What is bicycling to you?

broadsword7

Bicycling to me is so many things. I can't even begin to list. But one very big thing that comes to mind is FREEDOM. Ever since I was a kid, I have always felt free as the wind on a bike. What does bicycling represent to you?

fatboypup

Its kinda hard to put into words but other cyclists know ..... people that dont ride cant understand why you need 3-5 DIFFERENT bikes or how you can easily spend $5K+ on a ride. For me bicycling has probably saved my life its help me lose weight and open my eyes to a whole different world. I know I take a risk every time I ride but I tell folks if I die on my bike I went doing something I love and its better than having a stroke or heart attack on the couch.

johnwhitent

Free exercise! Most of my early life I was not athletic, but then I got into mountain biking when it was brand new on a national level in the mid eighties. I did it because it was fun, because I enjoyed being in the woods and getting sweaty and dirty like a kid again. I enjoyed doing a hard mtb ride with friends then grilling some chicken afterwards and downing a cold one or two. And darned if I didn't get fit without even trying! Then I got a road bike to build my cardiovascular endurance - but not for a healthy heart, just so I could mountain bike longer! But I found that I enjoyed the road bike as well. It was very different than mountain biking but fun in that different way. And wanting to do well at cycling led me to eat better. My motive was still to have fun, but health and fitness naturally followed. Next thing I knew I was going to work sponsered picnics (wearing shorts) and the ladies were saying things like "damn, you've got some fine legs!" As a non athletic introvert I'd never heard that before. So with cycling I found my way to health, fitness, and happiness - just by doing what was fun. What's a better deal than that?

TDSeest

I find that riding really removes the stresses of the day. I always feel better after I ride. I also like to tour, and see the country side at a different pace. Definitely provides a feeling of freedom too...

leilaphoenix

Cycling to me has given me freedom! I live in a city where cyclists are king and it is by far the quickest way to get around town. I started off life this year as a cyclist for commuting. And I found that I love cycling! The concept of packing up a bag and just going off around the countryside with only your legs and a pushbike is an amazing feeling.

During this summer I started to go on more adventurous trips to a maximum of 40 miles in a day. Not loads I know but I'm just a beginner.

Next year I want to do some bigger trips. I'm thinking of cycling from here (Oxford) to my grandparents house (Exeter) over 2 or 3 days. I know nothing about cycle maintenance or even how to change an inner-tube so I will be working on that in the Spring too.

sillygoose1977

To me, cycling is strength. I have never been an athletic person. I was always thin but I couldn't do much more than hike a few miles. When I got divorced about 6 years ago, my parents gave me my mom's old mtn bike. On my second ride someone swerved into my side of the path and I crashed into a steel fence. It hurt like hell but I got up and finished the ride, which back then, was only about 5 miles. I really didn't enjoy riding much but I was determined for this to be my "thing". This spring my parents bought new Trek Madones (drooool) and gave me my mom's Trek 2.1. The second I got on that bike I was in love.

Anyway, I have always felt like somewhat of a weak person. I have been through a lot of **** in my life and never had a good outlet. I have never felt like I was better at anything than anyone else. Now I have found cycling and I have found my strength. And by strength, I mean mentally and physically. I never thought I could ride the routes I have taken or climb the hills I have climbed. I also never thought I could get on a spinning bike and push myself so hard and actually walk away feeling better than I did an hour before.

These past three weeks have been the hardest I have ever had to get through, but every Wednesday I go to class and get on that spin bike and I work out everything that is running around in my head. Nothing gets to me when I am riding. There is nothing in my mind except go go go. There is no anxiety, no doubts about myself, nothing but my strength. My body and my mind thank me every time. I have to say that last night in class I did a 9 minute standing sprint and I have never felt so good.

ebramlett

Mountain biking really gives me some "me " time. I do some of my best thinking when its just me and my bike out on the trails. Plus it helps this 41 yr old body be able to keep up with my 4 yr and 6 yr old boys!!

TheBigYin

What is cycling to me... in a word SANITY. It's the only bit of peace and "me-time" I get in the day.

To explain why, I really have to explain what I do on a day to day basis. Around 8 years ago, I made a major life change in terms of carreer path. I run my own business, working in a very specialised niche market, which involved my working on clients sites for periods of 3 - 24 months at a time. These sites were all over the world, and meant that for maybe 10 years I'd lived out of a suitcase (with the exception of a 2 year stint in Italy, where I got lodgings with a italian family, and was pretty much adopted by "Nonna"... - I even re-started riding the bike while there, joining the local village cycling club). Anyway - I decided i'd had enough of it, so now I hire contract staff to do the on-site bit, and I stay at home and do the code-monkeying. This decision was partly made for me, when my Mother was diagnosed as having Inoperable bladder cancer. She, in turn, was fully occupied looking after my Father, who had had a stroke 10 years earlier. So - I gave up the jet-setting, to stay at home, and look after my parents, and write a few computer programs into the bargain.

Since then, I haven't managed a single night away from the family home, and since my mother passed away 3 years ago, haven't really managed more than 4 hours at a time away from the house - my dad needs pretty much constant attention, so a couple of hours for a ride is the best I can manage without arranging care assistants to cover me... So - I get a hour or two. But those hours are all mine, and they are sweet!