[Closed] Why did you start cycling?

Loved it when I was young, wanted to start up again but also to help keep me fit for work and to hopefully control the arthritis in my hip which seems to be working.

Rode motorcycle trials for about 15 yrs, then hadn't rode anything for years more Got to about 32, was getting a bit on the obese side & thought, 'Hmmm...'
Thats about it really.

enjoyed cycling with dad, he was into mountain bikes. Bought Chameleon frame for 18th and family bought bits to go on it. Got it built for me, and love it!! It's my commuter, weekend fun, transport to recycling, and shops.

GF is getting more and more into bikes as well now.

This big bloke pushed me down the garden and shouted "Pedal!" "Mind the tree!" "Stop crying!" "Don't tell Mom".

aah - as an adult.

Well I stopped after my 531 bike with Nuevo Record was nicked in 1977 and I had to catch the bus to work and then started again in 1994 when I realised I was spending too much time on the shore waiting for the wind to pick up and I could be doing something else on low wind days.

To lose weight.

My dad put me on a bike when I was small - it hurt when I fell off but I loved it. Haven't stopped - I've always cycled. took my mountain by to Uni, cycled to work when I could. bit hard now with kids and job, but I get out when I can.

been doing motorbike trail riding since about 1980, however as time was going by it was getting more difficult, about 93/95?? one of they guys in the club had a mountainbike shop ........ and I started doing both and have stuck with mtbing

rode everywhere as a kid, everybody did. went to uni, didn't take bike as it was rather bent having had a disagreement with a mini. my own fault, i was "driving" the mini 🙁

never rode again until, 11 years ago, I got made redundant & the lads had a whip-round, got me some Halfords vouchers. WTF do you do with £80worth of Halfords vouchers? I know, buy a crappy Apollo!
one Gary Fisher hardtail & one Gary Fisher Cake later, here I am, too lazy to ride...

I don't know! I've always had a bike, I can remember riding bikes round the cul-de-sac we lived on when I was 4 or 5. Then when I was older I had a 10speed "racer", used to go round the park after school and once I did a whole 30 mile charity ride which was the longest ride I'd ever done at that point.
I guess properly got into it when I got my first MTB for my 16th birthday and after a while I joined a cycle club thanks to a random meeting with an MTBer in my local woods. Got into racing, really enjoyed it and it's gone from there.

Started as a child, then played rugby for a few years, stepped away for a few years when I discovered beer, girls and fags. Got into rowing and rediscovered cycing as a way of maintaining fitness as dodgy knees prevent me from running.

Needed some aerobic training. Natural choice as I had motorbikes. Friends simultaneously got bikes for similar reasons which added a social element. Racing was inevitable...

GF got a bike on cycle to work scheme, she found out about some trails in Ashton Court and dragged me out on my rusting Specialized Hardrock circa 1985. Hooked in one go, and now pretty obsessed by all things dandy.

And reader, yes, I married her....

Quicker than walking, easier than running.

When I started riding I was still a toddler. never really stopped since, even when injured.

Got my first bike at 4years old, have never been without a bike in the 30 years since then.

Bottled out of getting married at the last minute and decided to take up cycling again after a very long break.

Although TBH under pressure from a cycling former gf/good mate - I'd forgotten the childlike joy of getting dirty and grinning like a deranged cheshire cat.

I remember living in nottm and one of my mates getting a mtb in early 90's when I was maybe 25 and thinking how shit it was (road being much better). Funny thing was I was only riding to commute - hadn't ridden for fun for ages before that. Road only, never had a BMX etc.

Eventually got a rigid aluminium bike that nearly convinced me that the whole thing actually was shit, til I learned to ride it. That got nicked, insurance payout was quite big and I got a used zaskar LE with judy forks. And away we went ... 🙄

When my kids were young, they naturally had bikes. Saw how much fun they were having and thought 'I fancy trying that'. So didn't actually start riding til my late 30's, after I'd had to give up running really.

I was a runner.
I moved to Liverpool.
I got fed up of dogs and marauding yoofs.
I bought a bike.
The Scousers taught me how to ride it.
Never been the same since.

Didn't start cycling until I was in my thirties.

SB

For crying out loud iDave... this is the chat forum!

I would've thought that at least you would know this place is sacrosanct! 🙄

I had a rather serious motorbike accident @ age 19 & I was left with life changing injuries. I had to stop all forms of exercise as a result.

Fast forward to age 39. I was going into town & I briskly ran up a flight of 12 steps, at the top I was completely out of breath & I couldn't believe how out of shape I was. I suddenly realised that I was gonna be 40 the next year & my lack of fitness was frightening. I decided there & then to get fit @ forty.

I bought a Raleigh Max Y frame full susser as you do when you shop @ Halfrauds, well all the kids were riding them so they must be good? I started slowly & gradually built up the mileage to the point that I was able to do a 32 mile charity cycle ride just before I was 40.

I had the bike for 4 years & clocked up over 4,000 miles on it mainly commuting & riding on the road shod with commuter tyres. I even did BHF London to Brighton on it & the Norwich 100 mile ride also for BHF. I then did the Devon C2C ride which was 115 miles one way in a day & it broke down on the way back the next day, this made me realise that it really wasn't designed to do the type of mileage I wanted to ride.

I then bought a Spesh stumpjumper HT & I couldn't believe how much lighter it was & how much faster I could go. The best bit was riding a proper MTB off road on Dartmoor rather than mincing down the cycle paths. I've been riding off road ever since & commuting during the Summer. I've also flashed out for a full susser too as I'm getting on a bit now & it's gentler on my body. I love MTBing & I love riding bikes.

I'm now at age 49 & 3/4 probably the fittest I've ever been & happier too.

My boyfriend made me buy a bike about 8 years ago, was terrified the first time I got on it. I had a rubbish halford jobbie to start with.We went to cwmcarn soon after, I cried half way up the first hill cos it was so horrible , we cut back onto the road, straight back to the car park and home. Took nearly 2 hrs to get back, was a very quiet 2 hrs, I actually thought he was going to dump me 🙁

Then he bought me a specialized epic and we did a bit of xc, loved it and still do, more than him I reckon sometimes 🙂

The Scousers taught me how to ride it.

What, like you stole it? 😛

Never stopped.

BMX until 21, couple of years of mtb (91/92), then BMX again until 33, then after bad injury mtb as a 'safe' alternative, now mostly road for the last year or so (and cx/mtb).

Bikes is bikes, they're all good.

TSY - shit, really sorry. it was an accident

I'm too upset to even try and rescue it for you with inane drivel.

*la petite flouncé*

Em82,

Me and GF did some cycling in Wales last year, She cried at one point when we were pushing up a hill in rubbish weather, and I didn't know *exactly* where we were. I felt a bit shit really. I got us to the road (lucky) and we went back to the b&b. She got in the bath and locked the door, I thought she was going to dump me, I had to do some serious groveling over dinner.

It's my birthday tomorrow. I'm going to ride a bike ... not mine though. 8)

After toying for years, I turned to it compulsively after stopping compulsive hillwalking.

Summer 1975, I'm 7 years of age.

I turned the corner into my friend's street on another of those interminably long, interminably hot days that '75 was.

There's my mate- riding towards me- on a bike! Her dad watching proudly
from their gate.

Little did I know it was my turn. Jumps on the bike, with Mr O'Hare yelling instructions about what to do. Its about 10 or 15 seconds before I realise that he's let go of the saddle and I'm pedalling along.

I should really have gone to his funeral to say thanks, but for some reason didn't. I'll get some flowers and go down soon, they're overdue.

You can ride my bike cg 😉

Two years ago I started working at a new company, closer to home so suddenly had no commute and a lot of new colleagues who were hugely into cycling. Bought a hardtail on cycle2work and haven't looked back. Single best activity I've even taken up.

At 40, to keep outta jail.

I've started twice I guess. As a kid it was just part of growing up here, everyone had a bike... But then I got a wee bit older and just tired of it- and not just because of drink and girls and such, mountain biking just wasn't that great back then IMO. So, gave it up, never missed it one bit.

So then 10 years later, I fell on ice and broke my hip. Made a decent recovery but I was laid up for months and left very weak, so eventually I dragged out the old mountain bike just for physio, since I couldn't walk distance or run 10 feet. And it turned out, mountain biking is pretty damn good!

So then I picked up a mountain bike mag and in there was a letter from ChrisL of this parish, who I went to uni with but had lost touch with, gave him a text and next thing I know I'm off at Glentress, then trailbuilding, then buying more bikes, then racing...

Got into biking as love all forms of exercise and thought it a good idea.

I know its not to everyone's taste, but disgracefully have lived right next door to Thetford Forest for 25 yrs only biking the last 5! Now being 30 yrs of age I appreciate what a wonderful resource it is and just wish I'd started sooner.

Now love Thetford for its sheer slog and no real rest (i.e. downs) and Wales for its trail centres (sorry 😳 not real biking I know).

Just need to lose the stabilisers and I'm sure it'll be much more fun. Can't wait!

always ridden bikes since a kid - touring and offroad. Sometimes more sometimes less. Its my everyday transport - most days I ride a bike somewhere

Thank you darcy. 🙂 I only ride pink bikes though. 😉

We never had flash bikes as kids. Pre war sit up and beg singlespeeds with rod brakes were mostly all we had.

My uncle used to take us on what were in reality mountain bike rides, before they were invented. The key ingredient the Marin pioneers forgot to include was a frying pan and sausages. Our off rides nearly always incuded a fry up on a bush fire somewhere. We must have been under 10 when we did those trips.

I bought a second hand touring bike to go to Art College. I lived around the corner from a great bike shop, who quickly liberated me from my grant. I later got a Saturday job there and got probably the first Rockhopper in the country. I still ride with the guys who hung out in the shop 27 years later.

Used to hill walk a lot, knee went so took to MTB. Not looked back.

Cody, love your story.

You should, soon.

No choice. My Dad was a roadie in his younger years so got taught how to ride aged 4 (that was 1977) and not looked back. Only regret I guess is we've never ridden together - he quit before he had kids cos he felt there was too much traffic

I only ride pink bikes though.

It's pink...ish. 😀

Hmmmm ... red? Red = fast. 8)

I rode as a teenager as a means of getting about and going/exploring places.

I stopped when my bike broke as I couldn't afford to replace it. Few years later went off to uni. In my 3rd year it was a particularly dry winter and spring so there was not much kayaking to be done. Fruit/Neil of SuperStar fame leant me his bike and I was amazed what suspension and disc brakes let you do. Bought one that summer (after working in a warehouse moving heavy things) and have never looked back. Took me to GT for the first time as well which was probably what got me really hooked on it being a sport rather than just a mode of transport. Taken over from kayaking now as it's so much easier to arrange.

My sister and I always rode bikes from being wee. We later used to cycle for miles around the flat Cheshire countryside, vist a tea room, stuff our faces and cycle home.

Then I heard about mtbs, whooppee, a bit more to it than just riding tarmac, I thought. Sister however had a realy bad fall on one of our first ever (proper) mtb rides and broke her arm. She's never ridden an mtb since.

My skiing buddy Rod, told me he had a bike, so we hooked up together, rode all the trails around the Peak District (late 1990s). Then found a group to ride with. Finally met hubby on a skiing holiday and got him into mtbing. He's really good now and I'm just average, don't care though, 'cos I love it.

P.S. Hippy, happy, birthday to you cinnamon_girl (it was my birthday on Sunday).

I bought a Specialized Hard Rock back In 2003 but didn't really ride It much , then went to my mates stag weekend In fort bill around 2008 and did the laggan Red as part of the weekend. Got back and took my old spesh down to Glentress loved It and never really looked back.

bunnyhop - thank you. 🙂 And a belated Happy Birthday to you! Any nice biking pressies?

[b]deadlydarcy[/b]
To lose weight.

I never really stopped since my stabilisers were taken off. One of my strongest memories as a kid was riding across the playing fields beside the house on my first ride on the Gresham Flyer I had inherited from my older sisters. I went flying (see what I did there? 🙄 ) over the bars as the brakes were the opposite way round to the Puch I had before - happy days!

Gresham Flyer

OMG, that was one of my best friends, Liz's bike as a kid. We used to joke about it for years afterwards. Thanks for bringing back some happy memories. What fun we had on that bike v

I cycled as a teenager (time trials etc on a Condor fixie) to escape London and family. Then got into climbing then surfing. Started cycling again to get fit for surfing and then found cycling gave me a bigger buzz. I've cycled so much in the last two days I've got cramp in my arms....painfully funny!

I decided to start mtbing with a walking/climbing mate in 1995, bought a 2nd hand GT Timberline for £200 and we rode most stuff in the southern Yorkshire Dales and did a few trips to the alps when it wasn't common. Lost interest in 2000 due to said mate being a bit of a PITA, but my new to be Bro-in-law got me hooked again in 2006.

When I needed something to break my ****ing addiction, cycling was there

Always had bikes, hand me downs till I was 16 my paper round/Christmas money jar was full and I brought my first brand new bike. Cycling has been main method of transport, still not brought one of them car things. My older cousin was a huge influence, like the hand me down bikes hand me down mountain bike magazines were full of exotica, some had suspension and shifters actually under the handlebar.

Rode like everyone from about 4, Dad was into motorbikes but had to sell up when kids came along so brought me a scrambler for my 7th birthday to ride along old railway line,good old council clamped down on that after 1 week.

We joined local scrambling club 4 years and lots and lots of money later Dad told me he couldn't afford it any longer so did I want to have a go at BMX instead did this for a couple of years then did Beacon charity bike ride and joined Wolverhampton Wheelers !! 3 years of Road,Crit & Track Racing Beer and Woman took over

15 Years later new Brother in Law had a GT and I moved to Chapeltown in Sheffield and got myself a Halfords GT Special and never looked back, Youngest lad now goes to watch Speedway so think were in Trouble!!

I was in my very early twenties walking down the road with a mate. We saw a bike that wasn't locked up so we nicked it to sell on (I wasn't a very nice person in those days - it's one of the worst things I have ever done).
I hadn't learnt to ride a bike as a kid so my mate showed me how.
By the time I'd learnt, the bike was damaged beyond (as much as we could) repair so we couldn't sell it. We dumped it but I'd caught the bug.
I feel very bad every time I think of liberating that bike from its owner.
I've only ever stolen a bike once.
If you lived on the private housing estate near Hazel Grove swimming pool about 20 years ago and had a light blue Muddy Fox bike stolen fron your garden, you owe me a kicking and I owe you some money with my shame and apologies.
email in my profile.
That's the first time other than telling my wife that I've confessed to that. I feel quite odd.

Divorce, figured nobody would want to go out with a fat body and needed something to do rather than going home to an empty house. I could have tried running but figured it would be better on the joints to ride.

Back married now, back to marriage weight 🙂 but still riding and not as wobbly as I was first time round

Cycled everywhere as a kid. Happy memories..like finally growing into my fathers Carlton 5speed racer...stopped when 16.
.
.
28yrs later, started again through C2W scheme 3yrs ago to try and combat obesity. Was working until 5mths ago..one healed collar bone later i'm just about to get back in the saddle this weekend, gulp.

Monksie...Shady Oak estate eh?!?

The very one nockmeister. We were walking back to Offerton Estate from Cheadle Hulme nick. Not because I'd been in trouble though.
Not yours was it?
It's nice to see that Cycle to Work HAS resulted in regular cyclists.

I saved up for my first mtb when I was 13 or so (that was a lot of paper rounds). I'd always been into cycling (BMX) and had lusted after one for ages. Rode it right up until I went to uni at 18, where I got lured away from biking by various temptations. Went travelling with a friend after uni - he wasn't a mtber but brought back a knackered Cannondale Killer V that I just had to have. Bought it off him, restored it, and have been back on assorted bikes ever since. It also coincided with giving up my hedonistic ways and was something to channel my energies into that provided an endorphin rush of its own.

I was a grubby snot nosed estate kid from somewhere about 1980 onwards.. that was one of the big cycling boom eras and so every kid had a bike of some description..
ramps in the street instead of jumpers for goalposts and all that..

As a result I rode off-road.. street and flatland from as soon as I could walk.. I was pretty good by my mid teens but then other more important things came along to distract me..

these distractions were deep and intense and so kept me away from regular cycling for some twenty years although brief forays into ramp riding.. unicycling and schooling my much younger siblings in some basic xc and downhill were regular features during this period..

started back regularly cycling for fitness and a distraction from the pub.. me and a few pub regulars started riding together.. soon we were doing epic xc explorations weekly and training in the evenings..

ace

As a kid/teenager, we moved to the middle of nowhere and two wheels was the only practical way to go visit friends. No matter which direction you came from, home was at the top of a 1000ft hill. Challenge!

Only really got back into biking again about four years ago, when I realised I was getting fat, feeling crap and had better do something about it. Bought myself a Rockhopper for my 40th and haven't looked back. Still got it as a moorland mile muncher. Lost weight, made new friends, feel good 🙂

Because I wanted a mountain bike, being into technology and engineering, basically. I got one (a 4 year old '91 Pine Mountain) and got taken riding by some mates who were already into mtbing. That was it, the bug bit.

Couldn't afford a bike as a kid but got a Giant in 1988 after finishing my first degree. Did stuff in Snowdon area for a while then moved to Nottingham. Didn't do owt for years until I got a Raleigh Cro-Mo Max III which was utterly crap then a few years later got a Rockhopper.

Caught bug fully about 2.5 years ago commuting to work on singlespeed. Now got a Trek and have started to get out as much as I can.

Great for weight loss!

I had broken off my engagement, and I had been out running. but there was no buzz...then my mates said they were going out mountain biking, so I went and purchased my first bike (GT Avalanche 2) and i became addicted. It wasn't long that I left those initial friends behind in my wake as i got fitter and faster in my new found singledom spare time life.

fitness kept growing getting faster and faster and I got more and more addicted...proceeded to purchase even more expensive bikes and rode everyday......then a year later i got back with the woman i broke the engagement off with settled down had kids and engaged and getting married next week, and now i am lucky if i ride once a week.....but i have no complaints

Always ridden bikes since I was old enough too.
Started with some thing that came off the bin lorry, then a Raleigh Wayfarer with 3spd Sturmy Archer gears, then a Dawes racer something with bent forks and 5spd derailleur gears.
Used to ride the Dawes along the West Highland way with caliper brakes and steel rims (brake pads had leather inserts EEEKKK) back in 1986.
Got my first MTB (Giant Coldrock) after saving up from my sat job in 1989. Got the bike and told my boss to poke his job at the beginning of a sat shift. Had 4 Marins, 1 GT and 1 Specialized since then.
Never stopped riding since. Its my escape!

Started riding at 6 with my dad. He would push me up the hard bits. Clocked up some good miles even at that age. Started racing at 12 and stopped at 17 due to beer and women, and also because it was taking up my whole life and I wanted to try other stuff. Did some weight training, then running, then climbing and mountaineering. Always rode my bike though. About five years ago i damaged my knee so had to stop running. So started mountain biking and wish i'd done it 20 years ago.

Used to BMX quite a bit in mid to late 80's .. and always had a bike but really got back into it about a year ago after being unable to play footy anymore through injury .. needed a replacement buzz and found it on a MTB now its an absorbing hobby that sees me on a bike at least 6 days a week (i commute through canal paths and woods, lucky i know) and i have never looked back .. off on my first alps adventure this year! truely bitten by the bug

I always have ridden, since I was a small boy. Always loved bikes. It was the easiest way for me to explore the Shropshire hills and get out of the house too.

I guess I started MTB'ing properly, rather than dabbling when I decided to knock rugby on the head - I was fed up of being injured constantly.

Then I went to Uni, joined the club, and never looked back.

I'm amazed so many on here ride bikes 😉

I'm off out on t'road bike for a wee pootle as it's nice and sunny and the local dual-cabbageways will be empty.

the local dual-cabbageways will be empty.

You can't beat a "wee pootle" on an empty [i]dual-cabbageway[/i] eh ?

Give me an empty dual-cabbageway over those boring winding country lanes any day of the week.

My mum always cycled for fun and transport. First we biked to school with me on the back of the bike. Then I went with her on my own bike (about 3 miles each way)by the time I started junior school. At weekends and holidays we went for fun rides where the aim was to just pick roads at random and see where they went. It was exhausting (me on a Raleigh 18" shopper type by then, weighed a ton) but a huge adventure and really taught me not to fear getting lost and to learn how to get home again ok. Moved up to a Raleigh 20" by the time I was 11 or 12. She was sensible but when the road was clear she had no fear at all of hills and zoomed down them like she had never heard of brakes. It was a riot.

Have cycled intermittently ever since, sometimes taking a break of a couple of years, but always going back. Biking with my mum - best memories I have of my childhood. Wonderful. Exciting. So grateful to her for those times and memories.

always have from being a wee bairn.
Serioulsy into BMX as a youth then roadie - lived in wales only ever rode road 😳 then distracted by life and chemicals but always riding then touring/camping then MTB when i could no longer play football easily.

ernie, a dual-cabbageway [b]is[/b] a winding country lane but with grass down the middle 🙄

It's where I do all but about 10% of my road riding.

cinnamon_girl -

Any nice biking pressies?

Monksie -

If you lived on the private housing estate near Hazel Grove swimming pool about 20 years ago

Coz Binners made me.... *sighs*

No seriously, to build up fitness. lose weight and see 'stuff' I do alot of hiking and this was a natural progression to cover more ground quicker or not as the case may be on a climb 😀

ernie, a dual-cabbageway is a winding country lane but with grass down the middle 🙄

Well I never, winding country lanes with grass down the middle - what's the idea of that then........country lanes too wide ?

Around my manor you're lucky if the lanes on the North Downs are wide enough for a car and a bike - never mind about two lanes with grass down the middle.

You sound as if you live in right proper posh parts.

Who mentioned 2 lanes?

Cycled from young age up until around mid-teens (what were those black Raleighs that were a size up from Grifters? Bombers? I managed to destroy TWO of those doing a paper-run for years!) when I got distracted by girls and then cars and then beers.

Years later, married, the wife and I bought a bike each. Cheap, expensive, horrid things that were used on rare sunny days but otherwise were left to rust away in the shed.

Then years later again (this would be about 10 years ago), divorced and having moved home to within a few miles of work, I started using that bike to commute. Really enjoyed cycling and feeling fitter. Upgraded the bike to a £200 EBC Courier which was a revelation compared to the bike I had. So enjoyed cycling even more! Started going further and further on it, weekends away, on and off road. Used it for everything so sold the car and never replaced it.

Since then I've bought a mountain bike, a road bike, a Singlecross, upgraded the mountain bike, upgraded the road bike, looked at getting a BMX (never had one as a kid)...

Who mentioned 2 lanes?

A single lane with grass in the middle and traffic going in both directions ?

Cool.........I can see the attraction with riding on that.

Although not necessarily the thinking behind it.