan on riding as long as I possibly can.

[mimitabby]

I grew up in a time when we were scooted out the front door in summer and told to play and not come back until dinner time.

My new-found love of the Beatles in 1964 kept me indoors playing records and planning how I was going to meet and marry George Harrison

I remained flexible, but was not aerobically fit for the next 20 years. Took dance in college for PE credits and rode my Schwinn Varsity to class.
.

5'1" I was going to meet and marry him too! what did that Patti know anyway?!
we also stayed out everyday to play, but not just in the summer. It's raining?
wear a raincoat!

[horsemom]

I thought I was a boy---rode horses, bikes, climbed trees, swam. I never even wore a shirt in the summer until I was about 10!!

Did anyone ever hear the Dar Williams song "When I was a Boy"?

I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand
I said I was a boy, I'm glad he didn't check.
I learned to fly, I learned to fight, I lived a whole life in one night
We saved each other's lives out on the pirate's deck.
And I remember that night when I'm leaving a late night with some friends
And I hear somebody tell me it's not safe, someone should help me
I need to find a nice man to walk me home.
When I was a boy, I scared the pants off of my mom,
Climbed what I could climbup on
And I don't know how I survived, I guess I knew the tricks that all the boys knew
And you could walk me home, but I was a boy, too.

I was a kid that you would like, just a small boy on her bike
Riding topless, yeah I never cared who saw.
My neighbor came outside to say, "Get your shirt," I said "No way
It's the last time, I'm not breaking any law."
And now I'm in a clothing store, and the signs say Less is More
More that's tight means more to see, more for them, not more for me
That can't help me climb a tree in ten seconds flat
When I was a boy, see that picture? That was me
Grass stained shirt and dusty knees.
And I know things have gotta change,
They got pills to sell, they've got implants to put in, they've got implants to remove
But I am not forgetting
That I was a boy too.

And like the woods where I would creep, it's a secret I can keep
Except when I'm tired, except when I'm being caught off guard.
I've had a lonesome awful day, the conversation finds it's way
To catchng fireflies out in the backyard
And I tell the man I'm with about the other life I lived
And I say now you're top gun, I have lost and you have won
And he says "Oh no, oh, no, can't you see
When I was a girl, my mom and I, we always talked
And I picked flowers everywhere that I walked
And I could always cry, now even when I'm alone I seldom do
And I have lost some kindness,
But I was a girl too.
And you were just like me, and I was just like you."

[five one]

5'1" I was going to meet and marry him too! what did that Patti know anyway?!
we also stayed out everyday to play, but not just in the summer. It's raining?
wear a raincoat!

Yeah...Patti Boyd. She was so...I don't know...blonde. I was so...not blonde. I did copy her hair and make up though. Just in case George came to his senses .

We got sent out into the snow in snowsuits and "idiot" mittens. The kind with the string that went up one sleeve and down the other so you'd never lose them. Whenever I smell wet wool, it takes me back to Colorado in the 50s.

[mimitabby]

Yeah...Patti Boyd. She was so...I don't know...blonde. I was so...not blonde. I did copy her hair and make up though. Just in case George came to his senses .

We got sent out into the snow in snowsuits and "idiot" mittens. The kind with the string that went up one sleeve and down the other so you'd never lose them. Whenever I smell wet wool, it takes me back to Colorado in the 50s.

Colorado! In the winter the limiting factor was our feet. those little rubber boots didn't keep the feet very warm.. and when the snow was deep, it always went down inside our shoes. I grew up in Newark NJ vicinity, before children were raised with so much fear.

I was not blonde nor did i wear makeup back then. (or now for that matter)

[Pax]

I was a hard core athlete growing up, I played tennis, softball, track, and swimming in high school. When I got to college I added rugby, racquetball, and fencing to the mix. I stayed an active athlete until I had enough surgery that playing any sport got too painful. My SO is a long-term athlete who was a cyclist and a runner when we got together (17 years ago), she got me interesting cycling and I found the transition to a bike to be effortless in terms of comfort with the actual bike...I can't say the same was true for my butt.