BobbyG

I used to race informally and ride socially with the neighborhood boys in grade school back in Chicago the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was freedom and fun! Then I got my driver's license and only rode occasionally until after college in Iowa, when I started swimming and I thought cycling would be a good complement to that. I rode mostly solo from then on.

I was a fair-weather 3-season rider in my 20s In Iowa. I didn't know much about bikes, I was just happy to ride, it simply felt good, like when I was a kid.

I moved to Colorado Springs when I was 30 and biking got big for me. I began riding to work almost every day because that's how I worked fitness into my schedule. Weekend rides got longer, and the milder winters (compared to the midwest) meant I could ride year-round. I had my Schwinn Cruiser Supreme from Iowa, put knobbies on it and rode in the snow.

Because I mostly rode solo, I learned very slowly about bikes and biking until I discovered bikeforums in 2006 or 2007. Then my real cycling education began.

Even though I was still mostly a commuter with weekend rides, I learned how to make the most of my bike for the riding I did, which by then was a 1997 Nishiki Blazer MTB. I dispensed with the knobbies and put smoothies on. I learned to dress better for the weather. I learned a better way to commute and better logistics for carrying and changing clothes. I learned better lighting strategies and better safety strategies. I started to add bikes to my stable.

All through my 40s my goal was to achieve a general fitness level. Then at 48 I slipped a disk in my neck and was off the bike for over a year. Once the pain wore off (after 6 months) The experience of being so totally out of shape for the first time in my life was frightening. I roared back with a vengance and something to prove...BUT...

I also became a little more circumspect and gun-shy. No more straining as hard as I could against the bike. Building cardio was good, but no more trying to wring all the power I could out of myself.

And now at 60 I am still commuting (after an 18 month break where it was just fitness rides). I missed 3 weeks this summer due to Covid, and am now a week into recovery from hernia surgery, and should be back on the bike commuting in another three weeks...although I may try to ride after two.

The wife and family come first, but biking is 2nd. I enjoy the health benefits of riding which helps me enjoy my family better. As do the mental health benefits of riding. Even after all these years it is still freedom (from driving drudgery) and still fun!