norsehabanero

2 questions

how easy would it be to just give up biking, cold turkey. put your bike up and walk away from it
just a question to ask other members , not because of ability or medecial problems but just to quit

also is there any reason that would make you do so

here and there

Cycling has changed my life so much it would be extremely difficult to just walk away from it. The only reasons I can think of that would make me quit cold turkey are a medical issue or if I needed money bad and had to sell my bike.

jwc

I can't imagine life with out my bike. Even when I had to stop riding, I had a couple of bikes. It is funny how you can measure how it changes your life. My clothes fit better, even though I'm not dieting. I drop about a pound a month. I give blood regularly. When I first gave four years ago, it took almost twenty minutes to fill the bag...now it takes just over ten. My blood pressure hasn't changed, it is always around 110/70, but the ARC worker told me that is typical for people who excercise regularly to fill the bag faster. I can lay down on the stretcher at the same time as someone who is obese and I'm done and out of the building just as they are finished giving blood.

DieselDan

You can take my bike when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

Bizurke

Being my main mode of transportation and entertainment it would be rather hard. I guess you would have to steal my bikes and make me loose my job so I can't afford any more bikes. Though admittedly I've been riding a lot less the last couple weeks.

Machka 

And what would you replace cycling with?

If I didn't cycle, I'd have to do something active. The only sport that comes close to cycling for me has been bodybuilding ... and I got into cycling because I discovered I enjoyed the cardio portion of the workout more than the actual workout! The second closest sport is cross-country skiing, but that is entirely dependent upon a certain quantity of snow, which limits it to just a few months of the year.

norsehabanero

work and home improvements and anything besides cycling

Chris L

What he said. For transport it's just so convenient, my other rides and tours have allowed me to discover things that I didn't even know existed.

I actually turned 30 today, and on today's ride I was thinking about the way my life to date has unfolded. One of the things that struck me is that I've done so much more and been to many more places over the last 10 years than I did in the previous 20. Cycling is the main reason for that. I'm sure I could take up running for fitness if I ever stopped cycling, but it's somewhat limited in the other areas.

Cyclaholic

You'd give it up that easy? wow!.... I'll be buried with mine firmly locked in my grasp.

kf5nd

snow and cold rain all of the time?

!!Comatoa$ted

I quit biking every winter?

cdale56

I asked the same question thirteen years ago: would I get sick of it and just stop.(like I have done with most interests in my life) But surprisngly, the answer has been no, everyday I get up and either ride and if I can't actually ride I wish I could.

Sure, a few times I get sick of it and tend not to ride like I sometimes do, but I always come back and I always come back refreshed.

becnal

Perfectly said!

Tom Stormcrowe

Death before De-cycling

Portis

That's too bad.

mac

Does that include the stationary bikes at the gym? I think it would be easy enough. I'll just find some other activity to do for my aerobic exercise like running. In fact, I've been cutting down on my cycling to do more running.

Fighting motorists on every ride. I like to "space out" when I ride, but I really can't do that on the street. It's also a pain to get all dressed up and load up my bike for every ride compared to just tossing on a pair of running shoes and going out the door.

krazygluon

I'll put it this way...I'd rather sell you my car for $500 than sell you my bike for $10,000, and I'm poor.

!!Comatoa$ted

Yes it is too bad, I agree with you on that. I am a fair weather cyclist. On the other hand there are many winter sports that I enjoy that help me keep up my strength and endurance. But I still get to ride my bike vicariously through other bike forum members during the winter. As well the time off the bike makes me want to ride more than ever each time spring comes round.

Right now even if I could ride I could only do it for a very limited time each week because of the 8-10hours a day that I have to spend at my studies and in class. Come summer I have a casual job and can devote most of the day to riding my bike.

baj32161

If I didn't feel the same way I would be laughing at this.

baj32161

This is just another of the many reasons why Machka is my cycling hero in BF. Machka if you read this....you ROCK!!!

Cheers,

Brian

capejohn

I replace it with racquetball every winter. I ride some in the winter, but my milage is waaaay down that time of year. I'm talking Jan. Feb.

DataJunkie

You would have to pry it from my cold dead hands.
I miss maybe a few weeks of cycling each year. Vacation, sickness, and excessively bad winter weather.
That and my wife would kill me. All the money and time I have invested would go to waste.
I just don't like many outdoor activites this much. I absolutely despise working out indoors.

Machka 

You can do all of that AND cycle!! For me, work, university, and life in general haven't ever replaced cycling during the 16 years I've been cycling "seriously".

It isn't as though cycling is a mutually exclusive activity from all the rest of the things I do in my life.

When I lived in Winnipeg, I commuted year round to work, partly because I couldn't be bothered owning a vehicle, and partly because it was faster and more enjoyable to cycle. So work and cycling went together.

I'm in University now, and I find that my cycling increases my energy level and increases the flow of blood to my brain so that studying is easier and more enjoyable. While cycling, I also think about what I want to say in my research papers, or I go over the lectures in my mind to review them for exams. Cycling and studying go hand in hand.

I also don't usually consider cycling as merely a fitness activity (although it certainly does have that aspect) ... I consider it as a way to get to know my community. I deliberately seek out historical places, little towns that hardly anyone ever goes to, scenic tourist places, ice cream places in remote villages, and intriguing roads here and there. I probably know more about the places I've lived for a short period of time than most people who have lived in those places all their lives.

I combine cycling with other sports and recreational activities ... I have often cycled somewhere and then camped and/or hiked. I even bought snowshoes so that I could carry them on my bicycle with me when I cycle in the winter (cross-country skies were a bit awkward to carry on the bicycle).

All my vacations over the past 5 years or so have involved travelling to other parts of the world to attend cycling events and to tour. Through cycling I have been able to see a number of countries - and see them in a way people don't if they are just driving through, and I've met a large number of like-minded people. I love travelling and can hardly imagine travelling without my bicycle!

And I do a large part of my socializing when I'm on a bicycle ride with my friends! I find it so much easier to talk to people when we're cycling together than when we're sitting having tea or something.

Cycling is a vital part of most aspects of my life!

Machka 

Of course!! 12 months of the year up here in the Canadian prairies!! Riding in the snow is FUN!! Riding in the rain not so much, but if I didn't ride in the rain, I wouldn't ride nearly as much as I do.

DieselDan

Do you want to feel pain? Tell me I can't ride my bike.