DougG

I was at a gathering recently where there were people I didn't know, but others of us were talking about riding, duathlons, etc. So one guy who I had not met before, and who was a non-cyclist, asked me how long I'd been riding. I guess he meant how long have I been doing serious distances and so forth, but without thinking I said "Oh, about 65 years or so."

Well, a few people around us laughed a bit at that and I could tell by the look on the guy's face that he thought it was pretty much a smart-ass answer and was a bit offended by it. But what else could I answer? I started riding a tricycle at age 2 or 3 and I'm still riding at 67.

Anyone else ever think about this? Many of us have been cycling in some form literally almost all our lives!

Rick@OCRR

Cycling "in some form" is different from riding serious miles and suffering for the fun of it . . . at least to me.

So . . . when I'm asked that question I start my "real" cycling clock January of 1968. which is when I bought my Peugeot PX10 (Reynolds 531, Stronglite alloy cranks, Mavic rims, Brooks Pro saddle and sew up tires, etc.) for the "outrageous" (according to my father at the time) price of $200.00. And yes, it was my money.

That gives me approx. 45 years (I'm 63) of cycling as a sport, as opposed to just riding around the neighborhood. As far as I can remember, no one has been offended, nor have they laughed, when I've given that answer.

Rick / OCRR

wphamilton

I get incredulous looks when I say "about five years". I hadn't been on a bike since childhood and they simply don't believe me. Maybe you just can't win with that question.

Biker395 

Whoa. As an adult anyway, it started for me about 30 years ago.

I got fed up with a 5 mile commute taking me 45 minutes because of the b2b traffic. The first attempt saw me getting a flat without a spare tube or a pump. Went out and bought both that night, and tried again the next day.

And I thought ... Now why the HELL didn't I do this before?

Been at it ever since.

overthehillmedi

So how long is the commute by bike if you take the car route, not the long way you usually do just to get some miles in.

Biker395 

When I started this, It was a 5 mile commute, pretty much by car or by bike. Since then, moved, changed jobs, yadayadayada, and it's now a 17.5 mile commute by bike and about a 14 mile commute by car.

Wileyrat

I tell people I started cycling seriously when I bought my first LBS bike 40 yrs ago at 14, and I've been doing it off and on ever since.

DiabloScott

I always say I became a cyclist around the LA Olympics time... when Greg Lemond was first starting to get noticed... Breaking Away planted the seed but didn't sprout shoots until a few years later. So... 1984.

fietsbob

JFK was breathing air, back then.

I'm now a little shorter, than I was at my younger height.

Carbonfiberboy 

~62 years. Commuted to school from our homestead and rode all day in summer as a child. Bought myself a JC Higgens 3-speed with paper route money. Got my first real road bike, a full-Campy Legnano when I was a freshman at 17. After I got out of the Army, I hardly rode at all until I turned 50. Then I picked it back up with a passion.

Dave Cutter

I tend to mention I got my first 10 speed when I was 14. I think people most accept that 10 speeds weren't common when I was a kid. Then I say I cycled off and on through the years but more seriously after I retired.

DGlenday

I rode a lot as a kid, then raced quite seriously (road and track) between the ages of 17 and 20 (or so).

But I doubt I rode more than 10 miles in total between the ages of 20 and 54.

So, as far as I'm concerned, I've been cycling for 2.5 years. I.e. from when I (re)started at age 54.

Barrettscv 

When I am asked "How long have I been Cycling?" I have both a shot and a long answer. The short answer is that "I returned to frequent use of the bike for fitness about 7 years ago."

Bikey Mikey

I did cycle as a kid, and in college, I cycled for a few years. After college, I didn't start until I was about 53(a hybrid/comfort). I was about 54 when I got the road bike I ride presently. So, I guess it's been about 2½ years of cycling seriously.

Jim from Boston

I wrote my (post-childhood) cycling biography as an Introduction to Bike Forums in 2008:

DougG

Even in my case, my cycling career had some breaks in it. Mainly, when I was about 15-1/2, my bike was stolen at the shopping center. Since I was anxiously waiting to be able to drive, I never thought of replacing it, and from there I was off to college, career, etc. My next bike was a beautiful orange/gold Schwinn LeTour "10-speed racer" when I was about 30. I've owned at least one bicycle continuously ever since, but I'll admit there might have been a few other years scattered in there when I never got it down from the rafters.

I'm reminded of this history occasionally, as there's a guy who parks at the library with his Schwinn LeTour that looks exactly like my old one. Could be my old one, for that matter!

NOS88

I've learned that when someone asks me anything about cycling the safest response (I'll get to why in a minute) is, "Oh, are you interested in cycling?" And then I let them talk. I think it's the safest response, because my wife says I can go on for hours about things that have little meaning to anyone else but me when it comes to bikes and cycling.

Jim from Boston

IMO, that's the delight of Bike Forums.

Just this morning I heard a social commentator (Howard Bloom) discussing "real" vs "internet" friendships. I don't recall his conclusions, but it is not so easy to find such a large contingent of interested cyclists in the "real" world.

I do recall your (now-closed) thread this summer about internet communications on BF.

JanMM

Struck me earlier this year that I'm in my 40th year of cycling 'as an adult'. Of course, I rode a bike as a kid, rode it to summer high school for band practice and typing classes, but then got my license and stopping riding. When I was 23, I took my tax refund check and bought a Schwinn Continental and have been riding ever since. As an 'adult'.

the engine

I have been asked that question before ... and my answer is "over 40 years". I began riding my uncles Schwinn Continental seriously, in 1970, doing 10 - 20 mile rides. A year or two later my grandparents bought me my own Schwinn Continental (Bright Yellow). Haven't stopped since. I'm 53 now.

Now people look at me funny when they ask, "How many miles do you ride". I tell them, "about 200 a week ... some days, I'll ride 125 in a day". Most people just think I have a screw loose, and the cycling conversation ends there.

Sixty Fiver

I have not stopped riding since I got my first trike at 2-3 years old so for me that is 45 years... and for the past decade I have not ridden less than 6000 km a year with some years being good for 16,000 km.

When I gave up driving for 5 years I rode just as much as I drove.

DnvrFox

How long?

About 6' 0" to start, but that has decreased to about 5'10.5"

Zinger

Those 8 mile trips and 8 miles back the next day in my early puberty on a single speed JC Higgins have to count. Some times they seemed like hard miles against Texas panhandle headwinds.

As an adult it was when I stopped smoking at 27 years old and began riding a Schwinn Varsity up to about 50 mile rides. About a year later after watching Red Zinger Classic promo films in the movie theatres in Colorado Springs I bought a nicer Italvega and have been at it since until an 11 year layoff that ended this year at 62 years old......Wish I hadn't layed off for that long but now I'll make up for it.

martianone

Since 1960, albeit some ebb and flow in the annual distance - past few years about 5000 km/yr.

Dan Burkhart 

When I saw the title, I thought maybe you were having a memory lapse.
Reminds me of a joke. Q.What's the most common pick up line in a senior's bar?
A. Do I come here often?