First of all, thank you to all of you here. I'm relatively new to the C&V world of bicycles, and have dived in head first (acquiring over 15 bikes in the last couple of years with no stop in sight. I never knew it could be this fun. I'm able to combine something nerdy (like this) w/ something utilitarian (commuting to work) and it is a beautiful harmony. I'm not even that big of a bicycle rider, probably averaging 500mi a year or less.
I love learning everything I can and I have already learned so much. Just tonight, I found a great idea on here on how to fix a flat spot in a rim on the cheap. Literally every single topic on this forum is interesting to me. That said, I don't know of a single other person around me that does this (although I'm sure there are some). I see a lot of thread topics around getting together, wrenching on old bikes, shooting the breeze, etc. It all sounds so fun. Something in the '
gentle note' post really resonated with me, primarily that this is a lonely hobby.
That being said, I hope it isn't always that way, and I'm sure I'm responsible for any lack of community I sense. I do really enjoy going to the local co-op and volunteering when I can, and that helps.
I'm curious - do you have a local C&V community or do you primarily go it alone? To those that have a community around this interest, how did that happen and what would you recommend to start? There is so much going for this hobby - cheap bikes (the 'cheap' being optional
), exercise and health benefits, alternatives to the car commute grind, and increasing mechanical skills, to name a few.
Thanks and Merry Christmas!