What's your age, when did you start riding?



I'm 26, I started riding when I was 4 on a mates BMX... and never used the "training wheels", my mate sort of taught me .. he was a year older. I just kept riding around in circles in his old garage untill I got the knack.. after that I bugged the h3ll out of mum and dad till that bought me a BMX.. a Haro from memory which I rode to death on the local bmx track. I rode and raced a BMX up untill I was 14.. after that a mate left his mountain bike with me when he went overseas.. I've been into pushies my entire life pretty much, there is a 5 year gap when i got something like CFS (chronic fatigue) that just knocked my socks off for a along time, I wouldn't wish that on my worse enemy, it was really hacked. but I'm back into it now, more of a roadie than anything .. but have lost all the pounds gained and about to start racing XC MTB. Love cycling .. always have .. always will.. just one of those things I guess :).

Oh and I still ride with three mates I rode and raced with at school, 10 years ago. Two of which I ride with just about every weekend and team up with for Enduro's for the hell of it and one mate probably 4 times a year. Its one of those funny bugs that once you get bitten by it.. you never seam to shake it.. not that I'm complaining.
 
I just turned 14 and I ride a specalized allez, I ride atleast 60 miles a week and I babey my bike [it stays with me in my room, is well waxed and kept in immaculate condition] I have been into the sport for 2 years on my raleigh m20. This summer i wached the move "breaking away" and saw lance win no. 6, that got me more inspired than ever to get a road bike and it just progressed from there.
 
started riding when i was 4 on a little red 12" bike. broke training wheels within a few days. up graded with a black sports world 20" BMX. replaced it with a 20" redline which was destroyed in 1990 after i got hit by a car.

Replaced it with a haro freestyle bike which lasted 7 years before i snapped the frame in two. i quit for a while after that.

purchased a kent dual suspension bike, (a dodgy bike, but i couldnt beak it. even after several 1.5m+ drops and numerous rides down stairs) which someone stole several months later, replaced it with a 2004 Schwinn Mesa. which i'll be upgrading shortly

i never got into it competively but found it to be a good outlet for my aggression (my bike doesnt think so however)
i'm 25 now btw
 
I started riding when I was about 6 or so. Then, like many others, after I got a car at 16, my biking fell by the wayside for a few years. When I was about 19 or 20, I started riding again. I am not 23 and I am addicted for life...
 
i'm 25 i have been riding for 3 years to comute and i am getting into riding longer distances now, i had a bike when i was a kid but it got stolen and never replaced, i would have liked to have had a bike when i was younger though,
 
copywrites said:
I'm 50 year old, but I only count 30 years of riding, even though I had my first bike at age 4. for me, it doesn't really count until you become interested in the sport, not just the activity. For all the young kids out there reading, find an old bike, tear it apart and put it back together again. Change out a few components, rewrap your bars, maybe even try to build a set of wheels. Learn those things and you will leap from riding a bike to "riding" as a sport.
I`m 58,started cycling 1969. Owned a bike shop and raced for several years. Stopped riding for 20 years [burnedout] began cycling a year ago with my wife on a tandem. We both really enjoy the rides together. I think your advice about learning the mechanics of a bike are right on. Part of the beauty of bikes is the ability to understand and service your own equiptment. It makes you independent and free. Best of rides, John
 
probably around the age of 10. But my parents didn't let me ride the bike often because I lived in the city and they were super paranoid about me getting hit by cars. :p

I'm 21 now. And I just purchased a 2nd hand bike about 2 weeks ago from someone who lives in the same building as me. I bought it because I was spending too much $$ on bus/subway tokens. I went for my first bike ride yesterday night in downtown Toronto and I had a lot of fun... i'm gonna start doing this on a regular basis.
 
Like most people I started as a kid. Lost interest when I was in my teens and most of my 20s. I started riding again when I wrecked my car and was unable to buy another right away. I commuted to work. As time went on I enjoyed it more and more and "got into it"

Now I wont buy a car. I'd rather ride and save for a better bike.
 
I'm 33
I rode quite a bit as a youngster up until I was 12. Then I took up skateboarding til I was 14 and decided pain hurt. That and my swim coach told me if I missed anymore time due to injury i was off the team.

Then for all kinda reason I didn't ride again until I was 21 when a friend introduced me to off road. I decided I loved riding, quit my job and became a messenger/cycling advocate (one for food on the table the other food for thought) I've been riding ever since non-stop in several cities probably always will. I lived down in Texas when I started my adult cycling. Texas = no bike lanes, few shoulders, fast drivers and sssssprawl. If you lived downtown like i did in Houston and wanted a century, you rode a stressful 30+ miles to someplace pretty, a nice almost country 40 miles and then 30 stressful miles home again. So when I finally got around to traveling I freaked upon trying some of the "bike-friendly" cities. (toronto, montreal, vancouver and a few others portland and seattle aren't bad but in North America it seems Canadians win bike-friendly hands down) By comparison where I'm at now is amazing and it's been a real boost. I'm actually considering doing some training rides on the weekends instead of my usual refusing to ride for a day or two.
 
Im 16, I started riding at 3 in my pimped out trike. :cool: I started riding REAL bikes at 6 and riding with a purpose and pride beginning of this summer.


Brian
 
I'm 45. I started riding at 5 or so. For years after that if you found me you found my bike. Then about 5 years ago I quit. Just this summer I started again and remembered why I loved riding for so many years. I'll only quit again when I can't turn pedals anymore.


SS
 
I have started cycling when I was 19, did some trips and improve my fittness, but later I was only commuting for about 10 years. I have only started getting serious about cycling 7 years ago, and now at 41 I am fitter than ever and cycling a lot!:)
 
43. Started riding in grade school. The scenic aspect and hairyness of trail riding always had more appeal to me so I bought a real mountain bike - a Miyata in the late 80s. That bike was heavy, but it held up great on road and single track stuff, good workout.
Took about 10 minutes in front of Keppler's bookstore in Menlo park to get it stolen - it was locked. Gave bicycles a rest for awhile and rode motorcycles.
Got the itch again a few years ago and was inspired to get back into it for the workout, and the fact that there are some great bikes available for not much more than the decked out Miyata cost 15 years ago.

It is inspiring to read some older people posting here who are still young. I know people younger than I am dropping out and giving up on life, sort of like theyve resigned themselves to a sedentary lifestyle. Ive watched the progression go from being sedentary and house mousing it, to being truly stove up. At that point it isnt really a choice any more.
 
I'm 17 and have been cycling about 2 years. I've been a runner for about 6 years and wanted to get into triathalons. I bought a POS Motobecane from a family freind that weighed 30 pounds but have since them graduated from that to a Kestrel - 30 to 17 pounds, quite a difference, eh? I'll be cycling for FSU next year.
 
I'm 33 and have been cycling for about 4 months. I started with a MTB but 2 weeks ago I purchased my first ever road bike. 2005 Trek 1000 in orange. What a ride.
 
I started on a western flyer at age 6 or 7 I guess. Progressed into mountain biking at age 17 or so and did that up until now, only recently bought a road bike for commuting purposes. Now I am addicted to my road bike, soooo much faster. I am 27 now.
 
I am 38, I have been cycling two days! I have had two knee surgeries and running was killing me. So I bought a Trek 7500 FX hybrid. I rode 16.5 miles Tuesday and 10 miles this morning. When I wake up I am going again! It is so easy on the joints it is a joy!
 
I'm 32 yrs. old and started by riding a generic ten speed at age 5. My best friend told me to try riding without training wheels... so I did. I had to ride standing up at all times.

Looking back it was pretty dumb and dangerous. I had to mount the bike by going to the nearest curb and prayed I did not need to stop far from a curb.:eek:

My parents ended my risky adventures by buying me a new bike.:D