Road Cycling - Why do YOU ride?

I was just wondering. FYI, i do it because you go faster then running. If you put other, don't hesitate to reply

I needed a hobby other than staring at the computer for 8 hours a day so i took my 200junker out for a spin.. I loved it.. From then on, i really enjoyed biking. Now on the road bike, the exhileration of 60km/h down a hill with the wind at me ears and the tears running down my face is great!!!!

If I don't I become extremely difficult to live with and restless. While I am on my bike everything in the world is right and when I'm finished I am a little more patient.

Plus, stronger legs mean a stronger serve in tennis:D

I have an office job and need the exercise after being cooped up inside all day.

It's better than Prozac

Originally posted by MKRG
It's better than Prozac

tru dat

My original, smart-ass remark is,"because the voices in my head told me to".
The real reason was to get in shape for backpacking trips. Now, I find that I enjoy cycling as much as backpacking.

I know this will sound like a cliche but here goes...

When I'm on a bike ride, the rest of the real world is gone. It's almost as if I'm transported to an alternate reality. I guess I've never done drugs because I never needed to... if I wanted to escape reality, all I had to do was hop on my bike and ride. Time also gets distorted. Hours turn into days but they are days of pure enjoyment. All the worries and stress melt away. I've often come back from multi-day rides thinking that whole weeks have gone by when in reality, I've only been gone the weekend. I ask my wife things like, "so what happened while I was gone?" as if I had just gotten back from an interplanetary trip. Each ride, even the shortest ones are vacations.

As far as the "It's better than prozac" remark goes. I mean it literally. I initially bought a bike to strengthen up my leg muscles to better hold my knee together (I blew it up a couple years ago while drinking beers in a hurricane in miami, but that's another story) About the same time that I bought the bike I started to feel really bad. At one point I visited the ER 4 times in one week convinced that I was having a heart attack. Thus I ended up getting a full cardiac work up and an Angiogram due to a false positive on a Thallium stress test (I mentioned this in another thread) As it turns out, physically everything was OK and I was in fact having VERY acute panic attacks. (not fun!) So I went to a headshrinker and he told me to take an SSRI (prozac, zoloft, paxil etc) and a tranquilizer. So I did this for awhile and felt like a zombie. Meanwhile I did a lot of reading and found that aerobic training is a great way to battle anxiety/panic. So I started riding 5-6 times a week even though I felt terrible and I'm gradually extending the distances. I haven't medicated myself in a long time (I don't need that $41t anymore) and I can't remember when I felt as strong and healthy as I do now. I hope I never give up cycling because right now I feel that I owe my bicycle an awful lot. I started cycling to help battle anxiety. the anxiety is totally gone now. I keep cycling because I love the way it makes me feel. Cycling turned my life around. I feel 10 times better than I did before finding out I had anxiety and going through all the stuff I went through. Now I'm looking forward to training through the winter and hopefully doing centuries next year.

I've actually been wondering for awhile but haven't asked. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

My friends used to poke fun at me for going out on my bike every day. Now they all ask me about using cycling to reduce stress in their lives. :D

Why do I go beyond my limits until it hurts.
Why do I eagerly go out in the rain.
Why do I ride rather than drive.
Why do I love cycling.

I don't know. It just feeds something inside me.

Ouch !

I know this will sound like a cliche but here goes... When I'm on a bike ride, the rest of the real world is gone. It's almost as if I'm transported to an alternate reality.

No cliche - my sentiments exactly. Funny, I didn't find this (or something similar) amongst the choices in the poll, so I am guessing that whmever wrote the poll has never experienced that. Sad for him/her!!

I ride to get away from the "madding crowd," to think my own thoughts, to reorient myself to the crazy world. I start for a short ride and end up doing a long ride, and I don't even know it.

Last night I saw a bunch of deer crossing the trail. That is why I ride!!

I used to have panic attacks too, but mine were everyday. It was work related. When I finally went to the doctor, he prescribed three things, a new job, more exercise and xanax :( .

I wouldn't touch the xanax, but I did force myself to get on my bike more often and eventually I found a new job close to the WOD. No more panic attacks.

:D

i first bought a road bike to compete in triathlons, but now i just want to ride my bike, bikings 10 times better than running and swimming

Originally posted by khuon
I know this will sound like a cliche but here goes...

When I'm on a bike ride, the rest of the real world is gone. It's almost as if I'm transported to an alternate reality. I guess I've never done drugs because I never needed to... if I wanted to escape reality, all I had to do was hop on my bike and ride. Time also gets distorted. Hours turn into days but they are days of pure enjoyment. All the worries and stress melt away. I've often come back from multi-day rides thinking that whole weeks have gone by when in reality, I've only been gone the weekend. I ask my wife things like, "so what happened while I was gone?" as if I had just gotten back from an interplanetary trip. Each ride, even the shortest ones are vacations.

I was going to respond, but you did the work for me! Great post - it really sums up the intangible well.

this is a why did the chicken cross the road question for me. I really can't say why I ride other than I really enjoy it. I know the health and psychological benefits, but in truth even if they weren't there, I would still ride. It just does something for me that I haven't found anywhere else.

I ride just because I love:love:to ride. I usually ride my mountain bike but when my shins start to run out of skin:cry: I ride the road bike till they heal up:D.

I went for a 40km ride this morning with a group for the bike store. Glad I doulbled up on the oatmeal for breakfast. I managed to keep up but it wasn't easy.

Now I have something to do Saturday mornings instead of the usual ----->:sleep:

And another reason I ride is because bike riders are way cooler than anyone else.:cool:

i ride for the 3 f's. fun, fitness, and females. i race bmx and there is no way drugs can give u as big of a high that flying through a dirt course can. same with dirt jumping. so any of u using drugs out there reading this try racing or dirt jumping it is way better and all it will cost u is a bike and some bruises but hey, bruises heal. brain cells dont heal so i take bruises over lost brain cells. any way drugs s*** and bikes rule!:)

I started riding in 1982 because I had quit smoking and I heard that excercise would help with the withdrawal.

I continued riding through 1983 because I quit drinking and I heard that excercise would help with the withdrawal. :)

I continued riding through 1991 because I was a Cat II racer and if I didn't ride a lot, race referees would make me take a withdrawal. :)

I've continued riding through 2002 because it's a serious habit (116,093 miles since 1982) and if I quit now, I'll have serious withdrawal! :)

I ride for many reasons.

1. I ride for health, I'm 40 and have realized my mortality.

2. I ride for economic reasons. Got tired of car payments, depreciation, insurance, fuel costs and $500 repair bills.

3. I ride for a political statement. I'm not what some would call a "tree hugger" really, but I don't like the fact that we depend way too much on a limited resource that we are running out of while potentially hostile countries seem to have vast amounts. Yeah alright, let's face it, all the motor vehicles in operation today can't be good for the enviroment either.

4. I ride because it's fun!

because it's fun

Originally posted by mongoosemonster
i ride for the 3 f's. fun, fitness, and females. i race bmx and there is no way drugs can give u as big of a high that flying through a dirt course can. same with dirt jumping. so any of u using drugs out there reading this try racing or dirt jumping it is way better and all it will cost u is a bike and some bruises but hey, bruises heal. brain cells dont heal so i take bruises over lost brain cells. any way drugs s*** and bikes rule!:)


Don't you lose brain cells if you fall and land on your head?

No, usually they send someone to pick them up for you in the event that you didn't have a helmet and weren't able to.

I bike because I've lost 30 lbs from biking and I have this huge fear of it coming back! I've kept it off for 1 year..here's to keeping it off for many more!

What started 4 years ago as a means to stay in shape between hiking trips has turned into a full-blown obsession.

Now I ride to race. XC, crits, road.

I want to be faster than I am now. I want to move to the next higher catagory and race XC competitively as an expert.

Even so, riding and racing are only part of my life. I have a job, mortgage, wife and kids. I'm 42 years old. I'll never race for a paycheck, win a national championship, have a sponsor.

I ride to race. What will happen when the competitive drive wanes?

cause it makes me feel good :D

Because carrying the bike seems silly?

(It helps keep me sober,, "Soberone",, get it?)

i like to ride because other

I ride because you can "slow down" (somewhat :)) to enjoy the scenery. I love scenic drives, but driving is just too fast to really slow down and savor the sights, sounds, and smells of a new place. It allows you to develop a greater sense of intimacy with the places you travel through and to. You also can "rediscover" old places that you've always lived around but never had a decent reason to go exploring. I also do it of course for the fact that I can exercise and have so much fun at the same time. Also plan on training for a triathlon someday, but these stupid injuries keep stopping me in my tracks.

Gotto stay in shape, and stay strong. Also lets me clear my head, and look at the scenery.

Got a great deal about 15 years ago on a schwinn super letour
than I got the fever. I'm into my 10th bike a few mountain, a bmx a beach cruiser and some road, It was for health and fitness but after 9-11 when I hit those hills and my legs hurt and my lungs are coming out my mouth I ride for those who can't. Maybe i'm selfish but that is what keeps me on my bike for the last year, riding for all those who aren't with us anymore or can't do it anymore.

Well - it started as a weight loss / fitness deal, but it has offered me a lot more than just exercise. I throw myself into my job way too much, and I did not really have any hobbies or interests, so cycling gives me a way to get away from work.

Cycling is so absorbing that when I am out on the bike, I really don't think about that much - which is an awesome relief. I pretty much am watching my cadence, urging myself to pedal faster, and watching for hazards.

I now am starting to challenge myself to ride longer distances, I would love to do a century next summer. Why ? So I can have done one.

About two years ago, the waves around here really went into the doldrums. So I figured that if I rode to the ocean with my board on my bike (vintage 1977 Motobecane 10-speed) to check the waves, even if there was no surf I got a good ride in. Well, I found that carrying a nine foot board on a bike even for a 12-mile roundtrip is quite a challenge, especially if you hit a crosswind. But the riding soon became an end in itself. Within a few months I bought a new roadbike. That was a stroke of luck because the surf here has not been all the great in a while.

Anyway, I discovered that biking was not as dependent on the caprices of Mother Nature: short of a howling storm, I can ride my bike whenever I want. Also cyclists share their main resource, the road, with other cyclists. Surfers are possessive about waves: a wave for you is one less for me.

Whenever there are waves, I'm out there, but I'm on my bike almost every day. One thing for sure, both sports bring me in close contact with nature, which is really great for me. Both sports show you the big picture: a vision of the world that is bigger than yourself and your problems.

Rich

Original intent a year ago was to lose weight and help regulate blood sugar levels as a result of diabetes. I strted with a hybrid and got up to about 8 miles per day. Added a road bike, thanks in no small part to wht I read in this forum. Now I ride because I enjoy it.

I voted "other". I ride because that was my only mode of transportation as a kid. I never stopped riding. All through Elementary, raced BMX in Middle School and High School. Commuted to class in College and now for fun/fitness. I guess riding makes me feel like I did when I was a kid. Free from all the headaches and stress, free from responsiblities at work/home even for a short time, free from "the scene" at the gym, free from my car. I guess I ride because it lets me feel "Free".

If it's so free, why does it cost so much?

L8R

Like many, I started riding to control my weight. Getting out of college then sitting all day was having a detrimental effects.

13 years later, I still ride. I don't ride as many miles as I used to, but I ride more regularly, @ higher intensities.

What about all of you? Do you ride more or less than in the past? Why? Is cycling more or less important than it used to be?

i suppose i should've called the poll, "why did you start?" instead of "why do you ride" I too find that even though I started riding to get into some cross-training for running, i ride just 'cause I like it, I suppose i should've added that into the poll "'cause it's fun";)
20/20 hindsight i guess.

I've found it's great for diabetes and enhances my normal every other day gym visits. Riding also cleans out my head and it's easier for me to push myself to to the point of total relaxation. All this because I have a desk job...

I bike because it is different. I am one of 3 known adult bicyclists in a county of 15,000 people. I am the only one that rides year round. It is the "different drummer" routine. I enjoy nature on the bike as a side benefit. Last but not least, it is FUN.

I ride just for the fun of it.

I am getting fitter although I haven't lost weight, (but I am firmer) I don't race, and about the extra money thing, I could have a nice $2000 bike sitting collecting dust in my garage, that alone wouldn't get me out there. You gotta love it. The click of shoes clipping in, a paceline, the wind in your face, the sun, the clouds, just ridding.

My Mom thinks I'm crazy or doing this for my husband. After all theese years sitting on a couch doing a little as possible, now I've done my first century. You can't put yourself thru that for someone else.

Because I look good in spandex? :confused:

Because I absolutely love it. I am complete on my bicycle. All is right with the world when I am on my bike - even when climbing monster hills.

I started riding to help with some serious weight loss.
It's working. I am slowly becoming more and more intent on increasing my distance.
I wanna ride farther.
Also, something that RARELY rears it's head in me, a terribly competitive streak. It first arose on a whitewater paddling trip. Now on the bike. I HATE to be passed. I see me getting into racing when my weight gets to a reasonable level.
I wanna ride faster.

All of the above.....
A couple years ago Docs were all over my ass. My wife was riding, and she went for a ride, and I was going to just follow her for a mile. I should explain something. I live on the side of a mountain, it's a dinky mountain, a hiker (which I used to be) would call it a hill. But that is where I am. SO when I say I went around the block, it's a triangle, I go across, up, and down the back side. We went across, and the wife went on up the hill. I watched her go, and felt the urge to keep going. I figured it would prob kill me, but
I got a what the hell feeling. I can go around the block in 40-45 minutes now. It took me over an hour and a half, but I made it. I also redefined for myself what the bod was capable of. That was in the fall. Spent the winter in the gym, building a base. Come spring we started doing trips, short ones, each a little longer than the last. In August the peak came on a 5 day bike trip to another state. It was the 2nd day, and we had come to the top of a mountain, and were in a col (a col is a valley on a mountaintop,usually just a little thing between peaks). There was an echo, and I started yelling "WHO LET THE DOGS OUT WOOF WOOF"
I hadn't felt that good in a million years. So I ride to lose weight, I like it a lot, it gets me back into the mountains I love,all those reasons and more. But the real reason is...it gave me my life back.

I'm a cholesterol factory. I HATE running.

But the real reason is...it gave me my life back.

WOW. That is the best reason yet.

Sitting on my behind all day at work. Heart rate rising for no apparent reason and generally feeling blah. Some weight gain. Remembering how good I felt back when I was biking. Time to get back on. Added benefits are personal achievement of distance/speed goals and "getting out and away from it all." I also hate jogging/running.

This was a great thread I thought. So I want to bump it to hear more! As an addendum to my previous reason for biking I would like to add "...because it makes my legs look DAMN good!"

Really though I just like hearing what other people get out of cycling, perhaps by reading others'experiences and paying more attention to aspects that brought them into the sport I can get more out of my rides. I already get plenty from my own experience but if other people bring up enjoyable aspects that I haven't paid attention to in the past...well, call me greedy if you will, I just want to experience all that I can in cycling and reading others' reasons may enhance my own experience. Or maybe I just went to the bar tonight and am bored and talking at the computer?

I like this one too.

Actually, I didn't like that one. I'll try again. But after this I'll go sleep it off...I promise.

When I commute for night shift, I feel much more energetic; after I eat too much after shift ( or any time, really) it gets me over the blahs.. I clears my mind of the garbage we collect daily.. Time to reflect.. Watching my lung capacity getting greater and my heart rate gets lower -as I do more work... Watching nature from the handlebars. Thinking I can climb ever greater mountain and go ever further distance- in the mode of travel I love.. Thinking I could maybe cross a continent or maybe even the world on two wheels.. Realizing I have saved about 7,000 miles on my car, by commuting to work- and all the gas I have not purchased.
Watching the cars stalled on the freeway, as I pass them by.. Looking at all the irate motorists, not moving- as I pass them by.. Realizing, if I were behind the wheels of their cars, stuck in traffic jams- I might be acting like them.., but today I don't have to.. Enough reasons..
Biking in rural areas and realizing the air smells sweet and I have done my best to keep it that way..