Why cycle

[Davidc]

Why cycle? I enjoy the feeling of cycling. I did when I learnt to ride, enjoyed the freedom of getting around under my own power after I was allowed on the roads (9 years old after I'd passed my cycling proficiency) and I'm still cycling for transport and for pleasure 50 years later.

There's a bonus - I was told 3 years ago, after a heart attack, that being fit from cycling is why I'm still alive, and still able to do everything I could before it, if a little slower.

 

[donnyjnk]

Why cycle?
Running hurts the parts that you need to use everyday.
Gyms are for looking at all the matching gear on the people that don't really need to be there but have to feel with the crowd until a new fad comes along.
It doesn't discriminate age or ability other than the tests and strain you put on yourself. if you want to go 5 miles so what. if you want to go 50 miles good luck ( i'm not ready yet but with a 180 mile due next year I'm getting there)
I bought a £200 viking giro d'itlaia from rutland cycles and it is brilliant. I wasn't going to spend a fortune on something that i couldn't get on with but with nearly 200 miles on the clock now in 2 months I feel good. Having broke my back in 4 places 11 years ago I don't think I'm doing too bad. I mix it up with off roading as well and I am planning a ride from doncaster to mount snowdon in wales then up it for yorkshire air ambulance

 

[stevetailor125]

Well actually ive just picked up a ridgeback 501 gs hybrid - largely as a result of the anti apollo vibe ive picked up on this forum. To be honest , and it is early days, it feels like riding on skates and im going round corners in installments whereas my trusty old apollo was rock solid , went round corners like it was on rails. But early days - hopefully i will get used to it - for the money i paid i had better get used to it. Otherwise it will be the most expensive waste of money on a bit of rusty old iron since the milenium dome.
Im mostly in and around london.
Good luck with the job hunting.

I went from mountain bike to Ridgeback 501gs Adventure, cost under £70 from LBS and wouldn't be without it, once you get used to it you'll love it( I hope).
I started cycling again to get some lower body strength back, now I get withdrawl symptoms if I dont ride at least 3 times a week, including my 34 mile ride every Monday

 

[Enrico]

I started cycling when I went on holiday to Toronto. As a cycling city, I borrowed my uncle's mountain bike for 2 months and commuted daily throughout Toronto/Ontario, and I really got to see some hidden gems.

Since I've been back in London and having realised that I have a real knack for cycling long distances, I bought a vintage racer, which sadly broke, and I'm now planning to buy a new one with the intention of entering a few competitions in the coming years.

It's an expensive hobby, but I love it

 

[lejogger]

I never bothered with cycling. My mate, who has cycled for years, used to cycle everywhere and I thought he was a complete nutter. Then he bought his second titanium Enigma and threw an old battered Claud butler mtb at me that he'd built up as a winter hack, because he had too many bikes for his house. Happily, it coincided with my knees being shot to pieces, and unable to run or play footy, so I started going out on the odd evening for a bit of fitness.

3 years on, I've completed a 600+ mile tour of ireland, ridden End to End unsupported and camping in 9 days, I commute every day that I don't need my car for going out to meetings, and at the weekends I'll get as many miles under my belt as I can. I am the lead in our company's bicycle user group, and I single handedly set up and maintain a cycle to work scheme which in the past 2 years has got over 110 employees new bikes to commute to work on.

I hate driving now. Every time I sit in that steel box I feel guilty that I could be completing the same journey without any cost to me or the environment. On one occasion I timed the driving commute of 9.2 miles at approx 25 minutes. My best ever commuting time on the bike for 9.2 miles is 0:25:57. Not only is there zero time delay, but I've lost over a stone since Jan, and I arrive feeling alert and fresh, and fit and healthy.

I cycle to the pub so I can have a few beers without worrying about taxis or drink driving. I cycle because I watch the tour de france and am in complete awe at how the professional riders make it look so easy. I cycle because fuel and maintenance costs on my car are ridiculous. And I cycle because I love how much distance you can achieve in such short times if you put your mind to it. I love the look on the face of motorists when you've taken your carbon bike out at the weekend and you're sat in their slipstream at 30mph. But most of all I love how when I pass a roadie, or a commuter, or just a guy on his BSO, if you give them a wave, the majority of the time you'll get one back, and you feel a small sense of belonging to a massive community of people who all think in a similar way to you.

 

[gavroche]

IIt's an expensive hobby, but I love it

Compared to other hobbies on wheels ( motorcycles/scooters/cars etc... ) cycling is a lot cheaper and keeps you fitter.

 

[apollo179]

I went from mountain bike to Ridgeback 501gs Adventure, cost under £70 from LBS and wouldn't be without it, once you get used to it you'll love it( I hope).
I started cycling again to get some lower body strength back, now I get withdrawl symptoms if I dont ride at least 3 times a week, including my 34 mile ride every Monday

I start getting cramp about 30 miles. Ive lowered the seat a bit so its less like cycling on stilts. Slowly getting used to it (hopefully)

 

[Strick]

I intially started getting out and about on my bike for fitness. I have now started commuting to work some days as this means I can have my exercise to and from work and it has less of an impact on my time.
I'm really enjoying it and feel so much better having ridden here than driving. Its a short-ish commute at 7 miles each way, but it means that I am getting an hour of exercise without having to go out of my way to do so, and it only adds 20 minutes to my total traveeling time.
I'll be honest that I'm not sure yet how far in to the winter / bad weather period I will continue it though. Time will tell on that.

 

[apollo179]

I never bothered with cycling. My mate, who has cycled for years, used to cycle everywhere and I thought he was a complete nutter. Then he bought his second titanium Enigma and threw an old battered Claud butler mtb at me that he'd built up as a winter hack, because he had too many bikes for his house. Happily, it coincided with my knees being shot to pieces, and unable to run or play footy, so I started going out on the odd evening for a bit of fitness.

3 years on, I've completed a 600+ mile tour of ireland, ridden End to End unsupported and camping in 9 days, I commute every day that I don't need my car for going out to meetings, and at the weekends I'll get as many miles under my belt as I can. I am the lead in our company's bicycle user group, and I single handedly set up and maintain a cycle to work scheme which in the past 2 years has got over 110 employees new bikes to commute to work on.

I hate driving now. Every time I sit in that steel box I feel guilty that I could be completing the same journey without any cost to me or the environment. On one occasion I timed the driving commute of 9.2 miles at approx 25 minutes. My best ever commuting time on the bike for 9.2 miles is 0:25:57. Not only is there zero time delay, but I've lost over a stone since Jan, and I arrive feeling alert and fresh, and fit and healthy.

I cycle to the pub so I can have a few beers without worrying about taxis or drink driving. I cycle because I watch the tour de france and am in complete awe at how the professional riders make it look so easy. I cycle because fuel and maintenance costs on my car are ridiculous. And I cycle because I love how much distance you can achieve in such short times if you put your mind to it. I love the look on the face of motorists when you've taken your carbon bike out at the weekend and you're sat in their slipstream at 30mph. But most of all I love how when I pass a roadie, or a commuter, or just a guy on his BSO, if you give them a wave, the majority of the time you'll get one back, and you feel a small sense of belonging to a massive community of people who all think in a similar way to you.

I agree.
Incidentally i dont find drinking reduces my cycling capacity - probably all the available carbohydrate energy.

 

[Durian]

I started cycling again to regain fitness after a fairly serious spinal injury. Now I love the freedom of being on the bike and exploring new places, it also allows me to drink a few beers and some red wine without feeling too guilty.

 

[arallsopp]

Why do I cycle?

Hmmm... It starts with practicality. For most of my journeys, its an awful lot quicker than anything else. Too many connections for the train. Too much traffic for a car. I've used the car for a round trip of under 6 miles twice in over two years, and put 20,000 miles on the bikes.

It then starts to show other benefits. With two bikes, and a puncture repair kit, my commute is pretty much invincible. It doesn't get disrupted by tube strike or bomb threat. It doesn't go into crisis if the car needs an MOT. If something disastrous happens to the bike, I can normally fix it at the side of the road without needing an RAC van, expensive bills, or more than about 10 minutes. Walking to/from work would be more resilient, but would take about 5 hours, so not that practical.

I have the diet of three six year olds, but (thus far) do not put on weight. This beats the hell out of dieting, or caging my way to a gym in the evening.

I won't argue its more affordable than driving, as (for the moment) we still have the expense of keeping the car (depreciation, tax, insurance, servicing) without the benefits of actually using it. Also, I keep buying bikes

These are probably all reasons why I started cycling. Why do I cycle today? Because all my friends do, and I can't run fast enough to keep up.

 

[Hip Priest]

I started cycling because my other half needs the car and I was getting sick of the slow, delayed packed bus. The intention was to make the 10 mile round commute to work, but then I started going out on weekends to blast round country lanes. I'm beginning to love cycling and I'm already planning to upgrade to something a bit better.

 

[lulubel]

I cycle purely for pleasure. I don't go anywhere on my bike other than "for a ride". It keeps me fit - or is getting me fit, at least - and helps get my head in the right place to deal with what life throws at me.

 

[Seigi]

I recently got back into cycling as a means to speed up my weight loss. I remember sorting out my bike for the first time in 5 years, (making sure brakes, gears etc. were working) and getting on it, I was so nervous, I forgot what it felt like to have a mechanical object with wheels rolling beneath me, then set in the thrill that I used to get from cycling.

Now I thoroughly enjoy cycling, I still record how far/calories/speed, but I also enjoy the ride and enjoy progressing to further distances, plotting routes, visiting new places and exploring. However, being the place that I live it seems to rain an awful lot, like today -.-. I'm hoping to start commuting to college in the new education year, but the bike facilities are dire (They have like 3 racks where ruffians normally park their scooters, despite it being obviously for bicycles), they have no cover so my bike will get soaking in the rain, and I'm not even sure if CCTV watch them.
As a side note: I've lost 21Kg (5kg or so a month) since starting my 'lifestyle change' in March.

 

[Matthames]

I mostly cycle for transport. However I do also during my free time cycle for fitness. My main hobby is Archery so I use it as a tool to help me to increase my performance. Standing around on a field shooting arrows at a target hardly works your cardiovascular system, however having a slow resting heart rate helps to reduce group size as you can place the shot more accurately. I choose cycling as a way to do that.