Fifty Plus (50+) - Why are you passionate about bike riding?

What is there about riding a two-wheeled (or more) metal contraption that gets you excited enough to join an online bicycle forum?

Why do bicycles in general and riding a bicycle get you all warm and fuzzy and excited on the inside and makes you want to keep riding them again and again for as long as you can?

I can't understand why there are so many people who aren't.

makes me feel like a super hero and jet pilot at the same time

Ya wanna know the real answer? I've thought about this a lot. My take:

Back in 1971 or so, I smoked a pack and a half of Marlboros a day and dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver. I worked part time at the Oakland Public Library in order to pay my way thru junior college in Alameda, CA. One of the librarians was a relatively young, hip dude who listened to jazz and drove a Porsche C. I thought this dude was very cool. He also owned a couple of Schwinn Paramounts and told me I'd probably enjoy riding a good bicycle (I had ridden a 250 Yamaha across the US and Canada the year before, but had traded that in for a brand new Toyota Corolla (in McLaren yellow), which in those days went for just under $2,000).

So one day I wandered into Velo Sport, on Grove St. (now ML King St.) in Berkeley. I knew this store because when I was in eight grade (early 60's), one of my best friends was a kid from a beatnik family (they even had a Citroen with air-oil suspension, and they'd drive up to Burbank Jr. High School, park, and let the car down - much cooler than those Mexicans jumping their low-riders!). His name was Denis Hammond, and he had an older brother, Steve, who raced locally. Denis would regale me with stories of Steve's racing exploits, and also stories of the greatest cyclist in the world at the time, Jacques Anquetil. He introduced me to Velo Sport, where you could buy a Cinelli or a Paragon for about $200 in 1963; there were all these mean-looking bikes lined up in two rows, with narrow tires with no air in them looking like snakes. So here I was at Velo Sport in 1971, where I bought a cheap ($75) Centurion with steel rims and high-carbon steel frame, no quick releases, bars too narrow, lousy cheap plastic saddle covered with vinyl and soft padding, and tubes with Schraeder valves. I rode it around Lake Merritt, I guess, and I was hooked. That night I dreamt of being on the bike, flying on the bike, and it's been a passion to this day.

So that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Luis

makes me feel 12 again!

Riding to the edge of San Francisco bay, in the middle of the wildlife refuge, is a Zen experience. bk

LOSSES:

Weight
Stress

GAINS:

New circle of friends
Feeling of accomplishment
Pie ride!
New technical toys with which to fiddle
Encountering the flora and fauna in the Ozark and Boston Mountains up close and personal

Biking is multi-dimensional. You can ride a bike to get/stay fit. You can ride a bike competitively either as a team sport or on your own agaiinst teh clock. You can ride a bike for just basic transportation around town (commuting to work or to the grocery store). You can ride a bike as a social activity. You can ride a bike to take a vacation - touriong and camping. You can own and ride bikes as a hobby or as a collector. You can appreciate some bikes as works of art. It appeals to so many of our needs and I know of no other activity that can do all these things and many simultaneously.

I have been riding since I took my older brothers bike away from him and learned to ride it first - my first achievment on a bike that gave me an emotional boost because of the sense of accomplishment, I still get several of those each season. Whether it's that new hill I climbed, that faster group I can ride with, that longer distance or just that new route or better gadget for the bike.

Why join this forum, because like most things - if you don't share your experiences with others you don't know what else you can do with the bike and besides - it complements that social aspect. I use to ride almost exclusively solo - I now thoroughly enjoy being with people who also love to bike.

Received a bike for my birthday in 1960,
riding that bike felt great.
It was like I had been given wings,
wings of wheels.
We lived on the edge of town in a rural area, school was all the way across town;
no longer had to walk the couple miles to school. I was a free man.
Cycling has been an essential part of my life since.

I've always felt at home on two wheels since I was a little boy. I still do.

The closest thing I can get to flying like a bird.

It feels good.
It's fun.
I enjoy the uphill workouts.
I love the downhill speed.
The one time cycling with the wind is worth the nine times cycling against it.
The elegance of the machine pleases me.
I like travelling through the landscape.
When I toured I saw a lot the country.

I have always loved motorcycles.bicycles and skateboards and I still do I guess its just the way God made me.

It's the only sport I can beat myself at..

It's one of the few things at which I am at least mediocre.

I'm passionate about cycling cuz it's the only form of exercise that I can stand.

I joined BF to learn about the crazy rod brakes on the DL-1 I picked up last year.

I did *not* join BF because I was passionate about cycling though. I just wanted information.

Sense of freedom ............................... and the pie. Yup, definitely the pie.

makes me feel 12 again!


This is me.

The closest thing I can get to flying like a bird.


This is me, too.

This is me, too.

You need a ride in a glider!

As a kid it was a sense of freedom to get away from home and check out new places. Today, it's still a sense of freedom, only now it's having more to show for my money spent than an empty gas tank.

What is there about riding a two-wheeled (or more) metal contraption that gets you excited enough to join an online bicycle forum?

Why do bicycles in general and riding a bicycle get you all warm and fuzzy and excited on the inside and makes you want to keep riding them again and again for as long as you can?

Early summer morning rides (to beat the heat). Out in the woods with enough mist in the air to create shafts of sunlight between the trees. Finding a new trail never ridden before and wondering what's around the next bend. All that with enough quiet that you can come upon various animals that haven't gone into hiding...........................how could you not like it?

It just clicks for me. It amplifies my ability to travel at a rate that can be both peaceful and exhilarating. I feel connected to the road in ways that never happen with a car (or a motorcycle, at least for me, that is). I'm able to enjoy my surroundings more within the range of speed possible on a bike. Also, there is something beautiful about the simplicity yet elegance of the bike itself. Finally, for the most part, my success and limitations on a bike are dependent on just me. I don't have to rely on others to do this, and for me it provides a level or kind of solitude I need in my life.

What moved me? The deplorable conditions of the streets in Little Rock.

I've been a lifetime utility rider and commuter and when I discovered Little Rock streets I knew that if anything was going to improve I would have to help make that improvement. So I went looking for other advocates and stumbled into BikeForums.

I don't think that riding bicycles makes me feel warm and fuzzy, any more than breathing does. But it's just about as necessary. I also think that riding as transportation opens you up to a different and better mindset that is more in tune with the planet.

I love to explore, and exploring with a bike is guilt free. No gas consumed (perhaps a bit expelled though due to diet...), no pollution of the environment. It is a way to meet people in the back country of Costa Rica and eat food that normally I couldn't.

I come to the forum for inspiration more than anything, and a few chuckles.

Good question, but it's time for riding not thinking.

I've always felt at home on two wheels since I was a little boy. I still do.

makes me feel 12 again!

^^+1000. I actually ache for all the kids who never learn how to ride a bike. I can't imagine not doing it.

Enjoying the outdoors at your own pace. Basking in the beauty of this fine home we call Earth. Enjoying nature as you silently glide through forest, glade, pasture and town, it's ALL good.

After thinking about this thread, I came to the conclusion I cannot answer the “why” question. C’Fool did a nice quantitative writeup as to the benefits and breadth of the possibilities in cycling. The passion part seems more elusive. I think it is that endorphins and dopamine have taken over my mind.

The only thing I know is that I get excited about anticipating going for a ride. I am planning for events and races next year. Riding and racing at the track reminds me of being a kid and going to an amusement park. This is not “normal” behavior.

I used to play a lot of golf and tennis and compete in tournaments. It was fun but it did not seem to create the drive to practice / train and sacrifice that cycling does. In fact, after a bad golf tournament, I would have to be put on suicide watch and sharp objects and my belt taken away. A bad result in a bicycle race becomes a good training ride. Winning in golf and tennis is a great feeling but winning in cycling is a total rush. Who in their right mind rides behind a motor scooter on a bicycle to go even faster? Who brings a motorcycle on the track to whip up the speed for 4 laps and then let everyone go gonzo for two more? We even bring a motor cycle on the track to pace the warmup! One has to be on something to behave in this manner. Legal drugs produced in the body. I feel like Ehmotep in the movie “The Mummy” sucking the life out of people to rebuild myself but unsure of the reason why.

My wife announces she is going to Masters Worlds Track in Europe next year with Larry to compete. Can I come too? Wait, who is Larry? Oh, him. Great let’s plan the training routine. I have even gone delusional that I could be competitive. And so on and so on. Passionate about cycling...what is that all about.

This forum...another dopamine fix.

This is not “normal” behavior.



I can guarantee you that none of my neighbors thinks that any of my bicycling-related activities are "normal."

From the 7 bicycles they see in the garage to my bicycling to the store, bank, etc., etc., they just shake their heads a bit. BUT - several of them are now bicycling! Perhaps someday I will be able to shake my head a bit at them.:D

It's better for my body: I get more exercise, get outside, am more awake when I get to work, and have a good sweat going when I get back home.

It's better for my mind: Going a bit slower on a bike vs. a car allows you to take in more of your environment. Just being outside exposes you to the elements so that I am aware of being a PART of my environment, not insulated from it. The steady cadence of pedaling and not listening to the car stereo gets my mind working and actually thinking instead of just being entertained. I'm happier and less stressed when I ride my bike.

It's FUN! Speeding around, dodging cars, and being more maneuverable is a blast. The freedom of being on a bike just enhances the experience of riding.

It saves money: About $150/month over driving my Honda Civic. I sold it and now I have a great new bike AND an additional $6k in the bank.

It is better for the environment: A bike doesn't consume fossil fuels, electricity, or emit harmful pollutants. One person riding a few miles a day won't make a huge impact on pollution or fuel consumption, but 20 million would!

Ernest Hemingway summed up part of it very well:

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."

More than that, it's the sensation of being vibrantly alive that I only get when engaging in vigorous physical activity. Cycling and xc skiing are the only two I'm good enough at that I can forget everything else and focus on the experience.

There's more to it yet, but I haven't sorted thru it enough to be able to put it down in words.

SP
Bend, OR

Why are you passionate about bike riding?

I dunno. :ride:

I bought a tank of gas for the car in late July. Will need another the second or third week of October.

I pay less for car insurance because I drive less than 5000 miles/year, and don't drive to-from anywhere on a daily basis.

I've dropped 35 lbs since mid-May this year.

That's a good start for reasons :D

It stll amazes me the distance one can cover on a bike with only your own power. Mile after mile.
What an absolutely marvelous invention.

I'd rather not think of all the reasons because I might not find one I like........but I always thought it was unique hearing hundreds of riders clip in at a mass start.

If you were to look at my house and yard from a before and after "starting riding perspective" it's really easy to see where the time and energy has gone.

makes me feel like a super hero and jet pilot at the same time


+1
It also releases endorphines (or whatever) and makes one feel good. I have 9 bikes but enjoy mostly the racing series ones I have, which are expensive carbon fiber wundercycles.

Just bought a PF RS2 w/ new 2010 SRAM Force which they claim is awesome. Picking it up today at my LBS who built it up for me.
Thomson Masterpiece seatpost is so nice with superb quality.

I bought a tank of gas for the car in late July. Will need another the second or third week of October.

I pay less for car insurance because I drive less than 5000 miles/year, and don't drive to-from anywhere on a daily basis.

I've dropped 35 lbs since mid-May this year.

That's a good start for reasons :DThese are all great reasons that apply to me as well. But the biggest reason I'm so passionate about riding is because I feel like crap if I don't.

As an engineer - a bike is one of the most efficient machines ever invented. Simplicity is a ART form.

I've no idea. I think it's in the genes. Serious. I basically detest exercise but love bicycles and riding them. Always have.

Every ride is a trip to an alternate reality.
There is nothing but me and The Ride.
All the stresses of everyday life are left behind.
I see, hear, smell and feel the world at a level not possible by any other means.

Keeps me young
Dwayne

If I ride enough miles, I can eat more ice cream

Fountain of Youth.

It's a choice how quickly or slowly we allow ourselves to fall apart as we age. I choose slowly. The bike is the tool.

There is no substitute for the feeling after a ride or the overall sense of health from regular riding.

I'm 55 and feel 30.

Otherwise the Night air and lights would go to waste!

It was the health thing that got me started. I knew I needed to exercise and lose weight, but indoor exercising just didn't do it for me; I couldn't seem to stay with it. And when your back is as cratered as mine, your exercise options are limited. As soon as I got back on a bicycle, I realized that I loved riding just as much as I had at 9 years old. I still do.

I think it's the efficiency of the bicycle, the way it magnifies human power that does it for me, along with the usual reasons.

makes me feel like a super hero and jet pilot at the same time

Hi rr6,

I posted this reply below, to a thread, "Convincing People that I Chose to Bike to Work"


...I have thought on occasion that I feel pumped up, virtually "heroic" on my arrival. As I stride down the hall in my cycling clothes wearing my helmet, I think about that scene in The Right Stuff when the new seven Mercury Astronauts are striding down the hall, partially silhouetted in their space suits and helmets, with the Hallelujah chorus playing on the soundtrack…[see the end of the movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuR1p7UdI2Y, or google it, The Right Stuff]

Which received these two replies:


Wow, "bicycle lifestyle", feeling heroic after a ride, etc? Really?

I just thought it was a sensible way to get to work. Paying for gas to haul 3000 pounds of steel around with me doesn't really make that much sense...


Personally I like to wear a cape and sprinkle smugness and fairy dust as I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee amongst the unwashed masses.

:lol: :lol:

I can guarantee you that none of my neighbors thinks that any of my bicycling-related activities are "normal."

From the 7 bicycles they see in the garage to my bicycling to the store, bank, etc., etc., they just shake their heads a bit. BUT - several of them are now bicycling! Perhaps someday I will be able to shake my head a bit at them.:D

I really liked this post about what is normal behavior:


I've found that most Americans think of bikes in three ways: children's toys, exotic toys for fitness fanatics and transportation of last resort for the impoverished and disadvantaged. It's socially acceptable for an adult to dress up like a circus acrobat with friends once a week, run around in circles as quickly as possible with no other purpose or destination, but to ride a bike somewhere for a purpose implies some sort of need and is looked upon as an act of desperation.

It took me a couple of readings to figure out Irwin was comparing jogging with bicycling. :lol:

Well, my 40+ years of cycling certainly didn't inspire me to join BF.

Let's face it, when we're here we're not out enjoying our bikes. Good place to lie about our exploits though.

Like most here, I'd bet that our first experience of "freedom and adventure" was on the bicycle. Was for me.

Pretty much everything I love about cycling is celebrated on VeloWeb, including mention of my first long-distance ride (http://www.veloweb.ca/storypages/cougerkoot.html) through the South Shropshire Hills.

Presently, I am dreaming of the day I can get back on the bike, after being struck by a red light runner. Hard today as the sun shines and it's very warm for November 1.