veganbikes

I was held a knife point and they said Campy or death and I said "well both of those options are tempting but I guess if I had to choose, Campy, I guess. Does it come with fries?" Of course it didn't it was a side salad and by that point I was full.

CAT7RDR

I was a fat ugly mess and needed to eat less and do something for my health.

Grouperdawg

I was asked to by the teammates of a soldier KIA to ride in his honor from George to Florida. Bought a bike on Craigslist and trained for about 3 months. I red lined for 400 miles over 3 days I thought I was going to die, it took me a month before my right hand had the strength to turn the key on my car and I had zero a$$ left 😆

But when we finished seeing his family at the finish waiting, something very special.

My charity added a bike program for wounded soldiers to rehab with road bikes back in shape and often back to service . Participants have had multiple gun shot wounds; been hit by IEDS, mortars, one was hit by a grenade. Many are missing limbs but they have gone on to win medals at the Warrior Games and one is trying to make the US Paralympic cycling team. We have put hundreds of soldiers in bicycles and this year was our 14th honor ride.

I got the bug on that ride and have been riding ever since. I’ve almost got 5,000 miles for the year and the ride to Florida not quite as hard but still very special none the less 🇺🇸

rsbob 

Forgot to include my best friend in HS had a Bob Jackson sew-ups and my GFs dad was a dedicated cyclist (1969-70) with 2 Brit Racing bikes also with sew-ups. That was when I first started watching TdF. I had a brown Schwinn Varsity which my friend would laugh at, but I rode that bike from 69 to 87 and putting 10s of thousands of miles on it riding to HS, college classes (UC Davis where a bike is a necessity) commuting to work across town and running errands. It was a mode of transportation but never an escape or fun machine. One of the few times I took it for a fun ride I ran into a Calif double century with riders in full kit with their imported rides. Thought it would be fun to ride along for a way but never stood a chance. So the bike returned to commuter duty because there was no way I could afford bikes like those. Never thought of it for years as a tool for recreation and fitness. Bought a Bianchi “Campione del Mundo” Trofeo in 87 and was doing centuries the next year and doubles the year after. Take that you pansy -@$$ Calif Double riders.

IGH_Only

Growing up in the 1980s, every kid in the neighborhood had a BMX bike and I did as well, a GT Pro. Loved it and wrote it all the time till my early teens when I mostly moved onto my skateboard and then a car. I haven't been on a bike more than maybe 2-3 times since and I have been desperately awaiting the arrival of my Priority Gotham hybrid bike due in a month or so.

Thomas15

I was the kid in 8th and 9th grade that talked non-stop about bicycles. I had 3 speeds until I was in 9th grade, had to buy it with my paper route money. A year later saved up and bought a 10 speed this was 1972. Some of my friends had really nice road bikes and one even had a track bike. I took my bike to college in 1976, West Virginia and the hills were too much so I dismounted for about 10 years.

Got the urge to ride again in 1986 so I bought my Nishiki Olympic 12 and rode that semi-seriously for about 6 years, did a half dozen half centuries a year. At that point my son was little and taking up a lot of time. So again stopped riding about 1992. When I finally started exercising again it was first in a gym then martial arts, I do have a Black Belt, did that for 8 years then stopped exercising. So I was off the bicycle for 25 years until late 2018 when I got the urge once again. It wasn't until about June of 2019 that I started thinking about getting more involved, I did an organized ride of about 36 hilly miles and got smoked bad. Then I got sick right when I was getting the motors humming but held onto the idea that I should get on the bike more. Basically I needed to tone up and lose a little bit of gut but I weighed only about 155 at that time.

A friend of mine who was over 300 pounds had a gastric band and lost about 125 pounds was riding a bike so that got me into a friendly competition. July of 2019 I did a metric + century charity ride with this guy, wasn't really prepared but still average speed 13.9 mph, took 4 hours 49 minutes of seat time plus almost an hour at rest stops. As mentioned I was sick for a few months last year but once I got the green light to ride it was winter. My best option at that point was a trainer and Zwift. People laugh at Zwift but for me it was a life changer. I set the goal of getting first the Tron and then completing all available routes in game. Did all that and more. When the weather got nice I hit the (very hilly) roads here and had just the greatest time in spite of the virus thing.

The metric charity ride (actually 65 miles) I did last year was cancelled this year but had it been held my goal was to complete the ride in less than 4 hours with no stops. Planning of doing it next summer and I've set my goals to ride in 3.5 hours no stops. That is what really keeps me motivated. I'm a stronger and better rider today than in any other time of my life.

Doc_Wui

Set in 1973....

Boy meets girl.
Girl likes biking.
Boy buys bike.

And here we are many years later. Still biking.

branko_76 

If they stopped working, what is it that you would pay for?

Tony Marley

I never stopped from riding as a kid, although my "style" changed through the years. I did my 2-3 years as a newspaper boy in my early teens in southern California. After high school graduation, a friend and I biked the 60 miles to the beach and then biked between Newport Beach and La Jolla for a week or so before riding back home. That was my introduction to touring. In university, it was a way to get out and around a bit, enjoying the exercise and sunshine. I started touring again while in the military, and gave myself a coast-to-coast ride across the US as my gift to myself after retiring from the military. Now, it is more leisure rides or events like "Hotter n' Hell Hundred" because, for me, running is not enjoyable but biking is very much so.

alloo

I wanted to get back into beach cruisers for riding around the neighborhood. Then I decided I wanted to commute. I am a type 2 diabetic, then I noticed that my blood sugars have gone down. My first goal was to go every other day. Then my next goal was to beat public transportation. I decided that I could get a workout by commuting instead of setting time to go to a Gym/Recreation Center. Achieved more goals. Next, I worked with a nutritionist to fix my diet. I've been at it for a year and a half now. I've lost 45 lbs and decreased my insulin levels by 90%. I want to lose another 20 lbs first then another 50 lbs after that. I want to stop being diabetic. I am currently commuting 3-4 days a week 12 miles one way. I bought a ebike about three months into commuting. I use the mid levels of assist and vary the assist depending on how I feel or if I need to get somewhere fast. The ebike has taken away the variability of my commute times. I'm just hooked spending about two hours a day listening to music on my bluetooth speaker and riding. This may be my first five day commute week. We will see how winter affects me(Snow/ice). I'm constantly trying new routes, gear to see what works in the winter. Spinning on some days, pounding on others, and cruising on the other days.

Rode a Sears Spyder when I was a kid, delivered papers, then progressed up to a moped, motorcycle, and car. Now I am regressing back to a scooter, ebike and bicycle. It just makes financial sense. The money that I save I invest.

Moe Zhoost

Simply this: a 20" shiny new J.C. Higgens in 1957.

RggBee

I used to like it as a kid in the country side. Then when I went to university I dropped racing for almost 3 years.
I returned to it at my last grade in university when I realised that for me it's the most enjoyable way to get proper physical activity.

subgrade

If by cycling you mean road riding, I never got into it. I just like to ride my bike. I am not a very social person and dislike riding in groups larger than 3-4, so the absolute majority of my rides are done solo. And since the terrain is flat where I live, riding for hours on level and fairly straight paved roads is rather boring. Mixing it up with various gravel and unpaved roads and paths is what I like best, and have been doing it since I was a kid, except a 5 year hiatus from 2008 to 2013. A daily commuter for the last 5 years as well.

Cycling as a sport I find equally boring for the most part, although the televised event's can sometimes be enjoyable. But watching a peloton just pedal for 5 hours just to get to a sprint finish seems kind of a waste. Moreover, as I'm hardly a team player, the very concept of today's professional road cycling doesn't appeal to me, where you have to give up your own chances for others, waiting for your turn which may or may not ever come. Criteriums are not so bad, but I still haven't paid much attention to them.

diphthong

strictly for the groupies, maan. oh wait...which forum is this?

indiglow

BMX as kid, then got a Rock Hopper and rode that until college in spite of it being too small, so I got a C dale Bad Boy as no money for a car. After college got into the fixed gear craze with a Specialized Langster, which I commuted on and this is when I really got serious. Graduated up to a Serotta Legend Ti and try to ride at least 3 times a week now. Bikes have always been a part of my life and hope to keep riding till I'm on my literal last legs.

blue192

For public transport we pay for the entire month up front so when they went on strike I lost about two weeks worth of traveling. I am still angry about it even 25 years later and go out of my way to bike or walk everywhere now. Only take a bus when going really long distances.

Notso_fastLane

Basically this. At some point, it became a personal challenge to myself to push my own limits with regard to distance, carrying groceries, etc. Basically I lived car free for as long as I could (and still rarely drive my vehicles).

moto tom

Was an avid bicycle rider from a young age. Loved the freedom and adventure the Rollfast provided. Then at 16 cars /motorcycles eclipsed the bike.
Returning from a tour in VN in 1970, I sold my hunting rifle and shotgun and bought a Varsity.
In college later I bought my ‘74 Motobecane which I still ride regularly today.
Just had my first serious crash, at age 71. Fractured hip And a broken clavicle needing titanium plate but can’t wait to get back on the bike!

Razorrock

Teaching my kid to ride a bike when he was 6. Got tired of jogging around the neighborhood to keep up and dragged my 20 yr old mtn bike out of the shed. Instantly fell back in love with cycling. Hadn't rode since college.

Also the MUP's that have been built in the last 5 years make it easy to get out and ride.

friday1970

For me, it was due to the Schwinn Varsity my father bought me in late middle school. I was 14 years old then.
I'd take the 12 mile ride from my house in Ft Wayne IN to Souder's in Grabill for those huge jawbreakers in the candy section.
Along the way, I fell in love with the old country roads, the warm summer wind in my hair, passing Amish buggies, and that open and free feeling that only comes from being on a bike. (I think my parents would have freaked out had I told them about this, riding so far from home).

36 years later, at 50 years old, I still love those open country roads. Two days ago, I just finished my 2nd 300k brevet ever, Long day, but still happy to be doing this after all these years

taco2ewsday

Always loved it up until my early 20's living in NYC. When I moved to Tennessee I got told I would be crazy to ride a bike on the streets here so I let it sit for far to long, dabbled a bit here and there with another mountain bike, and picked it up seriously last year. It's truly been my savior this year as I've not been back to the Gym since March due to COVID, now I'm shopping trainers to keep going through the winter.

Germany_chris

I was a terrible skater




Now that I'm old and fat my boards have gotten longer and my bike more boring but in my mind I'm skating with the bones brigade and riding next to Nyquist

Miele Man

Started riding a bicycle when just a wee lad. The bicycle gave use freedom to travel and explore many areas of the city.

Cheers

Clyde1820

At about age 5, we moved to a place with lots of open fields and country beyond the half-dozen streets around our neighborhood. So, to get anywhere, even from one side of the small town to the other, it was easiest for a kid to be on wheels. By age 7, I was allowed to head into/across the fields all day long, so long as I was with friends and back by dark. (My, how times have changed.)

So, got "the bug" back then, I suppose. After a few years, I realized I could use my father's garage tools and a bit of creativity to build my own "cruiser" bike from scratch. (Well, didn't do the wheelset lacing, and had to pay a local shop to do a servicing on the headset and BB.) I scrounged around for discarded parts that could work, did all the repainting and wrenching myself. Lots of old bikes got left at "the dumpster" in those days. Looked like a sad and sorry case, I guess, but it was all mine. Heavy pig of a bike, I suppose, Don't recall whether it was Hi-Ten steel, but I'm assuming so. Was the perfect little project for a tyke to tackle. Didn't cost much, all things considered, which I earned doing lawns and general clean-up. Taught me basic wrenching; was my own fault if something went wrong; and, it taught me the responsibility and pride of having done it myself.

Haven't had a great number of bikes, over the years, but I've always had one or two. And have done most of the parts swaps and much of the common maintenance myself.

Wouldn't have it any other way.

bruce19

I was about 35 (now 74). My bro-in-law had just run the Boston Marathon. I was an ex-college football player who had become a couch potato. One day he said he had heard of a "bike ride" that was called Vernon to Vernon. Vernon, VT to Vernon, CT..A 100 mile ride that I came to learn was called a Century. I said, "Bob, I haven't ridden a bike since I was 15." He asked, "But, you have a bike, right?" Well, yes...a Panasonic DX2000 with a standard crank set and a 23 climbing cog. So, he convinces me to go on a 20 mile ride the weekend before V2V. After the ride he says, "That wasn't so bad right?" Well, no, it was OK. "All you have to do, he says, is THAT five times." So, the next weekend we went on the ride. We were bussed up from the LBS in Vernon, CT to Vernon, VT. Needless to say it was a LONG day. A couple miles from home and I could barely spin the pedals. I missed the next two days of work because my legs were in spasm and I couldn't walk. After I finally recovered, I thought "You are either going to learn to ride or you're going to get rid of that bike." As a former college athlete I couldn't stand not being able to do a sport. So, here I am.