Cyclists

1246714

Replies

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    I'm taking a vacation day to drive a hundred miles with my bike and ride a maze of dirt roads near a mountain pass, to enjoy late fall color (and fresh air).
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,771 Member
    I have a hand-me-down Trek 7200. But it got me from not having ridden a bike since middle school (1970's) to completing a 2-day, 150 mile charity ride after just 4 months training.

    And now I'm hooked on cycling.
  • resale3108
    resale3108 Posts: 294 Member
    I have a hand-me-down Trek 7200. But it got me from not having ridden a bike since middle school (1970's) to completing a 2-day, 150 mile charity ride after just 4 months training.

    And now I'm hooked on cycling.

    EXCELLENT!
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
    nelja wrote: »
    Awesome pictures every one.
    Tell us a bit about your cycling history ! What kind of rides do you do? Short/Long, Gravel/Road/XC/Marathon?

    I got into cycling because a friend wanted to do a tri and needed a training partner and I tend to love all things fitness so I said yes. Our first ride was about 30 miles and now we tend to go out on the weekends with different cycling groups around town. I'm more comfortable in a group and don't know if I would ever like riding alone. Since starting we did a tri relay sprint and I would like to do more of that and I would like to do a century. For now my riding is just Saturday and Sunday mornings usually in the 30 mile range. Strictly road one weekend I would like to try mountain.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    nelja wrote: »
    Awesome pictures every one.
    Tell us a bit about your cycling history ! What kind of rides do you do? Short/Long, Gravel/Road/XC/Marathon?

    I road bikes a lot when I was 12 or 13, then at some point I decided it was "uncool" (for a very uncool person I spent a lot of time trying and failing to be cool).

    In college I had friends who mountain biked and I was really interested but didn't have the money for a bike. My last semester of college I met a guy who MTBed, after I graduated and got a real job he helped me pick out my first bike. I paid $400 for it but it. The guy later become my husband and we rode a bit, then I started having babies every other year. You don't really get much better at biking when you only ride 3 times every other summer.

    When the husband turned 40 he decided to get into MTB racing. I decided to get more into riding at that point in time too and joined a women's MTB club. The gal who ran it told me my Fuji was too big for me (it was a large frame), so I switched to an old one of my husband's (we are the same height). Eventually I bought my Spark and finally started to get better and even started racing on the team my husband was on. I'm still really slow but continuing to improve.

    My CX bike is another hand me down from my husband. I mainly use it for pavement riding (I have road tires on it) but someday I want to try to race it.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    nelja wrote: »
    Awesome pictures every one.
    Tell us a bit about your cycling history ! What kind of rides do you do? Short/Long, Gravel/Road/XC/Marathon?

    Not much since I was a kid and a college student. My first big boy bike was a sleek department store 10-speed and I was a fat kid on skinny wheels. One day while I was out riding around town the front wheel bent over 90 degrees and that was the last time I rode that skinny-wheeled piece of tin. Being a big boy with a job and a small income, I drove my car to the department store to buy the mountain bike because it had wider wheels. That seems to have been the solution, because those wheels have never bent. After college, which I did not graduate, I did not ride it again for more than 15 years. I rode around a few times in the town I live in now. I replaced the seat with a split seat to relieve numbing in my torso. I took it to a local bike shop and had them replace the brake cables and shoes and get everything back in tune. Now, since a couple of years ago, I occasionally ride it around town for exercise. I put it in 18th gear and that makes even the slight grades around here a MET 12 struggle. As a cardio workout goes, I love it.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    @mph323
    mph323 wrote: »
    I also have a Specialized mountain bike that I rarely ride - it turns out I'm a big chicken off-road :(

    Me too - the crunch of gravel and the tyres moving about makes me pucker up!
    Took out a Specialzed Rockhopper on holiday in Fuerteventura over gravel, sand, mud and volcanic cinder. Loved the ride and the tranquillity but never felt completely confident. Must fix that. :)

    461bzcok0whw.jpg

    I always feel like I'm going to slide out. That's happened a few times on my road bike and somehow I can't convince myself that the wider, grippy tires on the specialized won't react the same way. My most cringe-worthy experience was going out with a big family group on a lovely off-road ride and standing at the top of a gravelly downhill that the kids all attacked and not being able to make myself go down.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    nelja wrote: »
    Awesome pictures every one.
    Tell us a bit about your cycling history ! What kind of rides do you do? Short/Long, Gravel/Road/XC/Marathon?

    I started riding in my mid-40s after a friend loaned me a bike and talked me into training for an all-women's metric century. Six weeks later I rode 63 miles and I never felt so strong and powerful in my life. It was life-changing for me.

    I used to ride centuries on a regular basis, then I moved and had a 4 hour commute each day, and my riding was cut to what I could do on weekends. I retired this year and I've done a few metrics - my goal is to start riding centuries again some time next year. Meanwhile, in the autumn, I ride for the pure joy of riding, no training, no goals, just get out on the bike and ride wherever I feel like going. It's where I find the quiet in my mind.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    Those of you who are nervy on mountain bikes but ok on road bikes... Do you think your way though turns or down hills? On a mountain bike, most of the time, if you're thinking you're doing it wrong. Same goes for road bikes in my experience, you just have a lot more leeway because road conditions don't change as quickly/dramatically as trails can.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Those of you who are nervy on mountain bikes but ok on road bikes... Do you think your way though turns or down hills? On a mountain bike, most of the time, if you're thinking you're doing it wrong. Same goes for road bikes in my experience, you just have a lot more leeway because road conditions don't change as quickly/dramatically as trails can.

    Yeah, I'm thinking about every slight obstacle in sight and white-knuckling all the time off-road, and don't really think much at all on the road. It's easy to get into that sort of zen, one-with-the-bike space in my head, and I can't imagine anything like that on a trail.
  • nelja
    nelja Posts: 282 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Those of you who are nervy on mountain bikes but ok on road bikes... Do you think your way though turns or down hills? On a mountain bike, most of the time, if you're thinking you're doing it wrong. Same goes for road bikes in my experience, you just have a lot more leeway because road conditions don't change as quickly/dramatically as trails can.

    When I ride with my mountain bike on the road,i do not think.But on gravel,it is consentration the whole time.
  • nelja
    nelja Posts: 282 Member
    mph323 wrote: »
    nelja wrote: »
    Awesome pictures every one.
    Tell us a bit about your cycling history ! What kind of rides do you do? Short/Long, Gravel/Road/XC/Marathon?

    I started riding in my mid-40s after a friend loaned me a bike and talked me into training for an all-women's metric century. Six weeks later I rode 63 miles and I never felt so strong and powerful in my life. It was life-changing for me.

    I used to ride centuries on a regular basis, then I moved and had a 4 hour commute each day, and my riding was cut to what I could do on weekends. I retired this year and I've done a few metrics - my goal is to start riding centuries again some time next year. Meanwhile, in the autumn, I ride for the pure joy of riding, no training, no goals, just get out on the bike and ride wherever I feel like going. It's where I find the quiet in my mind.

    That is the best goal. And riding just for fun , it is very relaxing. Keep it up
  • nelja
    nelja Posts: 282 Member
    Awesome. It does not matter how old your bike is, just ride and enjoy it
    nelja wrote: »
    Awesome pictures every one.
    Tell us a bit about your cycling history ! What kind of rides do you do? Short/Long, Gravel/Road/XC/Marathon?

    Not much since I was a kid and a college student. My first big boy bike was a sleek department store 10-speed and I was a fat kid on skinny wheels. One day while I was out riding around town the front wheel bent over 90 degrees and that was the last time I rode that skinny-wheeled piece of tin. Being a big boy with a job and a small income, I drove my car to the department store to buy the mountain bike because it had wider wheels. That seems to have been the solution, because those wheels have never bent. After college, which I did not graduate, I did not ride it again for more than 15 years. I rode around a few times in the town I live in now. I replaced the seat with a split seat to relieve numbing in my torso. I took it to a local bike shop and had them replace the brake cables and shoes and get everything back in tune. Now, since a couple of years ago, I occasionally ride it around town for exercise. I put it in 18th gear and that makes even the slight grades around here a MET 12 struggle. As a cardio workout goes, I love it.

  • nelja
    nelja Posts: 282 Member
    Is that the scott genesus?
    Scott Spark

    s1600_SCOTT_Spark_920_Bike.jpg?1372367807
    7x8ttvc360nl.jpg

  • nelja
    nelja Posts: 282 Member
    It is so nice when your family do things together.My son and husband rides together and me and my daughter.The guys are too fast for us.They are training for the Namibian desert dash two man team this year.And it is a lot of practice.I do the backup and the support for them
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    My 7 year old has also really taken a liking to cycling...this is his bike (courtesy of the internet)

    scott-scale-junior-20-2017-kids-bike-black-yellow-EV286292-4600-1.jpg

    He loves to ride with me when he can...he rocked a 10 mile charity ride with me earlier this year and wasn't even remotely tired...He also looks too cute in his jersey and cycling shorts...

  • nelja
    nelja Posts: 282 Member
    That is a very nice vacation day.I think we all envy you
    I'm taking a vacation day to drive a hundred miles with my bike and ride a maze of dirt roads near a mountain pass, to enjoy late fall color (and fresh air).