Originally Posted by rsbob

......To be more precise, what got you into being a “serious” or humorous cyclist doing distance rides, becoming competitive, yada yada? Not talking about your Big Wheel, paper bike, or first Huffy unless you still ride those.

My story. Being “blessed” with a fair amount of nervous energy, I always tried to reduce it through distance running. Played soccer and ran track in HS, ran recreationally all through college years to the point of exhaustion to reduce that energy or anxiety or whatever. After 10 years of running I kept injuring myself and just ran from one injury to the next. A neighbor who was a triathlete suggested trying a bike for cross training. So I did that for a few years and really enjoyed the cycling component but not so much the running, even though the injuries were less. Eventually I transitioned about 80% cycling and then ran through the rainy months but cycled on group rides so I could feel good about not being a bad weather wus. Got tired of squishy shoes, cold hands, poor thermo regulation and bike cleaning and Bought a trainer. So I credit nervous energy (still got it), running injuries and my over achieving neighbor.