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



I think the first bike I got was for Christmas and it was a banana-seat bike with a 5 speed stick shift on the top tube. Over the years I've gone through a few bikes usually getting one in the $500 range from the local bike shop.

At age 49 I had a few life changes and got back into biking. I started with a recumbant bike but that didn't last too long because on the bike trail I could not run as fast as most of the riders I saw regularly. I got a Giant OCR2 and now have put in over 1000 miles in about six months. This isn't remarkable in itself, except that I travel and was on the road half that time so I was only really able to ride two or three times a week for about a 3 month total time.

I am also very fortunate to have a wife who also has just gotten back into biking and is passionate about it as I am now. She got a Giant OCR1 (the LBS told her to get better than me so she might have a slight better advantage over me)

I am going on 51 in a couple of months. I hope to continue to be able to ride for the rest of my life.
 
First bike, age four. Made my dad take off those training wheels. I've been riding ever since, with a short hiatus in my early twenties (the only time I've ever been overweight). I don't know the brand of my first bike, it was just red and little. Bought myself a Diamond Back BMX when I was about 11. One gear turned out not to be my thing, so I got a Univega ten speed. In my late teens I went mountain bike, and haven't looked back since. I'm 33 now, and I ride whenever I can. By the way, my first date with my husband was a mountain bike ride. We plan to ride till they put us in the ground.
 
i started serious biking when i was 14. before that i was like any other kid, i liked bikes. but when i was 14 i wanted to go faster so i got a road bike and did some group rides. im 18 now and i have raced internationally, but no results :( i always seem place in 2nd or third, i have very few wins, so far.
 
I started to ride seriously when i was 16 in 1959. I competed at the club level from the age of 22-31. I continued to tour on vacations in France and Spain and Italy until i got married when i was 36. My wife cares not for cycling. I took her to the Tour de France in 2000 and we almost got divorced. My last bike, a schwinn paramount, lies in the garage, dreaming about the glories i could never achieve. Now i sit in front of the TV and watch the Tour live. I am a very strong supporter of Lance Armstrong and his try to win number 6, but i route for CSC. My favourite rider of all time is jaja because he did so many different things in his long career and was always so gracious in victory and defeat. It was also a pleasure to see Tyler Hamilton do so well last year in the Tour and i hope Bjarne Riis can get the same magic with Bobby Julich, but with fewer accidents.
 
Let's see, I started to ride (but indoors) when I was 13 and I decided I needed to loose some of my 200lbs :mad: . Then , I walked into our middle school library one day and saw the Bicycling magazine with just Lance on the cover (Oct. 1999) framed in black.

After that, I dug my dad's old schwinn Circuit out of the garage and started to ride as much as I could. My uncle, who was an avid mtb'r, also helped me build up a mountain bike. I started racing the next summer when I was 14- just a few moutain bike races. The next summer, I did some road races and crits. Now, cycling is my life. I'm 17 and this last summer did my first UCI races against some euros and my first week+ tour.

-For a fun winter project, my dad and I rebuilt the afore mentioned schwinn curcuit with all original Suntour Sprint components, Cinnelli bar and quill stem, Dia-comp brake levers, Campy toe clip pedals, and a white San Marco saddle. It's still a blast to ride!
 
I think about 7 or 8 on a "repair welded together piece of ****"
Have been on and off since. I am now 51 and very active now. Best years 28 - 38. Got married and quit for a long time after that. Big mistake!
 
I am 47. Has been riding since 3. Growing up in SE Asia, the bike was my main transport. My best record for cargo is 3x100kg rice sacks x 25km. My best record for human is 6 cousins (1 on the handle bar, 1 on the lower frame with feet resting on the front peg nuts, 1 on my shoulder, 1 sharing my seat with me and 2 on the back cargo seat. We only traveled 3 km and looked like a circus on wheel but hey we talked about it all the time. My best endurance feat is 128km ride on single speed fat tire, 6km ocean swim, and then 128km ride back. Did that over two days because of night curfew during the war. I was one tired teenager after doing it though. All in all, I never competed, never raced, never set any national or international record, but boy did I ever have fun on two wheeled vehicles. I guess that explains why I have 5 bicycles and 1 motorcycle in the house.
 
I learned to ride when I was a kid, I don’t remember what age, probably around 6. my friends and I would ride around the neighborhood a lot, but I never really thought of cycling as a serious activity until a few years ago. And it’s not until this past summer than I got seriously into cycling. I am 19 now and am looking forward to my first year of racing with my collegiate team.
 
Actually, in my experience, the less you know about upgrades the more money you save :p

But anyway, I'm 47, grew up in the UK (almost) and started riding when I was a Kid...back and forth to school, in fact, when I was a Kid we had no Video Games, Computers...erm, TV...so all we had was a Football and a Bike...

I started riding again about 6 months ago and love it...

I live in Southern California now and ride a Felt Road Bike...

Keep riding, wear your Helmet every time you get on the saddle, be safe and have fun....:cool:
 
Originally posted by Stiff Upper Lip
Yes, the ride to school.:p The bike was the way to get there for many good years! It was the best part of the day, the ride to school.

I would ride to school, but it is 8 miles away on a 6-lane highway or across four major 4-lane roads. And I woudl have to leave at 7 AM, which is a bit too early for me. :p
 
I starting riding as soon as my big brother would let me near his bike and have not really stopped since.

I raced BMX bikes from about 8-16, then just rode for fun for a few years. While in college I started racing mountain and road bikes as well as commuting to work and school. Now, I'm 33, married, have a young son and I ride an average of 2-3 times a week, road or mountain - just depends on the mood.

With any luck, I'll take up track racing this next year.
 
I've always ridden. Started for transport before my car licence - going to school that sort of thing.

Later, had a car but still rode to uni. The bike has been my constant cross training for a variety of sports I've done. A couple of years ago I got onboard an entry level aluminium road bike with 105 groupie. Started doing a few races & now just upgraded the frame.

I'm 35 & looking forward to racing vets this year.
 
Im not real sure of your question, if you are asking when did you LEARN to ride, then I would be willing to bet almost all of us will say the same age, however, I think what you mean is when did you SERIOUSLY begin to ride, with structure, goals, etc with the explicit goal of being faster/riding further. Being young is great, young road riders are difficult to come by here in the US. Very few. Riding young can get you some good experience!!! It is, however, a relatively pricey sport when your parents typically want to purchase you a gamecube or a cd player at your age.

I seriously started riding at 18, after high school due to some overtraining injuries sustained after too many miles running cross country and track. Took it up as a alternative, found some success due to my developed lungs from running, and it just stuck. Am now 31.

Best of luck.
 
I started biking at the age of 5 and stopped @ the age of 10 and pick it up 2 years later(12) and have been upgrading all my bikes with new wheels, disc brakes, and forks etc, and i haven't stoped biking since then.
 
i'm 18 , rode for the fun of it most of these years but I am getting serious on road cycling next summer as snow melts!
 
I started riding at 5, rode all the time until I turned 16 and got my license, I hadn't touched a bike until last year after that, almost 20 years. 33 now, riding 150-200 miles a week on the road bike, banned from the mountain bike and racing until sometime later this year while I rehab from knee surgery. I was only riding the road bike as rehab at first but the more I ride the more I want to ride, I'm doing my first 1/2 Century in 2 weeks, and I have a Century scheduled in 2 months, then soon after that the MS 150 .. 182 miles in 2 days. My ulimate goal is the P-B-P in 2011.
 
I am 30 and i started serious road cycling about 18 months ago and i am loving every minute of it.
 
I am 30 and i started serious road cycling about 18 months ago and i am loving every minute of it.
 
riding since i was 4, but it wasn't until me and my mate used to race each other round the roads of bonnnie scotalnd when i was 11 that i really got into it.

I've been mountain biking since 1990. (GT Tequesta)

I am 30. (ouch)