General Cycling Discussion - Anyone here replace a hobby with cycling?

Did anyone here give up a previous hobby to pursue their biking passion?

I didn't replace, but I cut back on being my computer gaming nerdy self to take up biking 3 times a week.

very few finishers? that's because the early stages of any learning curve are the most rewarding. after some time progress at anything becomes smaller and smaller compared to the workload required to progress. i know so many athletes, as well as artists, scholars, businesspeople, etc. who spend the majority of their time striving for that next bit of performance, progress, whatever...in reality they're standing still, passing time, letting life slip by.
my point? drop your old habit or hobby and learn something new. it's what life's all about.

Is napping a hobby?

Did anyone here give up a previous hobby to pursue their biking passion?
Here's a short Quicktime movie of my other hobby. This should be startling for a few of you. :)

http://homepage.mac.com/wagonwaller/iMovieTheater21.html

It's only about 1mb, so shouldn't take long to load. By the way, I'm driving the little green one.

Yeah, smoking :D

Not that I can think of. I guess in a way it replaced the gym but that wasn't really a choice. Whistler has these things called "fitness centers" which are essentially useless to the way I like to work out, so I stopped, biking replaced that but I would gladly go back to being a gym rat if I could find a set of dumbells over 100pnds and a real squat rack :)...damn cable machines

Of course I would still mountain bike.



very few finishers? that's because the early stages of any learning curve are the most rewarding. after some time progress at anything becomes smaller and smaller compared to the workload required to progress. i know so many athletes, as well as artists, scholars, businesspeople, etc. who spend the majority of their time striving for that next bit of performance, progress, whatever...in reality they're standing still, passing time, letting life slip by.
my point? drop your old habit or hobby and learn something new. it's what life's all about.


Thats why I love mountain biking. Versatility. If I find I just am not getting any stronger, my bike handling skills might be improving or I ride park/djing. So many options on a bike its hard to stagnate for long. :)

Now, I go scuba diving maybe 4 times a year. used to go diving like 12 times a year...my cycling has pretty much replaced that slack time...a bad cycling year is under 6000 miles .

Well, I had my bike before I got this computer, so I can't quite say I cut back on gaming when I bought the bike. But I sure did this spring.

I fiddled around with this bass for a few years but I never got anywhere. Now I just listen to Iron Maiden when I ride, for all the bassplaying I want :-D

http://gallery.wwwsite.nu/albums/ironfist_blandat/bas.sized.jpg

Did anyone here give up a previous hobby to pursue their biking passion?

Yep, smoking and drinking about 23 years and 130,000 miles ago.

You mean there are other things to do?!?

Yup, gave up snacking on junk food when I was bored. Now, just hop on the bike and ride for a while instead of snacking.

I fiddled around with this bass for a few years but I never got anywhere. Now I just listen to Iron Maiden when I ride, for all the bassplaying I want :-D


Another cyclist who dig Iron Maiden! Cool!

I haven't been in a sea kayak once this year. I haven't giving it up, sea kayaking,
it's just that I don't have time

I started riding 2 years ago (this is my 3rd season). I lost 60 LBS 2 and 1/2 Yrs ago and have kept it off for 2 years, mainly through biking and weight Watchers. I am now a member of a local cycle club. I have a true passion for the sport - It's fabulous!

My dog died about a month after I started bike commuting. Biking slowly took over since I just can't get another animal right now.

I also gave up smoking and paid for my road bike with all the $$ in my "cigarette jar"

Uhh, when I'm done (temporarily) with wrenching my bike, I ride it...

skiing, and backpacking. on any given day that i could be doing these things, i'd rather be on a bike.

Golf, I rode during the same time, but luckly my clubs got stolen while they were sitting beside my bike in the garage, they didnt take the bike. So now I bike and don't plan on getting new clubs. With all the money I can save from greens fees, I'll get a new bike sooner anyway.

I have had so many hobbies down the years... Each one replaces the previous one time-wise, although I still love all of them. 3 hobbies ago I was a recorder player. Sold some of my recorders to pay for the new bike and to appease SWIMBO's wrath :D .

I ahve curtailed my computer custom case building, well the money from that has been geared towards bikes vs that.

i replaced skateboarding and video games.... it was a change for the better

I was starting to get into ham radio again (been licensed over 20 years) but somehow, as the weather got warm, sitting on my butt indoors at a radio pales in comparison to biking.

Ham radio can go along on a bike anyway, bicycle-mobile is a passion for some, hehe they exist to make 'bent riders look hip.

Biking may actually ADD a hobby for me, that I'd like to add, I may start taking along a sketch pad in the messenger bag, since after putting in some miles nothing's better than hanging out at a coffee shop, and kicking back, and I'd like to learn to do those quick-draw type portraits, since that may well help pay for bike stuff as well as being fun.

I collected pipes.
I had been a tobacco smoker for many years, cigars, cigarettes, pipes; and I collected pipes. Had close to 90 pipes in my collection with 30 in my rotation at any given time. Some were Irish pre-republic Peterson pipes, a few Prebem Holm pipes, Dunhill, etc.
I gave up smoking entirely and had my wife sell all of my pipes, racks, tampers, etc to pay for baby stuff since she is due in a few weeks and used a little of the money to pay for my new wheel(s) that I'm getting.
I damn near cried when I saw her packing some of them up but oh well, how can one be a good role model to a child when they're a hipocryte themselves.

I collected pipes.
I had been a tobacco smoker for many years, cigars, cigarettes, pipes; and I collected pipes. Had close to 90 pipes in my collection with 30 in my rotation at any given time. Some were Irish pre-republic Peterson pipes, a few Prebem Holm pipes, Dunhill, etc.
I gave up smoking entirely and had my wife sell all of my pipes, racks, tampers, etc to pay for baby stuff since she is due in a few weeks and used a little of the money to pay for my new wheel(s) that I'm getting.
I damn near cried when I saw her packing some of them up but oh well, how can one be a good role model to a child when they're a hipocryte themselves.


I'm a pipe-smoker too, if only now and then. I can't begin to understand how it would feel to give up such a collection...

I am attempting to replace all my unhealthy bad habits and vices with biking, and it would work, if only I could ride 24/7!!!

I was playing hockey 3x a week for the past 8 years or so. That's been cut back to one as I've been more excited to be on the bike than in the rink. Still love hockey, but cycling has a serious hold on me, and I'm riding it for all it's worth....

cigs.
cycling is much more expensive.

Video games I suppose

Cars.

I've been a car nut for a couple years... I finally decided having a project car was too damn expensive. I spent 6K on it last year and 5K the year before... that is JUST counting stuff I wrote down in Quicken, doesn't even touch all the out-of-pocket cash I spent on it. Plus in march I got a ticket that cost me a cool grand (250 for "improper driving" and 750 for the lawyer to keep my license). That was the final straw... I was like, WHY am I doing this again?

So now the car is evaporating and I'm looking more and more at bikes :D. $6K would have bought one hell of a bike...

Some very interesting responses, I must say ...
Me - I kind of gave up making custom greeting cards for upscale stores (my first client was a little store on Rodeo Drive that shut down in '04). I say "kind of" because I still have my drawing board set up and all of my supplies - which I need to sooner or later clear out. I used to spend a lot of time standing at the drawing board ... now, it's time in the saddle that "rounds out my day."

6K would have bought one sweet cycle machine!!!

Sunday moring, my favorite local radio station plays four hours of the best accoustic music..Stuff like Shawn Mullins, Annie Lennox, Mia Sharp, Van Morrison, Eva Cassady, etc. ..
Still, as much as i love good music, riding usually wins out. and I will not listen to tunes as I ride, either.

nail-biting and having a job.