General Cycling Discussion - How sedentary were you when you started cycling regularly?

** For the purposes of this poll, I'm not talking about when you were six years old and already running all over the neighborhood when you found out a bike could get you down the block even faster. I'm talking about regular, "grownup" riding for commuting, fitness, race training, tooling around the park with the family, whatever. **

No offense to anyone, but some of the questions I see make me wonder what people were doing to stay active before taking up cycling, if they were active at all.

Good advice given in response to these questions often talk about improving core strength, cardio fitness, better posture, and similar aspects that, frankly, I would consider as fundamental in any exercise activity. At worst, it even makes me wonder if anything was taught in school gym class.

Try not to view my question as, "What the hell were you thinking back then?", but more like, "Isn't it more fun since you're exercising now?"

I know enough to teach Lance Armstrong a thing or two.
I've used all the machines at the gym.
I ran for a month after making my New Year's resolution.
I walked up stairs sometimes.
I once worked up a sweat playing World of Warcraft.

Of the choices provided, I picked "Walked up the stairs sometimes". In reality, prior to taking up real cycling in earnest, I spent a year riding a stationary bike 2-3 times per week, 30 minutes per session. I get more exercise now in one day by cycle-commuting than I did in a week on the stationary bike.

Prior to my stationary bike stint, I was a lump on the couch for the most part.

Prior, I was walking briskly between classes/home for at least an hour on weekdays

Try not to view my question as, "What the hell were you thinking back then?", but more like, "Isn't it more fun since you're exercising now?"

I chose the last option. I spent the previous two years working from home and rarely leaving. While I have never been fit (weighed 260 lbs at 5'9") for at least 25-30 years, I was always able to at least perform the limited activity I wanted (the occasional hike (a couple of miles) to take photographs), but after virtually no physical activity for two years I was getting winded just walking from the car to the grocery store.

When I started riding again in June it was all I could do to ride 9/10 of a mile. The first month saw only 60 miles on my bike. Just a few months later I now do that distance in about a weeks worth of riding, and that is just because that is about all the time I can spare for my current speed (abt 10mph).

I am amazed at how much I enjoy the physical activity. I actually have a harder time getting started on the one day of the week I stay off of the bicycle.

Sorry dude but the poll really sucks. I have been thinking about a more polite way to put it but kept coming back to suck.

If you are going to have five options, how about a smooth, logical transition between them? One being couch potato, Five being top physical condition. Look at the last three; somebody could run for a month and consistently pushing him/herself every day, or spent a whole year shamming at the gym. And how the heck do you jump from possibly shamming at the gym to teaching Lance a thing or two? How about:

5 - Top physical shape doing something else
4 - Very active lifestyle
3 - normal activity, weekend warrior
2 - Light physical activity, mow the lawn, etc
1 - sedentary lifestyle

I did back country snowboarding into the mid spring and hiking up the mountains during the summer and fall. I would put myself on number 4 around winter/spring time, degrading to number 3 towards the fall. Getting back on the horse and hiking up mountains with snow up to my armpits was getting to be a bit too much, so I picked up cycling to stay in shape (and the weight low) during the off season.

My job keeps me fairly active, try a 110' stair tower (11 stories) round trip 4-5 times a day, then walking close to 3 miles along roof seams looking for faults... Some jobs aren't quite as physical, others more so.

I ride my bike to decompress and relax and see things from somewhere besides behind the bug butts at 70mph. (50k miles in the company truck last year! less than 3k miles in the personal one)

I have never really been away from cycling my entire life, just been times when I rode more than others.

Rode to get places in the neighborhood from the late 60's well into the 70's, started racing in the mid 70's for several years, then used a bike as my only form of transportation into the mid 80's, more transportation cycling in to the late 90's. Then it became a release from having to drive way too much. Now it is used to keep from having to drive when I get where I am going, a form of recreation and mental health treatment.

Peak yearly mileage was in the late 70's 7,000 miles a year wasn't out of the question, now it is probably around 1500-2,000 or so.


Aaron:)

Sorry dude but the poll really sucks. I have been thinking about a more polite way to put it but kept coming back to suck.

I just wanted to write something more interesting. I don't work for Gallup.

I just wanted to write something more interesting. I don't work for Gallup.

Actually, my bad. It is early in the morning here, and I was stupid enough to post before my morning coffee. My tone was rude and I honestly apologize for it. I should not be allowed to interact with other human beings without having enough caffeine on my system.

I've always been very acive. Racquetball, volleybally leagues, softball leagues 2 times a week, tournaments on the weekends, working out 4 or5 times a week, benching 330 lbs, "running" 3 miles 3 or 4 times a week. I was very active, now that I cycle, I'm more of a big softie than I ever was!:D

typing was never a stongpoint!:D

I was on the inert side of inertia.

When I rode my hybrid home from the LBS on that first day, I had to stop and rest for five minutes or so halfway home. Since then, I've measured. It's 0.67 miles.

Yes, I needed a five-minute rest after riding a third of a mile. It was a month or two before I could ride the entire two miles to work without stopping.

Nine-months later, by the end of that calendar year, I'd covered 2,900 miles, and was looking at road bikes.

It took me 45 min to bike 3.5 miles when I started. I could work up a sweat thinking about moving over to the computer.

I cycled quite a bit as a kid up till the age of 17, and then between the ages of about 17 and 23, I didn't do much cycling at all ... maybe just once or twice a year. Then at the age of 23 (on April 29, 1990) I started cycling regularly.

Between the ages of 17 and 23, however, I kept fairly active. I ran several km several days a week between about 17 and 20. I lifted weights relatively regularly. And I walked lots. In the year or so prior to deciding to start cycling regularly, I was walking anywhere from about 1-5 km a day 5-6 days a week. So I figured I was in fairly decent shape.

And then I got onto the bicycle on April 29, 1990 with the intent of doing a ride around the little town where I lived. The distance was 2 miles ... and I had to take a break at the end of the first mile. That did it for me! Obviously I was not in as good shape as I thought I was ... and I set about getting into shape and cycling lots. I also started bodybuilding about 6 months later.

Sedentary ?

Whuzzat ?

I came into this world with bad knees and never let that stop me from participating in athletics throughout my life... I ran and wrestled in high school and used to get up in the morning to swim 50 lengths of the pool, would go to work, teach Karate classes every evening, and find a way to put 40 miles on my bike.

After burning out at my desk job I started work in a machine shop and would ride 50 km a day and put in 8-10 hours of hard labour... I would laugh when anyone asked if I wanted to go to the gym and was knocking down 16,000 km a year on the road and trails.

After my back injury my doctor said I needed to adopt a sedentary lifestyle so now I only average 30 km a day on my bike and stay on the road most of the time.

I figure that if I stop moving I will die.

Sedentary ?
I figure that if I stop moving I will die.

Nah. You don't die, you just stop living. Small but significant difference.;)

I was not active at all and weighed 200 pounds before I started bicycling. A friend suggested I bicycle so we both went to walmart and both got the same kind of Mongoose bikes. I started to ride around the nearby park and lost 20 pounds in about 4 weeks. I got a better bike and gave the mongoose to a neighbor kid and I haven't looked back since.
Ernest

When I started cycling again as an adult, I was only moderately active and did not exercise. I smoked about 1.5 packs of cigarettes per day. Since I've started cycling, I've lost 65 pounds, quit smoking, and feel good. I'm 6'2" and weigh 162 lbs this evening. As others have reported, my first few rides were fairly short and tough.

I had about 10 years away from severe physical activity-but just face it- Running around with the kids and an active job does keep some fitness in you. Not enough for Cycling though.

Runner for years, did some weights occasionally...but nothing serious.

This poll probably doesn't have the choices to reflect a lot of people's activity levels....but something tells me you're already aware of that ;).

This poll probably doesn't have the choices to reflect a lot of people's activity levels....but something tells me you're already aware of that ;).

Yeah, pretty much. For example, I purposely put in "ran for a month after New Year's" to describe what I used to see at the YMCA where my parents have a membership. When I'd visit on vacation at the end of the summer, I'd only see the full-time gym rats, but as soon as January 1st hit, there were at least three times as many people in there.

I know that there's a difference between regularly hitting the gym (or doing workouts at home) 3-4 days a week and just cruising the gym, ;) but then again, I didn't want to make the poll ten options long, either. Then again again, maybe the Lance and Warcraft references are a bit too silly to take seriously... :D

Lets see... I first started riding seriously way back around 1974-75. Amazingly, I didn't have a bike as a kid. (In the 50s, all you got were those big, heavy, single-speed cruisers) I started motorcycling, and eventually got into amateur motocross. I read somewhere that riding a bike was good training for motocross, so I went out and bought a 5-speed Schwinn Varsity.
The motocross career didn't last long, I broke two bones.... But I kept riding. Eventually, I bought a much nicer Schwinn Continental and rode that for a couple of years.
However, marriage and work and all that pretty much ate up my riding time and I sold it.
Fast forward some years....I had left my first police job, and was working hospital security, and had almost no money. Needed something physical.... I bought a well-used Raleigh Record from the thrift store for 25 bucks and spent as much more for new tires and tubes.
Rode that Raleigh for about 2 years, going from a pretty-depressed level of fitness to doing quite well. Gradually expanded my riding to include Mountain Biking and in my 50s was doing 100+ miles per week and was in good enough shape that my colleagues were generally in envy.....
Now, 15 years later, post-knee-surgery, post stents, etc, etc, I'm working my way back.

I was completely sedentary from my childhood until I reached the age of 40 and 400 pounds. I began to exercise and eat better and lost 115 pounds in a year. I then bought a bike and taught myself to ride, never having learned as a child. My first ride was a mile, ending with a crash when a mailbox jumped in front of me. (Pennsylvania does not have a leash law for mailboxes.) My first year I rode 3000 miles.....

Being 55, I've lived all of your categories at one time or another. Now my bike is a fun way to get out and about, exercise myself, my wife and my dog with minimal joint destruction. Have always biked to various degrees; admittedly never with much ambition.

I went back and forth from 205-210 lbs and had no inclination to work out. I started riding- to my wife's and families dismay -to work and back when gas hit $4.50/gal. here. I could barely go around the neighborhood w/o running out of breath. A buddy of mine took me to a local trail and had me do a 27 mi. ride. I thought I was going to die. But I kept with it, got a better bike, then got another better bike. I love it now and am planniing a bike trip to my hometown of Waynesburg, Pa.

I went back and forth from 205-210 lbs and had no inclination to work out. I started riding- to my wife's and families dismay -to work and back when gas hit $4.50/gal. here. I could barely go around the neighborhood w/o running out of breath. A buddy of mine took me to a local trail and had me do a 27 mi. ride. I thought I was going to die. But I kept with it, got a better bike, then got another better bike. I love it now and am planniing a bike trip to my hometown of Waynesburg, Pa.

Waynesburg, PA: I used to drive there from Carroll Co., MD to buy Lord Chesterfield Ale before it was sold in MD. Stopped for lunch one day at a little restaurant that had autographs and pics of all the celebs that had eaten there. It was amazing! I mean, what was Aerosmith doing in Waynesburg?

Waynesburg, PA: I used to drive there from Carroll Co., MD to buy Lord Chesterfield Ale before it was sold in MD. Stopped for lunch one day at a little restaurant that had autographs and pics of all the celebs that had eaten there. It was amazing! I mean, what was Aerosmith doing in Waynesburg?

Probably got lost. Nah, might have stopped on the way to Pittsburgh or something. Do you remember the name of the restaurant?

While on the subject, check this out:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=11644131

Before getting my bike in July 2006 my main physical activity was a couple of brisk walks to catch the bus each work day. My first ride on my bike was a very cautious and brief ride on the park path with a break at the end of the path. Now I need to be pried away from my bike with a crowbar.

Before I began mountain biking, my daily physical activity consisted of walking to and fro the school parking lot and my classes. Now I commute by bike when I can and people keep asking me where I work out.

Runner for years, did some weights occasionally...but nothing serious.

This poll probably doesn't have the choices to reflect a lot of people's activity levels....but something tells me you're already aware of that ;).

I'm not sure which choice would be best for me, but those pounds that everyone said would catch up to me at 40 showed up around 45, the year I quit walking to work. I started bicycling again after I got to 215 pounds (I'm a 6') and have managed to loose 15 - 20 pounds - enough so that patients went back to telling me their croaker doesn't look that healthy.

This poll probably doesn't have the choices to reflect a lot of people's activity levels....but something tells me you're already aware of that .

Many of us grew up when it was the norm for most kids to be riding a bicycle by age 7 and we frequently rode for miles. I guess "regular cycling", in the sense of being scheduled for a purpose, started when I commuted to high school. The only time I haven't cycled much was during college, and then I ran a lot.

Many of us grew up when it was the norm for most kids to be riding a bicycle by age 7 and we frequently rode for miles. I guess "regular cycling", in the sense of being scheduled for a purpose, started when I commuted to high school. The only time I haven't cycled much was during college, and then I ran a lot.

Yep ... I started riding when I was 6 and you could hardly detach me from the bicycle from then until I was in my late teens. And when I wasn't riding, I was walking everywhere. I did a bit of track and field when I was a kid, but at about the age of 13, I started taking it more seriously and did a lot of training to race and racing for months during the school year. I also took up cross-country skiing when I was about 12 ... when I was introduced to it in school. I lived right across from a great field, perfect for skiing and my mother and I were out there quite a bit in winter for years.

So as a kid, I was in great shape!! I was also skinny as a rail.

I rode and walked everywhere in my small hometown as a kid. That stopped once I hit 16 and "graduated" to a car. Years later I realized it was more of a demotion and started riding again. I absolutely detest driving and anything to do with cars.

i was running 5x/wk, then my ankle got so bad i couldn't walk for a day or 2 without pain after runs longer than 2 miles. Then i started riding, no more pain!!! Now i am sitting on the couch because i had surgery last week

years of sports (soccer/ice hockey) followed by college and the us army, so I considered myself pretty fit. Got into cycling initially to run faster without running (I hate running, but on top of having to do it anyway, I needed to be able to run faster, and I didn't want to have to run more to get that), now I'm on my school's club cycling team, looking at my first race season in the spring, and am in the best shape ever.

I am a runner and recently took up cycling. I wasn't sedentary at all.

I was depressed for almost 2 years and spent a lot of time not exercising, watching a lot of TV, and playing video games. A year ago I went from zero to athlete overnight and took up cycling (as well as running). I wanted to challenge myself so I was doing a 15 mile one way commute with hills and traffic involved on a single speed. Now I've since upgraded to a bicycle with gear options but I've also shed 65 lbs since then and about a foot off my waist line.

Didn't see "me" in any of the poll options. I was a dedicated runner for many years, including Boston Marathon in 04. Running injuries a couple of years ago got me looking around for a cross-training alternative. As I looked around I noticed a nice old black Trek road bike that I'd bought in the early 90s, just sittin' there collecting dust. After a bit of elbow grease supplied by Park Tool, a new set of tires, and a new wireless Cateye, BlackTrek was rolling again. I recently ditched the cage pedals and replaced with SPD. I'm now a dedicated cyclist and shopping for rollers for when the snow flies. When confronted with a choice whether I run or bike, I'm conflicted, but since July have gravitated to the bike. Instead of a half marathon in September, I did my first metric century. Riding a road bike is ... heavenly.

** For the purposes of this poll, I'm not talking about when you were six years old and already running all over the neighborhood when you found out a bike could get you down the block even faster. I'm talking about regular, "grownup" riding for commuting, fitness, race training, tooling around the park with the family, whatever. **

I started regular "grownup" riding when I was eleven or twelve, and entered my first road race at thirteen. That was over 25 years ago and I've been a cyclist ever since (though only a racer for a few years in my teens). But before I started going for 10, 20, and 30 mile rides I was a pretty fat little kid. I got made fun of, and couldn't really keep up with the other kids in sports like soccer and basketball. Bicycling made me one of the more athletic kids in my school, and I ran track because I had the fastest sprint in my class. Funny thing is that I've never thought of myself as a jock. I never liked playing team sports, and I don't work out at gyms. All of my exercise is pretty much bicycling, walking, and hiking. I do enjoy tennis though, and I also tried fencing for awhile and that was fun.


Good advice given in response to these questions often talk about improving core strength, cardio fitness, better posture, and similar aspects that, frankly, I would consider as fundamental in any exercise activity. At worst, it even makes me wonder if anything was taught in school gym class.


Like I said... I never liked going to the gym, but I do sometimes do exercises to strengthen areas that cycling doesn't do much for. Mostly just crunches and push ups. I've also gone to yoga classes with my wife. I wasn't crazy about yoga, but it's excellent for building core strength. And while I wasn't crazy about it, I liked it more than weight and resistance machines at a gym.

I've had my bike sitting in my garage for a long time. I was never able to find time to ride. In other workds, even though I moved at work, and did things around the house, I was pretty slug-like. Including the attraction to beer. Then last December doc wanted to put me on blood pressure meds. I looked at the side effects and all the info for them and decided that I wasn't going to go that route.

The next day I bought an exercise bike so that could at least ride when I got home and the sun had gone down. I knew that I didn't want to drag my bike down to the basement where I could exercise every time I had to ride indoors ( I have a separate unheated garage). It also had the computerized presets that I could workout with. I made a few goals and then decided that I needed to do more than work my legs. I bought some dumbbells and started strength training in my basement. Soon I worked my way up to needing a barbell. By that time summer had hit and was pretty hot and sticky. I didn't want to go outside much less exercise out there.

I worked that way until the end of August when I decided to take my bike on vacation. I rode it most days on vacation and remembered how much I had enjoyed it earlier in my life. When I got home I ended up purchasing a work stand, getting the bike up to a better standard, and started to ride outside more often.

Now, I'm still doing the strength training, but focusing more on cycling. When the weather's good and I get off work at a reasonable hour, I'll go out for a ride as far as I can go in the time I have.

I dropped 30 lbs. and as many points in my blood pressure. Now it's rare for me NOT to find time to exercise. I'm doing more errands on my bike, and hoping (and a little worried about losing momentum) to ride into spring. Doc was amazed about the drop in my blood pressure. He told me that I was the first patient that had gone that route much less succeeded. That felt good. Now I'm even getting my wife interested in being a stoker if I end up getting a tandem. We'll see about that one.

At this point, if I need to ride at night or if it's too hot or cold outside I'll use the exercise bike, otherwise I'm out riding for at least half an hour. I'm very comfortable with the equipment that I have and the routine that I'm working on.

It's good to be back in the saddle again...