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Biking
Last Post 05/13/2013 10:08 PM by Michael Merva. 24 Replies.
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geosurf

Posts:68

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05/10/2013 12:21 PM
Posted By Cosmic Kid on 05/10/2013 12:15 PM
Posted By bob etzler on 05/10/2013 11:50 AM
Did working in the industry help feed your addiction?

Yes & no.....it also caused a bit of burnout,

That's happened to me with Motocross. Got to the point were I was making excuses not to ride. Sometimes less is more.


P.S. Loving this forum software and the ability to quote!
C2K_Rider

Posts:173

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05/10/2013 01:03 PM
I got started in college when some guys on the team got out their road bikes once the season was over. They talked me into getting a used bike and that was it. what a difference riding hours and hours for fun rather than looking at the bottom of a pool 4 hours a day. I started riding in Montana, so had to learn to ride in "weather" from the get go. Did some racing but it was a minimal scene up there, so touring became the norm. It was just fun to get out and ride 6, 7 hours through the mountains, and by the way, get in some great conditioning. I got into touring in a big way by becoming a group leader for Bikecentennial, which was based in Missoula, where I was going to school. That was a cross-US bike ride during the 1976 Bicentennial. I rode across the US with a group of 15 and had a blast. It really was the trip of a lifetime. I did a cross-US trip again a couple years later with one friend. Still great time. Since then it's been mostly centuries, doubles and some tours. I did triathlons for several years and did well, but it took so much training time and I really like just biking better. After 8 years of heavy swimming competition I didn't really care much about racing bikes. Fun for a few years, but I just find long rides to be more enjoyable.
ChinookPass

Posts:809

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05/10/2013 01:27 PM
Back on the farm, got a Sears 10-speed and started taking off on Sundays and riding the hills in the Kettle Moraine (north section).
In college, borrowed a roommate's bike to ride up and down the Milwaukee lakefront.
Started bike commuting out of college.
Moved to Seattle where a friend told me bike racing is the most fun you can have on a bike. So spent 4 years moving up the ranks to Cat III. He also took me up into the passes around Rainier and through the North Cascades.
Got my master's degree and celebrated by going on one of those huge Colorado bike tours.
Now I'm an evangelist for biking as transportation but still love all the rest, racing, commuting, touring, and taking the kids out to unexpected places.

The other day I had to take my mom to the airport and had to drive. The freeways were a mess and it underscored my lifestyle and made me feel a bit sad for the lifestyle we have created, knowing we can do so much better.
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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05/10/2013 04:45 PM
Nice story huck.

For me it was the typical evolutionary track, I crawled out of the water and moved onto solid land, started riding. I am still trying to make the next evolutionary leap, learning to fly.

My first club: I happened upon them as I was still riding my hydrid with fenders, kickstand, etc. etc. Rode with them for 3hrs, then peeled off as they passed within a block from home. Inside I yelled to my mom that I was gonna join a club, got an OK, then ran back outside and gave chase. I had 4k to catch up and figure where they were located. Next year I started riding with them, the fenders and other crap came off the hybrid. The year after I got my Gazelle Campy Record and the rest is history.
vtguy

Posts:298

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05/10/2013 05:03 PM
Came from a running background and moved from Chicago to Vermont where cyclists are numerous and the riding is great. Bought a used Ron Cooper from a friend and rediscovered the sense of freedom that cycling provided, plus I thought it was so cool that I could ride through three states in a couple of hours. Still do some running, but cycling is definitely my first love.
Gonzo Cyclist

Posts:568

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05/10/2013 10:46 PM
Been on the bike as long as I can remember, most recent addiction to cycling once again was due to the "Widow Maker" that should have killed me, now I ride every day, and I take no day for granted, every day is a gift, not a given, it's great to be alive.
They will have to pry the bikes from my cold dead hands
as far as substances, still a enjoy a couple of IPA's at least one day a week, and like to burn one every now and again

Spud

Posts:525

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05/13/2013 03:27 PM
For me it started at the age of 40. Cycling got me through my divorce back in 1995. It started out as something to do to help clear my mind. It has turned into a passion.
THE SKINNY

Posts:506

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05/13/2013 03:54 PM
i've been riding the same roads and trails for the last 17 years. it's difficult to feel much anticipation about riding but i do get out a couple of times a week anyway. when those trips out of town come along, i like to be fit enough that i can ride long and hard and have good memories while i slog around here. it is a huge stress relief when i get in a good after work ride. i've been trying to supplement my riding with the occasional touring trip but i've had limited success so far (but i am having fun trying). i'm really wanting to go out west into a new change of scene before i'm to old to enjoy it.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
79pmooney

Posts:3189

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05/13/2013 04:03 PM
My dad gave me a 3-speed when I was 10. My best friends' dad (yes, I typed that correctly, they're twins) was a serious rider, 20 mile TR commute and a handbuilt all Campy Swiss bike. We added centerpull brakes, dropped bars and 2-speed derailleurs to our 3-speed. Bought a Peugeot UO-8 when I was 13. I loved the freedom those bikes gave me. Bought a sew-up tired Lambert midway through college. Rode everywhere, rode to school in Michigan from Boston and started racing on it. Converted the Peugeot to fixed. I was hooked the first ride. Bought a racing bike the next year that fit! I was solidly hooked before that, but once I rode that bike that truly fit I was netted and gaffed.

End of year two of racing was my head injury. Raced one more year because I did not know how to do anything else. Ordered a custom frame from my clubmate, Peter Mooney when the season ended. Rode that bike and my Peugeot/Schwinn/Sekine/Miyata/Trek fixie the next 20 then started adding additional bikes, first on the cheap then a couple of ti customs. Now much of my garage is dedicated to bikes.

Ben
Yo Mike

Posts:338

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05/13/2013 10:08 PM
Growing up in Suburbia, a bicycle meant 'freedom' and I value that aspect of bicycling highly. I detest 'needing to be back' at a preset time. I got away from bicycles around age 19 or 20 when I got my first motorcycle, and really did not get back to bicycling until I was 29 or 30 when the moto was broke more than I could fix it. My old Raleigh Gran Prix was IT for a few years until I got out of grad school and could afford to buy my first car. It had an old Avocet (?) mechanical odometer...anyone remember those? Made my first rear blinker out of a smashed DOT blinker light, running on a 9 V battery. Better bikes came after.

I never raced, and am pretty unpretentious on and off the bike. I ride for fun, fitness, and relaxation. What I ride is not nearly as important as riding itself...maybe one reason I did not add to the 'if money were no object what bike' thread from the old VN Forum.

Not saying I wouldn't want a red Colnago Master Light, ot a Ti Moots, but I barely spend as much time riding these days as mowing the lawn(s). I sure hope that changes soon!
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