I *love* riding a bike
NorthCascades
Posts: 10,968 Member
Riding a bike is fun.
Bikes are as hard or easy as you want to make them. You can have a leisurely ride in the park or a sweaty hammerfest. You can finesse your way through tight corners at speed, or you can go slamdancing on the pedals. Using skill on a bike feels really good.
It's also a very freeing form of transportation. (The first bikes gave women unprecedented mobility, earning them the name "freedom machines.") Much less stress than driving, easier to park (in a city), and sometimes you get to talk to people, because you aren't separated from your surroundings. Bikes are one of the few things that were invented for convenience and have the side effect of making people healthier. People who commute by bike report losing weight, saving money, and feeling more energized.
A road bike is also one of the most energy efficient forms of transportation people have invented. If you don't like mechanical stuff, a good bike is reliable and low fuss, but if you're interested, it's a masterpiece. A good bike can be lovely, too.
Finally, you can ride a bike indoors in bad weather, but most people ride them outside. Any excuse to go outside and feel the sun and breeze on your face is a good thing, this alone fights depression, and the icing on the cake is that it's exercise too.
Bikes are as hard or easy as you want to make them. You can have a leisurely ride in the park or a sweaty hammerfest. You can finesse your way through tight corners at speed, or you can go slamdancing on the pedals. Using skill on a bike feels really good.
It's also a very freeing form of transportation. (The first bikes gave women unprecedented mobility, earning them the name "freedom machines.") Much less stress than driving, easier to park (in a city), and sometimes you get to talk to people, because you aren't separated from your surroundings. Bikes are one of the few things that were invented for convenience and have the side effect of making people healthier. People who commute by bike report losing weight, saving money, and feeling more energized.
A road bike is also one of the most energy efficient forms of transportation people have invented. If you don't like mechanical stuff, a good bike is reliable and low fuss, but if you're interested, it's a masterpiece. A good bike can be lovely, too.
Finally, you can ride a bike indoors in bad weather, but most people ride them outside. Any excuse to go outside and feel the sun and breeze on your face is a good thing, this alone fights depression, and the icing on the cake is that it's exercise too.
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Replies
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A Bicycle is a curious piece of machinery. It's the only mode of transportation that it's passenger is also it's engine.7
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i like mine...it has its own engine
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This one I built by myself from the ground up, ordered the parts and threw it together.
Aventon Mataro, Aventon Light Carbon Fork, Aventon Push Wheels, SRAM Crank set & Chain, Forte Bars, Fizik Saddle and Fizik Bar Tape
=====================================================
Specialized Pitch 650b with a full Sram GX 2x10 group-set w/ Crank Brother Egg Beater Pedals
Specialized Secture, However it came from the LBS.....
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July and August in San Francisco are cold and foggy. I ride my bike up to San Bruno Mountain (1100' elevation) as often as I can and end up ABOVE the fog. It's a nice reward for a moderately difficult ride. The 15 minute pure downhill coast to get back home at sea level is pretty nice too.
Without the fog
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This one I built by myself from the ground up, ordered the parts and threw it together.
I've never built a bike up myself. But I've learned to do some mechanical work on them. Yet another thing to love about bikes! They're an excuse to roll up your sleeves and work with your hands if you want one; that can be very satisfying for people who work in an office.0 -
Self contained, self powered travel machine. And you get to eat ALL DAY LONG.
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NorthCascades wrote: »This one I built by myself from the ground up, ordered the parts and threw it together.
I've never built a bike up myself. But I've learned to do some mechanical work on them. Yet another thing to love about bikes! They're an excuse to roll up your sleeves and work with your hands if you want one; that can be very satisfying for people who work in an office.
I had the privilege of having a father that worked in the Automotive Industry. I learned a lot as a youth on how to work on Bikes, Cars, Motorcycles and what not. I'm personally ASE and AIA certified. But anywho .... I ordered the frame set, wheels, Stem and seat post from City Grounds, the Saddle and Bars came from Performance Bike. The Crank Set came from a LBS called Team Cycle and Fitness. It went together much smoother than I expected. Being it's a Single Speed Track bike I had it together in like 35 mins.
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You can play football and rugby, but you DO NOT play at cycling.
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You can play football and rugby, but you DO NOT play at cycling.
This is how I play at cycling.
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denversillygoose wrote: »
That's serious. That is not playing!0 -
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You like Salsa bikes, huh?1
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The best part about riding a bike is that it's so much fun, you forget that it's "exercise". Every time I get on my bike it's like being a kid again. I can put my head down and hammer until my legs are burning and I'm gasping for breath, or I can find a fun trail and work up a good sweat popping wheelies, bunny hopping/jumping off things, railing corners, climbing hills and riding through mud puddles. What's not to like?1
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July and August in San Francisco are cold and foggy. I ride my bike up to San Bruno Mountain (1100' elevation) as often as I can and end up ABOVE the fog.
The technical weather jargon term for that is an inversion, but around here we call it undercast , like overcast but the opposite.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »This one I built by myself from the ground up, ordered the parts and threw it together.
I've never built a bike up myself. But I've learned to do some mechanical work on them. Yet another thing to love about bikes! They're an excuse to roll up your sleeves and work with your hands if you want one; that can be very satisfying for people who work in an office.
I had the privilege of having a father that worked in the Automotive Industry. I learned a lot as a youth on how to work on Bikes, Cars, Motorcycles and what not. I'm personally ASE and AIA certified. But anywho .... I ordered the frame set, wheels, Stem and seat post from City Grounds, the Saddle and Bars came from Performance Bike. The Crank Set came from a LBS called Team Cycle and Fitness. It went together much smoother than I expected. Being it's a Single Speed Track bike I had it together in like 35 mins.
That's really cool! My parents were worriers so I wasn't allowed to be involved in anything mechanical.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »This one I built by myself from the ground up, ordered the parts and threw it together.
I've never built a bike up myself. But I've learned to do some mechanical work on them. Yet another thing to love about bikes! They're an excuse to roll up your sleeves and work with your hands if you want one; that can be very satisfying for people who work in an office.
I had the privilege of having a father that worked in the Automotive Industry. I learned a lot as a youth on how to work on Bikes, Cars, Motorcycles and what not. I'm personally ASE and AIA certified. But anywho .... I ordered the frame set, wheels, Stem and seat post from City Grounds, the Saddle and Bars came from Performance Bike. The Crank Set came from a LBS called Team Cycle and Fitness. It went together much smoother than I expected. Being it's a Single Speed Track bike I had it together in like 35 mins.
That's really cool! My parents were worriers so I wasn't allowed to be involved in anything mechanical.
It nearly cost me my life, about 4 years ago I was working on my. The jack stand shifted and the car came down on top of me. 2,600 pounds laying on my chest. Broke my left arm's Radius Bone and bruised a couple ribs and did some nerve damage.0 -
I like to ride my bike, too. Probably too much. Who cares if the house is dirty and the grass grows long.... 2
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YEEESSSS.NorthCascades wrote: »Riding a bike is fun.
It's also a very freeing form of transportation. (The first bikes gave women unprecedented mobility, earning them the name "freedom machines.") Much less stress than driving, easier to park (in a city), and sometimes you get to talk to people, because you aren't separated from your surroundings. Bikes are one of the few things that were invented for convenience and have the side effect of making people healthier. People who commute by bike report losing weight, saving money, and feeling more energized.
Finally, you can ride a bike indoors in bad weather, but most people ride them outside. Any excuse to go outside and feel the sun and breeze on your face is a good thing, this alone fights depression, and the icing on the cake is that it's exercise too.
I share the love! I love long bike rides, and I often bike the 2-4 miles to my local grocery stores and shopping plazas if I don't plan on buying anything too big. Even though going uphill is always a challenge (I currently live in a hilly area), I enjoy cycling very much.
-That reminds me, I need to plan another trail ride soon before things get too busy.1 -
I love my bike! Cycling is very meditative for me. Right now I'm concentrating on building up my stamina again, so I've been doing mostly flat rides (I have a road bike). In a month or so I'll be tackling the hills.1
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A Bicycle is a curious piece of machinery. It's the only mode of transportation that it's passenger is also it's engine.
Do you consider an aircraft a machine?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Daedalus
humanpoweredflying.propdesigner.co.uk/html/daedalus.html
nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/Daedalus/EC87-0014-8.html
And in regards to the OP, in less than five pounds, when I cross from the obese to overweight BMI, I'll be rewarding myself with my first bike since I was in the single digit ages. Should be interesting after all these decades.3 -
bmxtrackmom wrote: »I started riding my bike at the BMX track with my kids 3 days a week. Love it!
Very cool! On a previous commute I used to pass a BMX track and one day was too tempted and ended up riding it on my commuter bike! Not the best of ideas but I did manage to survive without breaking the bike or myself.2 -
I used to cycle a lot but have just got back into it again recently after a couple of years of running as my main exercise. Particularly enjoyed getting out in the hills with my various mountain bikes - here's a pic from a recent ride in the hills above Edinburgh:
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My husband and I both love cycling ... we met while cycling the Paris-Brest-Paris in 2003, got to know each other cycling other long distance events in Australia and North America, and then included bicycles in our wedding.
On our wedding day (August 24, 2008), we cycled a century (100 miles) and then got married with our bicycles in attendance.
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My husband returned to Australia shortly after our wedding, and I followed 9 months later. This year, I finally got my Australian citizenship at last.
So of course, we celebrated by going for a ride!
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It's an excuse to wear tight shorts; still working on the top. Love the freedom and tranquility. 4.7k miles this year and counting.1
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