Why do you cycle your bike ?

[limerickman]

Why do you cycle your bike ?

Do you use a bike just for commuting ?
Perhaps you cycle a bike for road racing ?
Or maybe you're into mountain biking/cyclo cross ?
Or you could cycle a stationary bike in a gym as part of a fitness program ?

Which begs the question - why do you cycle your bike ?

To kick this off - I started cycling my bike as a kid and then got in to racing my bike on the road.
Now, I no longer race but I enjoy long distance cycling to try to stay reasonably fit.

I never use my bike to commute (maybe I should).
When I need to commute I walk or I will take public transport or if I really need to, I drive the 2 litre Audi.

But I cycle my bike because I love, I suppose.

So why do you cycle ?

 

[Don Shipp]

Why do you cycle your bike ?

Do you use a bike just for commuting ?
Perhaps you cycle a bike for road racing ?
Or maybe you're into mountain biking/cyclo cross ?
Or you could cycle a stationary bike in a gym as part of a fitness program ?

Which begs the question - why do you cycle your bike ?

To kick this off - I started cycling my bike as a kid and then got in to racing my bike on the road.
Now, I no longer race but I enjoy long distance cycling to try to stay reasonably fit.

I never use my bike to commute (maybe I should).
When I need to commute I walk or I will take public transport or if I really need to, I drive the 2 litre Audi.

But I cycle my bike because I love, I suppose.

So why do you cycle ?

Mostly commuting.
Places other than work I need to get to that are too far to walk but don't need the car.
Used to tour, hope to resume again some time.

 

[EX2]

Why do you cycle your bike ?

Do you use a bike just for commuting ?
Perhaps you cycle a bike for road racing ?
Or maybe you're into mountain biking/cyclo cross ?
Or you could cycle a stationary bike in a gym as part of a fitness program ?

Which begs the question - why do you cycle your bike ?

To kick this off - I started cycling my bike as a kid and then got in to racing my bike on the road.
Now, I no longer race but I enjoy long distance cycling to try to stay reasonably fit.

I never use my bike to commute (maybe I should).
When I need to commute I walk or I will take public transport or if I really need to, I drive the 2 litre Audi.

But I cycle my bike because I love, I suppose.

So why do you cycle ?

Ive been riding mountian bikes for about 15 years now and for the simple reason that i enjoy it. Even if it is just a half hour blast around the streets it still puts a huge grin on my face. But try and get at least 3 good rides in a week and like to go to France at least once a year.

 

[jhuskey]

My knees are too far gone for competitive skiing,I have always been too small for pro football and I am too old to ***** around now......wait that last one should have been reserved for FredC.
Cycling combines the rush of speed,fresh air ,scenery,manly tinkering with a mechanical devise,social diversity,you get to wear cool stuff and you can bore the **** out of people in converstaion and on this forum who know nothing about cycling.
What else would I do in my spare time?

 

[DiabloScott]

I dinked around with most American sports in high school. Never really great at anything but I was reasonably fit and coordinated. Did OK in soccer but that was way before soccer got mainstream so we mostly were playing other outcasts like ourselves.

In 1979 a cycling friend took me to see Breaking Away. I liked it and always thought about it but still didn't really get the bug. I did buy a bike and do a few long rides.

In 1983 I moved to California - perfect cycling conditions. The LA Olympics were getting close, Greg Lemond was getting famous, I became a cyclist. Bought my first racing bike in 1985 - a red Ciocc. Still have a piece of it in my garage.

So I'd never done anything that I was so good at and liked doing so much. Don't race anymore but most of my riding is sport-recreational, also commuting about 70% of my trips.

 

[scotty72]

Why do you cycle your bike ?

Because it is not fun to walk along side it <very droll>

 

[EoinC]

Why do you cycle your bike ?...

I started riding very young. My grandfather had a bike shop and built frames. One of my nephews still has a little handbuilt fixie (called Wee MacGregor) which was built for my uncle to learn on in the 1930's.
I raced road and track in the 70's and 80's before getting consumed by work & family. Every now and then I get to ride a road race on my fixie, but they're few and far between over here in Malaysian Borneo.
I'm hoping that next year I'll get to spend more time down in Perth, Australia, and get to ride in the fairly strong veteran classes there.
Over here, I ride for the following reasons - (a) Stay in reasonable shape given my beer-drinking lifestyle and (b) Because I love it. It is great putting an end to a stressful day by jumping on old faithful and chasing down a few cars and buses.
Sometimes I think about resurrecting my old road bike, but the fixie does fine around here and is fun to ride. Unfortunately, when I had a look at her over the weekend, I see that I've got 2 cracks in my right-hand Dura Ace crank. One is a longitudinal "J" that runs up the back face midway up the crank, and the other is a lateral on the back face about 1" down from the pedal. I guess that means getting a replacement (I've spent almost nothing on this bike in the last 10 years - and it shows) and stepping up from the diddly little 165 cranks to 170's. I currently ride a 79 inch gear (44 x 15), but could do with a little more leverage to get over the short hills around here. 170 should still give me reasonable ground clearance.
My bike helps keep me (reasonably) sane.

 

[wheelist]

Why do you cycle your bike ?

I'd always cycled to school as a kid, but never got seriously into it. Then in 1988 or 1989 a mate let me have a go on his new MTB - a Specialized Hardrock. I bought an old MTB and did a 3 day ride to start a holiday - by the time I'd got there I realised I needed an upgrade and bought myself a Kona Explosif. Hooked!!
Began racing immediately with a few mates, but they all dropped out over the next couple of years, and I stopped racing - it's not much fun on your own! Since then I've pretty much always ridden solo, and like to do long distance off-road touring - there's nothing better than seeing the horizon in the morning and being beyond it at the end of the day. Then doing it all again the next day, and the next.
I moved to North Wales a couple of years ago to get closer to the hills - Wales really is one of the best MTB places in the world.
So now, I get some good riding (on the doorstep) at the weekends and a nice commute to work in the mornings. Sweet.

The thing I love about cycling is the excitement - it's just such a buzz to be flying along some singletrack, pushing yourself physically and technically, till your face hurts from all the grinning!

 

[lumpy]

I need to be outside breathing lots of fresh air and seeing the sights. Every ride is an adventure.
It clears my head and the endorphins are addictive.
Cycling makes me "frisky" and my wife really encourages my riding!

 

[shannons dad]

Well I've been biking since I was a kid and got serious around the age of 16 when I started working. My Dad lent me the money to buy a Claud Butler mountain bike which I rode everywhere. Joined a mountain bike club and bought a better bike to do a few races, and just as soon as I'd finished building it up, some fecker nicked it from outside the LBS. Bought a few more MTB's and finally bought a decent roadie when I was 21. Joined another touring bike club and did a few races. That got wrecked in a crash which killed the racing spirit in me and I've been riding solo ever since, about 7-8 years now. Mostly commuting to work, but like to get out at weekends too and thrash a few miles. Couldn't imagine life without a bike.

 

[Traffic Jammer]

I need to be outside breathing lots of fresh air and seeing the sights. Every ride is an adventure.
It clears my head and the endorphins are addictive.
Cycling makes me "frisky" and my wife really encourages my riding!

SAME SAME LUMPY!!!!! woohooo

 

[Traffic Jammer]

I need to be outside breathing lots of fresh air and seeing the sights. Every ride is an adventure.
It clears my head and the endorphins are addictive.
Cycling makes me "frisky" and my wife really encourages my riding!

SAME SAME LUMPY!!!!! woohooo
I love the ride!...I'll never stop, you have to pry the bar from my cold, dead hands....lol

 

[blue1]

Because it is fun and I enjoy .

 

[huhenio]

I cycle because from all human inventions, the bicycle - or human powered vehicle - has gotten better instead of worse, and it makes you enjoy the thrill of speed without destroying your surroundings.

I addition to the relatively low impact, it is a way to stay fit without paying for being in a crowded room with a lot of machinery that makes you sweaty without making you feel the wind.

I used to run - a lot - and probably I will pick it up again since my aerobic base is good again.

 

[JTE83]

I cycled to lose weight, and I went from 205 lbs to as low as 139.2 lbs. Now I don't have to cycle anymore, but I still do to maintain my weight from overeating and then I also cycle for transportation to get to places that have no car parking (or hard to get parking).

I raced twice since I cycled a lot of miles to lose weight. Now I'll cycle for the health benifits, but I guess I won't do many miles next year. I did 2080.8 miles in 2004 and this year as of 11/8/05 I did around 2985 miles.

 

[liamo]

Why do you cycle your bike ?


But I cycle my bike because I love, I suppose.

So why do you cycle ?

Rarely commute because the weather is pants and I have 10Kg of gear to bring to work (yes this is a pathetic excuse) - also miserable memories of "having" to cycle everywhere in my teens and turning up everywhere a mixture of wet externally & sweating internally
Generally weekend warrior - took it up at 34 'cos I was fed up with the gym and intrigued by the tour, hired a bike on holiday - loved it, bought a Giant Cypress FS, (which my LBS also sold to local cycling grannies), changed it for a Sirrus three months later and a year on have invested/indulged in a Roubaix Elite 06 - They say you can't buy speed - that's not strictly true - I am not quite as slow as I used to be

It is great to be out in the air, great to have an opportunity to get a little time to yourself doing something good for you, great to go cycling on holidays and business trip - you see the world differnently from a bike - it is a little bit of freedom in an increasingly constricting world.

 

[Ottis]

I started out in cycling around 12 or so years ago when my dad tought me how to ride this small bike. That was the time when I hated The Bike as it was pretty hard to ride it with the family ( I am of course the youngest family member). After a few years i just couldn't live without a bike. I rode it everywhere, to school, for fun etc. Tried to ride the first road bike when I was 10. Absolutely loved it. Got my first road bike 3 years ago when my mountain bike was stolen.
Now i am riding my road bike with every opportunity that i get. Of course it's one of those 1980's type of bikes but i still love it. It keeps me sane in this bloody place that I live in now. I plan to continue cycling until I can. Never thought about getting into cycling races as I fel i am not that good yet.
Well that's about it.
I am 17 y/o right now...

 

[mtbnewbie]

I used to ride a bike as a kid. I had a number of department store bikes over the years. I used to ride a fair bit and during my grade 7 and 8 years I would sometimes ride to school. I remember the hill going up to the school, bloody steep climb. From high school on I didn't ride much at all, but this summer I finally took it up again, I am now 39.
Got a new bike (still a department store MTB bike) it cost less than $100.00 and I love it. I have logged over 1100 km on it this summer. I started to bike for the fitness and quite quickly it became to fold, the fitness and the pure enjoyment of it.
Just recently got SPD pedals for it (the pedals cost more than the bike ).
And I am working on resurecting my old road bike (another Department store bike, the same one I had back in grade 7).
Maybe I will make a trip back to where I lived in grade school and tackle that hill again. I remember that I was able to make it to the top without getting off (sometimes). It started off steep (about a 20-25 degree grade) and as you climb the corner you see the rest of the hill that was hidden by the trees and it only got steeper (a good 30-35 degree grade).
The ride home was a blast though,what a rush coming back down. I couldn't even keepup spinning like mad in top gear. I could ride the momentum for nearly a 1/4 of a mile. WHEEEEE!!!!!!

 

[DiabloScott]

It started off steep (about a 20-25 degree grade) and as you climb the corner you see the rest of the hill that was hidden by the trees and it only got steeper (a good 30-35 degree grade).

Almost certainly that was not 30 degrees or even 30 percent...
Sorry, it just isn't.

 

[EoinC]

Almost certainly that was not 30 degrees or even 30 percent...
Sorry, it just isn't.

Correct. 30 degrees is more commonly known as a cliff. You could fall down it, or jump off it - but ride up it???