Why are you a former cyclist?

[Mike Ayling]

A number of people here say they no longer ride but don't give many details.

So what form of ill health caused you to hang your bike on the wall?

Mike
(81 years old and still managing to cycle slowly.)

 

[alicat]

Fearoftrafficitis

 

[Dave7]

Illness.
Long Covid attacked my muscles (lost 3 1/2 stone) and my balance. Even getting around the house is a problem some days.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Suspected untreated pneumonia and covid shortly after.

I have limited CV capacity, ie get out of breath on stairs at home, can't blow up a balloon, CV effort can take days to recover from, go dizzy in gym so risk of passing out and dropping things on myself

 

[Brandane]

Undiagnosed medical shennanigans (following a non covid chest infection in April 2023) which cause me breathing difficulties whenever exerting myself in any way. So I CAN cycle on the flat if I take it easy, but as soon as I hit any kind of hill, forget it. And where I live, there are hills, lots of hills. I have finally jumped through enough hoops to be granted an appointment at a respiratory clinic later this month. But even if they sort this out, my fitness is through the floor and my weight has shot up. At my age I doubt that I have the desire to knock myself out trying to get cycle fit again. Especially with the increased hatred of cyclists I was noticing prior to my enforced lay-off. I will hang onto my bikes meantime "just in case" but I have no intention of returning to my cycle mileages of just a few years ago. Oh and the weather seems to be perma-shyte these days too, so can't say it's been too hard to make the choice between bike and car!

 

[ColinJ]

I had to take 8 months off in 2012/2013 when suffering from severe blood clots in my lungs, and a shorter time off later in 2013 when I developed a second PE.

I have been back on my bikes since then but effectively I only have 1.5 lungs now so I can't push myself as hard as I used to. (And ageing doesn't help with that either!)

Fearoftrafficitis

That is gradually building up in me. I can see the time coming when I stop using busy roads altogether.

 

[HMS_Dave]

I didn't ride for a while because i had a gallstone that got stuck in my bile duct and cause jaundice, fatigue and the need to spend a lot of time in hospital. Im back on it now while i await the removal of my gallbladder but my fitness is a joke.

Oh and @Accy cyclist doesn't ride anymore because he kept dropping his monocle and running over it with his wheel. The costs were beginning to mount.

 

[gbb]

Cumulative effects of..
Tuberculosis contracted at work in 2013. Complications were pneumonia and pleurisy that, like THMNET went undiagnosed for several months. The damage to my lungs resulted In when demanding oxygen through exercise, a delay in its delivery which left you gasping almost even just walking up stairs.
2 years off the bike, once I got restarted, the stamina just couldn't be rebuilt but, I had maybe a year of steady commuting, got a bit back.
Then osteo arthritis set in and i simply can't stress my hips, through physical work or cycling, it's just too painful.
I do a very very occasional meander in the good weather but even have to take it easy on an ebike, let the motor do the work.
From 6k miles per annum to maybe 100 miles pa nowadays

 

[DCBassman]

Broken bike, bereavement, and as previously mentioned, months of awful weather. Hoping to restart in spring. Fearoftrafficitis is a given. I've ridden on one moderately busy A road since 2016. Never again.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I got fed up of nearly being wiped out on a weekly basis (sometimes more) by idiot drivers. So I gave up the bike commute. I then only rode for leisure but my wrists and back suffered from the longer rides and I just couldn't build up to any decent length ride. After getting a motorbike it then became easier, safer, quicker to enjoy a ride out over the moors or further afield

 

[postman]

Double whammy first the Hydrocele a swelling of one of the veg,then the shock of cancer.Which i am glad to say has retreated under the attack from chemo.Just this morning i am going into town to buy some cycling shorts from Decathlon,i intend to start April May time once again,it's going to be fabulous.

 

[Mo1959]

Not enjoying the roads any more. The traffic just seems to keep getting heavier by the day. You can almost feel the impatience and aggression emanating from the vehicles that have to wait even a few seconds to get past.

 

[Drago]

I still ride, but without the need to commute and now living on the edge of town and within walking distance (or robot delivery distance!) of the shops, doctors, etc, has vastly reduced my mileage. I've gone from 8000 or so miles a year to less than a thousand.

I am still riding though. The hire car will have to go back soon, so the folder will go in the boot and I'll ride back, so that's a utility ride. Tomorrow I'm riding to the station, playing musical trains and taking the sleeper to Edinburgh and riding to a friends house, so that's a mini adventure ride.

 

[Dogtrousers]

taking the sleeper to Edinburgh and riding to a friends house, so that's a mini adventure ride.

Bike on the Caledonian Sleeper? Let us know how it goes. I did consider it but eventually decided not to and went sans bike.

Btw keep your bag size down when you take the sleeper. We foolishly took quite a large bag and it effectively filled up the sleeper cabin. Two medium sized bags would have been much more manageable.

I suppose if your onward journey is by bike you will have other incentives not to take too much clobber.

 

[Drago]

Done it before to Edinburgh and down to Cornwall too. Other than another passenger (a lady of mature years) asking me how much the bike had cost as I carried it through to my cabin it never raised the slightest eyebrow.

I'll be back home lunchtime Friday, so a lightly loaded rucksack will suffice. Other than a change of T shirts and underwear I'll risk staying with the same trousers, jacket, etc. In the unlikely event the trousers get soiled(!) I'll simply buy another pair.