Foo - When did the bike take over your life?

What was your first experience on a bike that you fell in love with? Mine was when I was 14 and riding as fast as the traffic on the road. I obviously rode as a kid, but that was the moment that got me hooked.

Discuss.

This thread belongs in Road Cycling. Would that make it the first thread ever moved from Foo over to Road Cycling instead of the other way around?

That would be something right there.

does a tricycle count? If not, I was probably 5 or 6 and coveting my older friend's bike. Haven't looked back since.

I rode my bike to school as a kid, then rode again in college to school and work. I didn't really become addicted to cycling until about 7 years ago when I started to take spin classes. I liked them so much I bought a bike and started riding outdoors again. I remember going fast down a big hill and feeling like a little kid again with the wind blowing in my face. Once I started doing longer rides lasting over an hour my brain started going into that zen-like mode and I was hooked for good.

This thread belongs in Road Cycling. Would that make it the first thread ever moved from Foo over to Road Cycling instead of the other way around?

That would be something right there.

To some extent I agree...

However, road biking is where the addiction began for me. Then it lead into mtb. And I'm now into the stage of wanting to sell my car. The only thing I need a car for now is getting to the rental car place or the airport. My bikes are my release from the real world and all the stressing things associated with that.

First time I had the training wheels off and my dad let go...about 5 days after getting my first bicycle.

when I got my sweet grey rockshox single speed. 6th grade. Although I wanted a yellow geared bike that i saw an on tv too. Is it coincidence that my current bike is yellow?

My bike took over my life when I was 20. Thats when I became uber serious about cycling.

I have loved cycling since I started riding my tri-cycle some 40 plus years ago and now I find myself working as a bike courier and bike mechanic, I sit on our local commuter's society board, do a lot of advocacy work, and am planning on developing my frame building skills and opening my own bike shop.

Um, probably only in the last couple of years.:rolleyes:

I always used to bike every where, right from when I was a little kid, even when I was an adult. A bike was generally reliable, across town transport, whereas my old cars weren't.:o

I like things that are different, so when I found out about recumbents I had to have one. And then I brought my first vintage bike. And, and ...


Now they seem to be multiplying and taking over the house, and also taking a large part of my disposable income.:o I'm now thinking about getting a bike trailer and/or a Big Dummy.

Apparently last night. I got into a heated argument with my wife. Real effing ugly. The bike and training came up. She said some real nasty crap. I sat there and listened until she said her piece. I was so pissed when it was over, I thought about walking out on her - but thought, "I better get my bike and clothing so I can train this week."

(Side note for the ladies: When it's "That Time" put a black flag in the yard so we can spot it and drive by to the nearest motel until things cool down. kthnxbai.)

I got addicted right after my toenail went ingrown. It was bad. Really bad. Before that, I used to run, but the pain from the toe was overwhelming when I ran, so I started cycling on my Giant Cypress (cheap hybrid). And then I was hooked. Ad a year later, I bought my precious.

It took over my life after it helped me loose lots of weight. It went from being a work out tool to an obsession. Not being a real athletic person I was so excited to find a physical activity that I was really good at. Now I find myself at the point where if I miss a day I mentally feel depressed. Sometimes I wish I could back off of the obsessive part of the sport. Luckily my family is very supportive and have never kept from riding all I want.

Dunno, maybe like 3 years ago. Accumulating 5 bikes in 3 years isn't bad is it?

As a kid, I loved to get air on my BMX bike. Would spend hours at the local track, just jumping.

In college, I wandered into a bike shop and saw a red Trek roadie. Loved the way the bike looked. Took one for a ride and I was hooked. I stll remember one ride just cranking out the miles on the highway out of town.

Got in a rhythm with the bike and was just flying, got close to 40 mph on a downhill.

I think that one ride made me a roadie for life.

Once upon a time, I was but a wee artifice.
Daddy used to take me out for rides on his shiny red vintage Dunelt. I followed behind on my shiny red tricycle.
When I got tired... he'd tow me home with a rope he always brought along.
http://thumb1.webshots.net/s/thumb3/4/68/72/51446872ORpIMI_th.jpg

I'm sad to say this spring I cleaned up and sold the Dunelt on craigslist. Recently thinking of that old bike and the fun I had with dad has made me cry, since I lost him. Should I have kept it? It was too big for me to ride. I like to think it went to a good home.

Once upon a time, I was but a wee artifice.
Daddy used to take me out for rides on his shiny red vintage Dunelt. I followed behind on my shiny red tricycle.
When I got tired... he'd tow me home with a rope he always brought along.
http://thumb1.webshots.net/s/thumb3/4/68/72/51446872ORpIMI_th.jpg

I'm sad to say this spring I cleaned up and sold the Dunelt on craigslist. Recently thinking of that old bike and the fun I had with dad has made me cry, since I lost him. Should I have kept it? It was too big for me to ride. I like to think it went to a good home.

My Falcon was bought at a garage sale. The lady selling it said it was her fathers and she was so happy to know that I was going to fix it up and ride it. Maybe I should stop by the house I bought it from some time and show it to her.

When I was 12 I went to a skate park with a friend and our skateboards. I saw this girl Amanda on a bmx get great air out of a quarter pipe. Got a bmx and became friends with Amanda. We’re still friends, still ride (road bikes) together and occasionally we talk about the obsession we had....

Dunno, maybe like 3 years ago. Accumulating 5 bikes in 3 years isn't bad is it?

No, that's perfectly normal. Accumulating over 17 bikes in 3 years isn't bad is it?:innocent:

My Falcon was bought at a garage sale. The lady selling it said it was her fathers and she was so happy to know that I was going to fix it up and ride it. Maybe I should stop by the house I bought it from some time and show it to her.I th ink that would be nice :) I did email the buyer of the bike a few days ago to make sure all is well. He's having a good time with it, and getting a new vintage-style saddle for it. He was a little younger than my dad, and I'm sure recalled having a bike like that back in the day. I think its in a good place :)

I was 8 when my Mom tried to teach me how to ride. I fell several times and vowed to never do it again.

Then I was 12 and got a mountain bike. Learned how to ride (from her...again), then did all sorts of stuff with it. I rode with the few friends I had, then did a (then) long distance trip over to a town that was 6 miles away. The whole trip took two hours, but I was a fat kid then :)

Broke the fork on the mountain bike after doing a jump, and didn't ride bikes until I was 19.

I was chubby, depressed from my failures with women and school, bored since I didn't enjjoy anything and didn't like bowling as much as I used to, and kind of missed having a bike. So I bought one, rode, rode some more and loved every minute of it. Then I got a road bike and racked on the miles even more.

That brings me to today, where my bike is a part of me. When my bike is with me, it goes wherever I go (except the office, though I thought of sneaking it up there a few times). Almost everything in my life at the moment (which isn't a heck of a lot) revolves around riding time. It also helped me drop tons of weight and keep it there, as well as look and feel healthier than almost everyone I know.

I'm sad to say this spring I cleaned up and sold the Dunelt on craigslist. Recently thinking of that old bike and the fun I had with dad has made me cry, since I lost him. Should I have kept it?

think of it as passing on a bike that has great memories of you and your dad in it and that will simply go on now to collect more good memories....bikes are like that.... and it's good karma for the new owner :)

think of it as passing on a bike that has great memories of you and your dad in it and that will simply go on now to collect more good memories....bikes are like that.... and it's good karma for the new owner :)

This is so true. The bike may have been sold but the memories are yours forever, and now someone else is making new happy memories with it.

Having said that, if you really wanted another, you can find these from time to time. I had one and they are very nice English bikes. Groovy forks. Check CL and local garage sales.

The day I realized it would take me anywhere I wanted to go.

When? Sheesh, I don't know...

Maybe when I rode my Big Wheel down the hilly side street so fast that I couldn't keep up with the pedals, or when I finally "got it" and rode away from my dad's guiding hand, or when I started riding way out of my neighborhood to the hobby shop and motorcycle showroom, ...

I don't think it ever "took over my life". I think I was put on wheels as soon as I could handle them, so self-powered propulsion has always been there.

When I was 20, I decided not to buy a parking permit for school, and instead bike commute the 4 mile round trip.

That was 4 years and 25,000 miles ago.