rsbob 

We all have various reasons for getting into the sport.

I’ll start. Dad taught me to ride a pedal bike in first grade and always had a bike from then on. Had a paper route and used my freedom machine to ride with my friends and cousin all over town. Road my bike to school - grammar though grad school and bike commuted to work for years. However even then, the bike was more of an appliance rather than recreational - a means to get from here to there. My daily workout sport was running (with some weight lifting).

I ran through my 40s, but as the years passed, I always had more aches and pains associated with distance running. So in my 30s I lived next to a couple who were both Ironman competitors and during one of my painful running recover times convinced me to go on a training ride. We went about 30 miles and it just about killed me because I was zero match for the guy’s wife I was riding with. However, it spurred my curiosity about doing more cycling.

Then my wife’s best friend at work had a husband that was really into cycling (and downhill skiing and hiking, etc - which I did as well) and he really got me into it, teaching me about equipment, etiquette, drafting and pack riding. We joined a local cycling club and road every weekend with a group ranging from 10 to 15 and had a ball. Watching my speed and distance improve faster than my running ability which was intoxicating. We started doing centuries and double centuries and some tough one day events and loved it. Was totally hooked on devoting my training time to cycling while scaling way back on running. Running was only used to get in a quick workout when I didn’t have the time to cycle, but I never enjoyed running. Cycling I loved.

When cell phones became ubiquitous with all the distracted drivers, I switched to mountain biking for 10 years and loved that too. Due to back issues, I am now back road riding and still enjoy my freedom machine.

wolfchild

I started cycling in 2007 when I was 37 years old. Not sure what motivated me to start riding, but one day I just decided to purchase a hardtail MTB and started riding trails,. Very quickly it started to become more and more enjoyable. It quickly evolved into commuting and longer distance recreational riding and became my favorite hobby which led to spending more money on few more new bikes and accessories.

Eyes Roll

I work in downtown and parking car wherever I go in downtown can be an issue. To resolve the issue, I have acquired a Dahon folding bike, which I store in my car trunk, and started utilizing it in downtown, particularly during the pandemic. The commute time by walking, that used to take 10 minutes, now only takes 2 minutes on the folding bike. Then I acquired larger bikes, Single Speed/Fixie and Geared bikes. Bike-riding is fun, and I enjoy riding all kinds of bikes. I am loving it.

Now I wonder why I waited this long. I should have gotten into bike-riding much earlier.

Jughed

I started BMX back in the 80’s. Track, ramps, flatland freestyle… loved being on the bike, loved my freedom - and BMX riding got me into really good shape overall. I was a ripped teenager!! BMX was all the rage and I dreamed of those hot California girls that were shown in the BMX movies/Magazines.

Moved on to MTB’s in the early 90’s.

Did my first charity ride, 150 miles/2 days on a mountain bike, the rest of my team were on road bikes.

Got my first road bike in the mid 90’s and never looked back.

Had kids, life, job, injury… took some time off the bike, got fat - really flipping fat…

Started back on the road 4 years ago.

50PlusCycling

I wanted to explore, my legs wouldn’t carry me far enough, and I wasn’t yet old enough to drive a car. My bike was a ticket to the world. As a kid my bike took me to the mountains, to the beach, and everywhere else I wanted to go. I started wandering when I learned to walk, my parents needed special locks on the doors and windows to keep me in. I am still a wanderer today, and the best way to wander is by bicycle.

Maelochs

I am not into cycling ... I am into arguing pointlessly on the internet.

The fact that this site is about cycling is incidental … I am here for the bickering.

noimagination

I grew up in a time and place where every kid had a bike. In the snowless months, it was our main mode of recreation. So, I was just used to always having a bike and riding for fun and transportation.

I crashed my bike when I was about 16-17, so I didn't have one for a few years, but then I spent my some of my college graduation money on a new one (Fuji delRey, "with ValLight(R) tubing"!!!). I rode that off and on (I was also running and going to the gym) for 6 years or so, then I moved to a place that was just a few miles from where I worked.

I decided to try commuting by bike. At the time I was unmarried and had plenty of time and disposable income, so I started reading up on the subject (sorry, pre-internet), got all of the gear - I switched to clipless, got lights, a commuting bag that was like a small suiter (I was still wearing suits to work at that time), etc. I started reading Velonews/etc., and between the commuting between work/gym/home and the cycling mags, my horizons started to expand and I started riding farther, finding different routes between work and home (on non-gym days), doing longer rides on weekends, joining a few charity rides, etc.

There was a hiatus of about 7 years, after a bad crash and through marriage/moves and starting a family, but then after I'd gained sufficient weight to alarm me (I'd gotten up to 195 lb - ugh), I started cycling again to lose weight and get fitter so I could keep up with my kids. Now, it's a habit, and an outlet to relieve stress. I've been somewhat successful in getting my wife into cycling - she learned as an adult and isn't a confident rider - we have a good time on our tandem, but she doesn't ride independently. This past April I finally got back into bike commuting (I live only 5 miles from work, so I've never really had a good excuse for not doing it, just inertia), and so far in 2024 I have a perfect bike commuting record (all of 4 days).

(Note: I've always been active, but I'm in no way an athlete - I have zero talent/genetics. I don't compete in anything but I do enjoy cycling/skiing (alpine and nordic)/snowboarding/backpacking/etc.)

BTinNYC 

Forget about the 70s in California, we ALL rode bikes. Fast forward 40 years and then covid hit. I fixed up a couple of used 10 speeds for my 18 and 19 year old kids. Then in late 2021 I got my college 12 speed bike going again and went for a ride.

Five minutes in and I blew up. HR must have been through the roof, I could hear the blood pounding in my ears. I was wheezing for breath and thought; OMG I am in terrible horrible shape! The mirror agreed, I was an old skinny guy with a pot belly. It took me 6 weeks to get strong enough to ride for 20 minutes.

My best friend is a serious cyclist and told me "You're tall, skinny and uncoordinated, cycling is perfect for you". I took it to heart and riding became a good habit and a total addiction.

We road the GFNY Fondo together last year and we're heading to the Pyrenees in Sept for 3 weeks of cycling, half in Spain and half in France.

One Wheel

I was training for a marathon (to lose weight, mostly) and broke my ankle (unrelated to training). I was walking in about 5 weeks, but it took at least 9 weeks to run at all and over 2 years to run comfortably for any distance. I got a road bike for lower-impact exercise while the ankle was healing. I finally did the marathon this last September, and still run once or twice a week, but I think I'll stick with biking and only do a marathon again if I lose so many brain cells that I "think" that an Ironman is a good idea.

Garthr

Two wheels and banana seat, it doesn't get any better than that Flying around the neighborhood with the greatest of ease to explore the land. I eventually tried to take cycling seriously as adults tend to do, but no, it was apparent I suck at playing an adult. Well thank goodness for that. I'd rather fly around and experience what's happening for myself. Unadulterated.

Kabuki12

I’ve been into cycling since I was young . In the sixties and early seventies it was the thing to do. We didn’t have too many things other than cycling to have fun. My family had no car after Dad left so it was necessary to get around. It carried over through high school and beyond.

Garthr

Like this ? .... ahahahahahahahaaa


I'm a blah-ologist and have a degree in blah-blah-blah-ing , and that qualifies my blah-blah-blah-ing above all other blah-blah-blah-ing !

seypat

Like most, I had a bike as a kid. I was heavily involved into court/ball sports though. In college, I had to get/ride a bike to rehab a knee injury. Never really biked after that until I had kids. Got a hybrid/trailer and pulled them around for a few years. Another injury finally pushed me out of the other sports for good in my early 40s. So, I became a cyclist and put a lot of miles on the hybrid. Rode a metric century on that bike. Then I went to Goodwill and picked up an old road bike. My wife was a runner, so I also became a runner. then she wanted to do multi sport so I did some of that also. Now I'm almost 59. Mostly run and bike. The bike industry is not going the direction I want/need it to go, so I'm stuck in C & V ville. Nothing wrong with that. It keeps me from being a "serious cyclist."

Steve B.

I had purchased a 100 yr. old fix me up house, summer of ‘88, went to the village recreation center to swim after a days work, started losing weight, was swimming masters workouts with some triathletes, who talked me into mt biking and subsequently road riding. I got to be a AA level roadie in a hurry As these tri guys were very good and fast athletes. Been riding 35 years now.

john m flores 

1987 - I get a summer job at a small, 3-person advertising agency, working in one of the partner's basement. One partner has a celeste green Bianchi. I had never seen a bike so beautiful before. The other partner's husband had a Nishiki. And a third had a Trek.
1988 - In college, I meet Bill, a jazz piano playing, Panasonic roadbike riding kid. After fall break, he brings a Takara from home for me to try out. We ride late one evening all over campus.
1989 - I buy my first bike, a Raleigh Technium
1989 - A small group of family and friends are gathering to go to a Sunday concert. But before we leave, we are screaming at the tv like maniacs as we watch Lemond beat Fignon by 8 seconds. Afterwards, we head to the Club MTV Live Tour featuring Paula Abdul, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Tone Loc, and Milli Vanilli.
1990 - After graduation, a bunch of friends go backpacking through Europe. I leave the group after 4 weeks to head solo to Epinal, France and watch the Tour de France individual time trial. Raul Alcala wins. I spend the next two weeks hitching rides to follow the tour. At the Villard de Lans time trial, I sleep in a rental car that I share with some Canadians I met and we watch Lemond ride wearing the rainbow jersey. At Lac de Vassivierre, I spray paint a "Z" on the route and later sneak into the VIP bleachers to watch Lemond don the maillot jaune. Later, on the Champs Elysses, I join a handful of random Americans in cheering Greg to victory.

What a crazy arc, going from borrowing a friend's bike to following the Tour de France in two years!

Steel Charlie

I quit smoking on my 30th birthday. Thought that I could use some reinforcing and there they were - those bicycle things.

They're still there 50 years later.

Wildwood 

Cycling = used to be 'just training for ski season'. Then got routine. Then an active hobby. ...to be continued...


no pic.

edit: no pic? Unacceptable!
I really got into cycling for the good legs it gives me.

jadmt

buddy of mine who was a competitive runner was reading a Sports Illustrated at work and there was an article on the ironman and he asked if I thought I could do one...I took a drag off my cigarette and said yup as I exhaled the smoke.....I never did the actual Ironman but qualified at a 1/2 ironman qualifier....swimming was the killer for me...never could keep a cigarette lit....
I met my buddy the next day for a 5 mile run and about died. the next I showed up on an old schwinn my roommate had and we went about 20 miles and I was in jean shorts.....(remember I am a redneck born and bred) I was like screw this and went down and bought a Specialized Allez (I sold it on this site a year or so ago). the next day we went to a pond and I made it about 1/4 mile on the swim.....that was the toughie for me. literally about 4 months later I did my first triathalon...I think there was something about not having a clue to what I was doing that made it easier lol....

mstateglfr 

Rode a ton as a kid- built BMX dirt tracks in the woods with friends, rode to get everywhere when parents were at work/busy, etc.
Picked riding back up as an adult because of my brother in law who is older and I had known since I was 11. I was 28 at the time and he showed me a pink Zebra(kenko?) lugged road bike from the 80s that he had turned into a single speed. Looking back, the lugwork was basic, but it got me hooked.
I geeked out hard on the globalization of bike manufacturing in the 70s and 80s, the various contract brands both domestic and from Japan, the multiple trade groups that formed, and the varying styles of manufacturers.

I was still playing a ton of team sports and cycling allowed me to exercise solo too(not gonna run for exercise). That then made me think about how far I could ride. That made me look into gravel since so much of my state's roads are unpaved. Etc etc.

cyccommute 

Like most here, I rode bikes as a kid. Had a paper route and even manage to put a paper into the spokes and flipped the bike on the scariest part of my route right at the scariest part of the last house on my route 2 miles out of town. Probably like most here, I stopped riding in my teens and started driving. I probably would have gotten into motorcycles but my mother had a standard response to any motor related hobbies I might have pursued…”You’ll kill yourself.” My younger brother, on the other hand, got the motorcycle and Camaro without the warning. I got stuck with a 73 Vega instead of the 454 Chevelle SS. Thanks, Mom

Shortly after I got married in 1976…I was 10…, my wife took me roller skating and managed to break my ankle. It was her fault for taking me skating and convincing me that I was getting better at it. I had let go of the wall and was even enjoying myself until I found myself flying through the air and landing on the rink surface with a loud “crunch” in my ankle. I had signed up for an exercise/weight loss class before I went skating and, after getting a pin, plate, and two screws to hold my ankle together, the walking/running part of the class was out.

I still had my Sears 10 speed that my parents let me buy in the late 60s…no admonishment about “killing myself” from my mother…so I started riding that. Here I am, nearly 50 years later, and I haven’t missed riding at least once in every month since then. Over 600 months of riding despite getting hit by a car, breaking my ankle another time, raising of kids, winter storms, and summer heat as well as countless crashes.

Fahrenheit531 

Marriage.

The marriage later ended, but the cycling remained.

PeteHski

I’m not really sure what got me into biking. I was just naturally attracted to riding bikes from an early age and never stopped. As a teenager I also had a couple of close friends who were into road biking and we still regularly ride together 40+ years later!

Mountain biking came much later for me when I was in my mid 30s. I became good friends with a local bike shop owner and we rode the trails in a small shop group every weekend for several years before we eventually lost touch after our first daughter was born. I still ride mountain bikes now in my mid 50s, but do a lot more road biking.

I don’t think I will ever stop riding unless I am physically unable to do so.

Lambkin55

In second grade I lived in Albuquerque NM. 3 of my buddies and I decided we could ride our bikes up to U-Mountain after school.
What an adventure for a 7 year old!!!!!
I was hooked and have been ever since!

CAT7RDR

My brother died of a massive HA at 46 y/o.
I had been hiking for years but burned out on that and needed something else. At 50 y/o I re-started cycling after a 25 year hiatus.
Fear of an early death is a pretty good motivator until the joy from riding replaced it.

Pratt

Looking for adventure in college, saw an ad for leading AYH trips as a summer "job." Still doing it for the adventure since we moved inland, away from salt water.
(BTW, met my wife-to-be on the leadership training course, 51 years so far).